Nikifor Krynicki biogram
View of the church, 20th century
Pencil, Paper
Wymiary: 21 cm x 17 cm
Eligible for droit de suite
Item's description:
This is a typical study sketch from the late, final period of the artist's work, featuring a characteristic composition: a street lined with houses on both sides, receding into perspective and culminating in the form of a church. The artist's application of a seal on the reverse of the painting should be regarded as marking the completion of the piece, indicating that it is not merely a preliminary sketch for a watercolor. The impressions of both seals are original: one is a round seal of the "Nikifor as bishop" type (one of three of this kind), and the other is a "Large Rectangular" seal (as per my own terminology). Both seals were created around 1957, and their minimal wear suggests that the drawing dates to the early 1960s. From the author's line signature, it can be deduced that the subject is likely one of the churches in Kraków; this conclusion should be taken with a grain of salt, but it is plausible.
— Bogdan Karski, expert on the works of Nikifor Krynicki