MAN IN A CHAIR. PORTRAIT OF MIECZYSŁAW JAKIMOWICZ

The portrayed man is sitting in a chair (or an armchair) in an indeterminate room. His face is absorbed in thought, his figure frozen in contemplation. There is a sketchy feel to this portrait as if the moment of self-immersion demanded instant representation. The sitter, the chair and the interior seem to form one universal unbreakable being.

The painter and Mieczysław Jakimowicz were friends, they studied together and co-created the Group of Five; they were also related as Gottlieb’s sister Jadwiga was Mieczysław’s wife. Painted in Kraków towards the end of Jakimowicz’s studies, the portrait constitutes a testimony to their friendship and mutual respect. Jakimowicz painted a portrait of Gottlieb (in 1905 or 1906) which, unfortunately, is now considered lost and only known from reproductions.

Tomasz Jeziorowski [in:] Irena Buchenfeld, Grupa Pięciu (1905-1908). Zapomniani buntownicy Młodej Polski, Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie, Kraków 2026.