The subject of conservation carried out by Agnieszka Śniadewicz-Świca was Julian Fałat’s gouache from 1888, painted on paper. The painting is signed in the lower right corner – “Jul Fałat ’88”. Obraz sygnowany w prawym dolnym narożniku – „Jul Fałat ‘88”.
The subject of the painting is a scene of a she-bear hunting with cubs. The painting was created as a result of experiences gained during a trip to Nieśwież, where he stayed at the mansion of Maria and Antoni Radziwiłł, where he also had the opportunity to meet the future German Emperor Wilhelm II.
This acquaintance, as well as the enormous success of the hunting painting created during this stay, opened the way for him to the Berlin court, where he stayed from 1886 until his appointment to the position of a headmaster of the Kraków School of Fine Arts in 1895. He held the position of head master until 1910, after that he settled in Bystra, where the largest collection of his works is currently located.
In 1888, Julian Fałat also created an oil painting of the same subject and similar composition, which is currently in the collection of the Historical Museum in Bielsko-Biała. More precisely h in Bystra Śląska, located in a historic villa called “Fałatówka”, where Julian Fałat lived and created (with short breaks) from 1910, after resigning from the position of head master of the Kraków School of Fine Arts, until his death in 1929.
Gouache in the shape of a horizontal rectangle, measuring 85.6 cm x 42.7 cm, painted on paper. The paper was stretched on a pine loom and glued at the edges with glutinous glue. The corners of the paper were folded over and nailed at the edges with metal nails to the loom.
The method of preparing the support and the very similar composition indicate that this is not a conceptual sketch, but a practice, a preparation for an oil painting. This is also confirmed by the very similar format of both works (oil painting 99 cm.x 49 cm.). The gouache was brought to conservation without a frame, which contributed to the mechanical damage of support. Therefore, an important technological amendment was to create a new frame.
Due to the value of the object, an old, historic frame was used. It was adjusted to the dimensions of the painting, moreover a museum glass used. This procedure allowed for maintaining a coherent aesthetic character of the whole.
Sources:
Kębłowski Jerzy, Dzieje sztuki polskiej, Warszawa 1989
Malinowski Jerzy, Julian Fałat, Warszawa 1985
Malinowski Jerzy, Malarstwo polskie XIX wieku, Warszawa 2003
Ryszkiewicz Andrzej, Malarstwo polskie – romantyzm – historyzm – realizm, Warszawa 1989
http://muzeum.bielsko.pl/pl/ekspozycje-stale-falatowka/artykul/stala-falatowka