Henryk Siemiradzki (1843 Pechenegy near Kharkiv - 1902 Strzalkowo near Czestochowa), Birth of Venus (Water Nymphs) , 1880s

oil, cardboard, 31.5 × 26 cm
Signed p. d.: "HSiemiradzki"
On the reverse a certificate of authenticity from Dr. Kazimierz Buczkowski dated 1946.

Nymphs have repeatedly become the heroines of many artists' canvases. Mysterious, with slender, flawless bodies, they tempted the viewer with their charms. Henryk Siemiradzki often took up the subject of mythology and beautiful goddesses in his works. The collection of the Lviv Art Gallery includes an oil painting by him, dated 1869, with a depiction of a beautiful nymph with a garland sitting on a stone by the water. The painting, presented in the auction catalog, shows a scene with two titles - "Birth of Venus" and "Water Nymphs." The work was created in the years around 1880 and is an oil sketch for another composition - "Water Nymphs" (Russian title "Najady"), dated around 1880, which belongs to the collection of the I. P. Pozhalostin Regional Art Museum in Ryazan.