Wlastimil Hofman

Wlastimil Hofman (born April 27, 1881 in Prague as Vlastimil Hofmann , † March 6, 1970 in Szklarska Poreba , Poland ) was a Polish painter.

Life

Hofman was the son of the Czech Ferdinand Hofmann and his Polish wife Teofila, his Czech name form, under which he was born, is Vlastimil Hofmann . In 1889 he came to Poland, where he attended school in Cracow . From 1896 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow under Jacek Malczewski . In 1899 he went to Paris to continue studying at the École des Beaux-Arts there. He had the first exhibition of his pictures in 1902 in the artists' association Sztuka , further exhibitions followed in Munich , Amsterdam , Rome , Berlin , Prague , Vienna and Warsaw . In 1907 he became the first Polish member of the Vienna Secession . Hofman lived in Prague and Paris between 1914 and 1920, but then returned to Krakow in 1921, where he owned a house and studio. Around this time, under the influence of Jacek Malczewski, he changed his name to the Polish form Wlastimil Hofman .

Hofman was married to a Jewish woman. That is why he fled with her in 1939 from the National Socialists via the Soviet Union and Turkey to Palestine. In 1946 he returned to Poland, where he met his second wife, also a Jew, with whom he moved to Szklarska Poręba in the Silesian Giant Mountains in 1947. In 1961 he was awarded the Cross of the Order of Polish Rebirth.

Hofman's former home is now a museum as the Vlastimil Hofman House .

power

Hofman was a representative of Young Polish symbolism and influenced by Jacek Malczewski. Its subjects were mainly religious and mythological scenes. It became popular through depictions of the Madonna, children and angels in a rural setting. He also created portraits. He remained unaffected by the art styles of modernism of the 20th century.

Hofman also wrote poetry.

Works

To new life (Katowice, Silesian Museum), 1906
Madonna with the boys Jesus and John (Posen, National Museum), 1909, oil on canvas, 109 × 129 cm
Madonna (Lemberg, Galeria Obrazow), 1909, oil on canvas, 60 × 60 cm
Madonna (Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), 1910, oil on canvas
Concert (Cracow, National Museum), 1910
Portrait of a Lady (Breslau, National Museum ), 1916
Spring (Krakow, National Museum), 1918
Lost Happiness (Warsaw, National Museum), 1919

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Hofman, Wlastimil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Hofmann, Vlastimil (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Polish painter
DATE OF BIRTH	April 27, 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH	Prague
DATE OF DEATH	March 6, 1970
Place of death	Szklarska Poreba