Jozef Swirysz-Ryshkevich (1888-1942), "Girl in a Red Handkerchief," 1905

oil, canvas, 47.4 x 38.5 cm,
signed p.d.: JRyszkiewicz / son / Warsaw / 1905.

Painter, draughtsman, legionary, student of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow in the studio of L. Wyczółkowski in 1906-1908. After graduation he returned to Warsaw. From 1914 he served in the Polish Legions, in 1918 he joined the Polish Army. He took part in the Polish-Bolshevik war. In 1930 he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. The artist was a real member of the TZSP and participated in numerous exhibitions, including in Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, Torun, Sosnowiec. Initially inspired by the work of his father, painter Jozef M. Ryszkiewicz, he painted realistic genre scenes with horses, horse-drawn carriages, views of villages and manor houses, atmospheric landscapes, took up hunting themes, reported on events related to service in the legions. He made legion works available as illustrations for books. He also engaged in portrait art.