Kasper POCHWALSKI (1899-1971) ✿

Kasper Pochwalski (1899-1971) born in Kraków was a Polish artist, painter and monument restorer, son of Władysław Pochwalski. Kasper graduated in painting from Józef Mehoffer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow in 1918–1922, while studying art history at the Jagiellonian University. Around the age of 20 he crystallized his own style, which was within the formal and thematic tradition of Polish modernism.

He became the favorite student of Mehoffer, who during the correction did not improve, but praised his academic studies - as his colleague from college, later art historian Tadeusz Dobrowolski recalls. The painting dynasty of the Pochwalski family dates from 1745 and published 8 painters in 5 generations. Kasper was the last of the fifth generation. Kasper had a talent for drawing since childhood. He attended the Real School in Krakow. As a 16-year-old, he took part in the official painting exhibition at the Palace of Art for the first time, showing his watercolors and oil paintings next to Weiss and Jarocki.

In the years 1922–1923, as a scholarship holder of the French government, he continued his studies in Paris at the Ranson Academy, under the direction of the former ambassador Maurice Denis. After returning from Paris, he participated in the exhibitions of 'Art', 'Unicorn', IPS, Salons of Zachęta and 'Zwornik', of whom he was a founding member with his brother Stanisław and Emil Krcha.

Artist and Model

The main domain of Kasper Pochwalski's work was figural composition, often multiform and portrait, he also painted numerous landscapes, rarely still life. Kasper also worked as a restorer of paintings and works of art. Among others he did a lot of work for the Wawel Cathedral. He also renewed with his brother Stanisław the Black Christ of Wawel and the triptych of Hans Dűrer to the Sigismund Chapel, and after the Second World War he alone - for many years restored numerous paintings to the Cathedral and many other works of foreign and native painting. He made several polychromies of churches. He also wrote as a poet - he wrote over 200 plays, poems and a large number of poems. He made his debut in 1919 in Poznań's Zdrój. The painter's cordial friendship with Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz came from that time. Closed in himself, he wrote "to a drawer".