KOSSAK, JERZY (1886-1955)

"Cossack & Horse" (1924)
oil on canvas laid on board
29 x 22.5cm
signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Jerzy was a famous Polish Realist. He was born into the great Kossak artistic dynasty, which included his father, Woijcech, and grandfather, Juliusz, both famous Polish artists specializing in military scenes. Jerzy grew up learning from his relatives, and adopted the same passions for depicting the Polish military in realistic style. His sisters, Maria & Magdalena, were also famous writers. He was prolific painter of mostly historic scenes featuring the famed Polish Uhlans on horses, usually sold on the spot, but also used for barter at times of the postwar economic slump, until his death before the end of Stalinism in Poland. His paintings, along with those of his ancestors, remain among the best-selling at Polish art auctions. His works are represented in several major institutions!!
 
The Cossacks were a semi-nomadic warrior people in Ukraine and Southern Russia who exchanged military service for great powers in return for elements of self-rule. That fierceness and self-reliance has made the Cossack an archetype of both Russian and Ukrainian nationalism.