Signed and dated p. d.: S. Jaxa / 1920;
On the reverse, oil landscape composition with a herd of horses;
on the loom:
- sticker: ZZĄZEK POWSZ. ARTISTS ... / W KRAKOWIE / Author Jaxa Małachowski Soter / Title ul. św. Jana. / Type Oil Size / ... (damaged, partially legible, filled in by hand);
- figure: 59
Provenance:
private collection, Poland
I will never forget the impression made on me by this first Polish city I met. I arrived in the evening, having stayed at the Dresden Hotel. The night was warm, moonlit, the window open, silence on the Market Square, only the occasional sound of the footsteps of a late passerby, when suddenly I heard a bugle call!.... It was a turning point in my life.
Urban vedutas seem to be less obvious in the work of the artist, widely regarded as an excellent marine painter. The offered painting proves how adept he was at depicting urban architecture as well. The landscapes of Krakow, with which he strongly identified, occupy an important place among Jaxy-Malachowski's painting motifs. Nocturne with a view of St. John's Street in Krakow shows a fragment of the Cloth Hall and the City Hall Tower visible in the gloom. Despite the outlines of the figures, the composition exudes melancholic tranquility; the bustling area of the Market Square seems to freeze in the chill of a winter evening. Decorative chiaroscuro effects, colorful patches of city placards, add artistic expression to the work.
Interestingly, an identical shot of a Krakow street can be found in the photo collection of the Illustration Archive of the Illustrated Daily Courier (National Digital Archive database). The photograph is dated 1928/1929.
Bibliography:
Lomnicka K., Jaxa. Soter August Jaxa-Małachowski, Grzegorz Kudelski, Kraków 2014.
