Jan REMBOWSKI (1879-1923), "Fisherman," 1911

oil, canvas, 41 x 33 cm,
Signed p.g.: Jan Rembowski 1911.
Condition: traces of old conservation, non-original looms.

Painter, sculptor, graphic artist, interior designer, illustrator, student of Wojciech Gerson's Warsaw Drawing Class. In 1901-1907, he continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow in the studio of Konstanty Laszczka; forced by illness to discontinue his sculpture studies, he continued with Jozef Mehoffer. In 1903, due to deteriorating health, he settled in Zakopane, where he stayed until 1916. He actively participated in the artistic and cultural life of the city. Since 1906 he belonged to the group of students of Władysław Ślewiński, who lived in Poronin. In 1908 and 1912 he traveled to Italy for several months. He was a founding member of the Podhale Art Society, as well as a member of the "Five" group (with W. Hofman, W. Wojtkiewicz, M. Jakimowicz, and L. Gottlieb). Illness prevented him from joining the Legions after the outbreak of World War I, but he is the author of portraits of Legion officers, staying for treatment in Zakopane. In 1916 he moved to Warsaw. In 1919 he wanted to take part in the First Silesian Uprising, which unfortunately was prevented by a pulmonary hemorrhage. The artist participated in numerous exhibitions in Warsaw, Cracow, Zakopane, Lviv and Poznan. Rembowski's posthumous exhibitions were held at the Warsaw TZSP in 1923, in Lodz in 1924, and at the Cracow TPSP in 1923. The artist most readily used charcoal, sanguine and pastels, and was influenced in his work by Art Nouveau, early Expressionism and Zakopane art. He left slightly fewer painting works than highly regarded drawing works. He designed stained glass windows and polychromes, made illustrations for magazines, his work includes part of the decor of the Dłuski sanatorium in Zakopane.