Lot 2181 Dα

Among the international artists in the 19th century who made Munich the most important artistic centre in the world alongside Paris, there were a particularly large number of Poles, the majority of whom were painters. Many of them emigrated after repression intensified in their homeland, which had been divided among the larger neighboring states, especially after the uprisings of 1830 and 1863. Others were simply attracted by the pull of Munich as an artistic metropolis, as it offered one of the leading academies of the age, access to numerous public commissions and, last but not least, an interested and wealthy class of private collectors. They came together to form the so-called “Munich Polish Circle” or the “Munich Polish School”, which has sparked particular interest among art historians in recent years.

Alfred von Wierusz-Kowalski, who was later appointed professor in Munich, stands out among this circle. Following positions at the academies in Warsaw, Dresden and Prague, he continued his studies at the Munich Academy, joining the circle of Jozef Brand there. He worked alongside Brand and other Polish artists in the city in the studio and home of the late painter Albrecht Adam on Schillerstrasse in Munich, where his son Franz Adam now worked. The Polish artists found the best painting conditions here, especially for their horse motifs, as live horses could be brought directly into the studio as models. The almost tangible sense of presence that the horses make in Wierusz-Kowalski's paintings may be a result of this.

While some of his less complex and accomplished paintings are sometimes signed “J. Konarski”, in this work “Ride into Twilight” he wrote out his full name “A. Wierusz-Kowalski”.