Roman Kochanowski, GREEN LANDSCAPE, 5 April 1895

32,0 x 46,0cm - oil, canvas

dated l.d. (date scratched in wet paint): 5/4 895

Roman Kochanowski (Krakow 1857 - Freising near Munich 1945) - painter and printmaker - was one of the Polish artists settled and permanently active in Munich. He began his studies in painting in Cracow; initially in the private studio of Maksymilian Cerch, and in 1873- 1875 at the School of Fine Arts under Władysław Łuszczkiewicz and landscape painter Henryk Grabiński. For the next two years he still studied at the landscape department of the Vienna Academy. In 1881 he moved to Munich, where he had his own studio and soon started a family. However, he often came to Cracow, visited Poznan, traveled through Galicia and Podolia, drawing landscapes and views of cities, which were later included in an album published in Vienna in 1898. The artist belonged to the Munich Kunstverein, participated in many exhibitions in Germany, Vienna, London; he also sent his works to national shows. He painted mainly landscapes and only rarely flowers and portraits. A constant and favorite motif of his paintings was the Polish landscape near Krakow, with people's figures woven into it. The artist's paintings, often painted on small boards and devoid of an anecdotal layer, are characterized by unusual painterly qualities, color harmony and lyrical mood. Noted and awarded at numerous exhibitions, they were also highly valued in the art market. In 1892, after an exhibition in Vienna, one of Kochanowski's paintings was purchased for his collection by Emperor Franz Joseph; two others were acquired by members of the imperial family. Karol Joseph Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria, was an admirer of his paintings. The artist's great sensitivity to landscape and nature is also evident in his drawings and etchings.
Kochanowski's work was recently recalled by a monographic exhibition of his works organized at the Jacek Malczewski Museum in Radom in 2007. The exhibition - also shown in Katowice, Sandomierz, Szczecin, Gdansk, Piotrków Trybunalski - was accompanied by a richly illustrated catalog, which is a compendium of knowledge about the artist (see: Roman Kochanowski [1857-1945]. On the 150th anniversary of his birth, [edited and compiled by Z. K. Posiadała], Jacek Malczewski Museum in Radom, Radom 2007).