Aleksander Władysław MALECKI (1836 - 1900), Landscape with silhouette of a church (Mountain Landscape, Landscape from around Munich), 1869.

oil, canvas; 65.5 x 87 cm;
Sign, description. and date p. d.: W. Malecki. Munich 1869.
Stamp of a German (Munich?) painting materials warehouse on the reverse.
The painting is accompanied by an expert's report by Adam Konopacki dated 2015.

Described and reproduced:
- "Kurier Warszawski" 1869, no. 259, p.2
- "Kurier Warszawski" 1869, no. 262, p.2
- "Kłosy" 1870, 1st half, no. 256, p.317 - reproduction from TZSP exhibition

Described and reproduced in "Kurier" and "Kłosy" most likely based on identification from the title and illustration with the painting.

"Landscape from the vicinity of Munich, by Mr. Malecki, besides deep and conscientious studies from nature, shows true talent. The surroundings happily chosen and beautifully transferred to the canvas."
"Kurier Warszawski" 1869, no. 259, p. 2

"The year 1869 marks the end of Wladyslaw Malecki's first Munich period, but it is difficult to determine when he arrives in the country, beginning his second Polish period, short as it lasted barely over a year. Two oil paintings created in that very year may be the determinants here. They are: "Mountain Landscape," cat. 3, (also known as "Landscape with a Church Silhouette" - the original title was "Landscape from around Munich") and "Landscape from around Busk." Since the latter was exhibited at an exhibition in Munich in July, it can be assumed that Malecki was already in Poland in the second quarter of 1869, and therefore painted "Mountain Landscape" before arriving in the country. (...) The reflective reverie emanating from the landscape, still breathing a romantic note, was deepened by the heavy, gray pre-storm clouds shrouding the blurred outline of the mountains and the silhouette of the church standing out against this background. The foreground trees and marshy ground, painted in tones of browns and greens, are slightly more clearly depicted, with the ravine of the river surrounding the overgrown hill with the church visible in the right part of the painting. The painting is set firmly in the trend of Munich landscape painting, represented by Eduard Schleich and Adolf Heinrich Lier." A.Oborny "Poeta pejzażu", [in:] Władysław Aleksander Malecki 1836-1900, Kielce 1999, p. 28.

"This work is a hitherto unknown in the literature version of an almost identical work currently in the National Museum in Warsaw (in the collection since 1928), much smaller in size and differing slightly in detail and color (see below). Malecki often returned to the same subjects and created different versions of the same work. It is difficult to say which painting was painted first, both bear the same yearly date, so they were certainly created in very close time intervals. The Warsaw version, despite the fact that it is much smaller and therefore sparser in detail, should hardly be considered a sketch for a larger composition, it is a painting finished and signed by the artist. (...)

It is known that "Mountain Landscape" (under the title "Landscape from around Munich") was exhibited at the Exhibition of Paintings at the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in the Kingdom of Poland and reproduced in the form of an engraving in the weekly newspaper "Kłosy" in 1870 (no. 256, p.317 see illustration). Comparing the engraving with both versions of the painting - the one from the National Museum in Warsaw and the one under discussion - it is difficult to determine unequivocally on the basis of which version it was created, and thus which work was presented at the exhibition. The way the church in particular is depicted, the proportions of its tower and dome, on the engraving could indicate that the prototype was, however, the discussed, hitherto unknown painting, and not its smaller, Warsaw version, as was thought."
Excerpts from Adam Konopacki's 2015 expert report.