Michał Stachowicz (1768–1825), The Prankster, 1795

Pencil, paper; dimensions (inside the frame): 19.5 x 15 cm; signed in ink on the lower right: "Michał Stachowicz pinxit | 1795". On the reverse, an unfinished sketch of a woman in profile. The work and the paper are acid-stained and dusty.

Michał Stachowicz (1768–1825) – a Kraków-based painter, draftsman, printmaker, and illustrator, considered one of the artists of the transition from the Baroque to the Romantic period. He was born and spent almost his entire life in Kraków, where he studied under Piotr Molitor and Kazimierz Mołodziński, and in 1787 he obtained the title of master craftsman. He created historical and religious paintings, portraits, and views of Kraków. He gained particular fame for his depictions related to the Kościuszko Uprising, including “Kościuszko’s Oath in Kraków’s Main Square” and “Prince Józef Poniatowski’s Entry into Kraków.” From 1817, he taught drawing at St. Barbara’s High School. His work is a valuable source of knowledge about the history and social life of Kraków at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.