Left: Autoportret, 1918, Type “D” portrait. Right: Portrait of Nena Stachurska, 1929. Type “C” portrait. Mescaline + cocaine + caffeine + cocaine + caffeine + cocaine.
SOURCE: Wikimedia Commons
The above images are portraits by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (1885-1939), aka Witkacy, a Polish artist, playwright, philosopher, painter, and experimental photographer, among other things. Witkacy began his S.I. Portrait Painting Firm in the 1920s which he operated from his Zakopane apartment. He painted friends, family, artists, and other celebrated individuals.
In 1932 he published a hilarious parody pseudo manifesto titled "Rules of the S. I. Witkiewicz Portrait-Painting Firm" which details his portraits into Types A, B, C, D, E — with stylistic traits that range from straightforward representational to expressionist to absurd caricatures. He also offered portraits under the influence of certain narcotics (which he would denote on the signature of the painting even if he just took coffee.) "Rules of the S. I. Witkiewicz Portrait-Painting Firm" provides a window into Witkacy's sensibilities and humor that surely amused his patrons while they sat for him. His motto was: "The customer is always satisfied. Misunderstandings are ruled out." The following lines are some excerpts that I found particularly revealing:
—There may be cases in which the artist himself will not authorize his work.
—The number of sittings does not determine the excellence of the product.
—Any sort of criticism on the part of the customer is absolutely ruled out.
—The portrait may not be viewed until finished.
When taken out of the context of his painting firm, the text reads more as art philosophy than as a business transaction contract.
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz
I think these are some of the most interesting portraits I have seen from this era. Not only are they technically 'good' — i.e. the faces are well structured and the patrons could recognize themselves, but they are also not contrived or overly realist. Witkacy does not shy away from sketch lines and unrendered areas in his paintings. He values color, emotion, and otherworldly sensations. Witkacy's father, Stanisław Witkiewicz (they shared the same first and last name, which is often confusing), a famous architect, greatly influenced Witkacy's unique approach thanks to his emphasis on self-taught creativity in the household. Sure, his tendency to draw portraits while sometimes intoxicated could be seen as a gimmick—but it remains an interesting aspect of Witkacy's work because it highlights not only the effects the drugs had on him but also how Polish society viewed them. Despite the negative view of drugs, he seemed amused by the gossip and drama, otherwise, why would he write what drugs he took right on the painting—not to mention several novels and plays involving the subject?
Witkacy took this anti-conformist attitude to whatever medium he was working in. His plays and photographs were wildly unconventional. His art philosophy could be summed up in what he calls "Pure Form" (Czysta Forma). He articulated this theory in his 1922 book New Forms in Painting and the Misunderstanding Arising Therefrom (Nowe Formy w Malartswie i wynikające stąd nieporozumienia). The theory is evident in his dramatic and literary works, particularly his plays in non-linear, anti-plot works like The Madman and the Nun (Wariat i zakonnica, 1923) and The Shoemakers (Szewcy, 1934). Both were ahead of their time and would be more at home in Becketts' Theater of the Absurd. For good reason, Witkacy's works are regarded as a precursor to that movement and were simultaneously praised as top-tier avant-garde, and criticized as unfocused and overly provocative.
There is much to be said about the decline of such painted portraits as the demand fell due to photography becoming more affordable. Before the 20th century, artistic portraits were the main way people's likenesses could be documented. Photography, though, had several drawbacks — a lack of subjectivity, quality, and homogenization of images left many people craving a more nuanced, impressionist capture of their personality. I'm sure the people he painted loved having their risqué portraits on display during dinner parties, imagine all the comments they must have got to show such wild and edgy images. Honestly, even today, if someone were to have a Witkacy-esque portrait of themselves in their living room, I would think that to be pretty hip.
While clearly more at home in abstraction drawings with pastels, Witkacy was not afraid of photography — in fact, he was a skilled photographer. His use of film as an artistic medium was experimental — featuring double exposure, psychedelic use of color, and bizarre angles. In this 1916 portrait, he stands in front of a multitude of mirrors, creating a surreal effect, as if he is having a military-style meeting with himself.
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Multiple Self-Portrait in Mirrors, ca. 1916
When researching artists it is easy to forget just how much the era and location in which they lived influenced their work. It is strange to think: Witkacy had just been wounded in World War One the year before this photograph in 1915 — luckily he survived the war and went on to create such captivating and influential works.
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