Andrzej (Jędrzej) Grabowski, Portrait of a girl with a doll

55 x 45 cm, oil, canvas

Andrzej (Jędrzej) Grabowski (1833-1886). One of the most highly regarded Polish portraitists of his time, he was thoroughly educated at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow and remained in close relations with and under the influence of Jan Matejko, Aleksander Kotsis and Artur Grottger. He became known as an excellent observer and draughtsman (also a caricaturist), and in time the author of portraits that brought him recognition at the World Exhibition in Vienna (1863) where he honed his skills for three years. The author of countless official portraits, but also family portraits for Count Konstanty Zamoyski for the palace in Kozlowka - both original compositions by the author and copies of portraits by other European painters.
The intimate portrait of a girl in a blue dress with a colorful doll held in her hands is proof of the author's proficiency and a rare example of a Polish painterly portrait of a child. The painting is signed and dated "J. Grabowski 1874" in an oval at the bottom.