Author: Wlastimil Hofman
Title: Prophecy
Technique: oil, cardboard
Dimensions: 54 x 64 cm
Dimensions with frame: 88.5 x 98.5 cm
Signed p.g.: "Wlastimil | Hofman".
Inscribed on the back: "Sy[fragment rubbed] | triptych | (center) | Survived shapes no miracle | will not return to existence | Adam Asnyk"; "Sybilla".
On the back a partially damaged label of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts and two tags with a handwritten (non-authorial) description of the painting.
Artwork description:
The offered painting by Wlastimil Hofman depicts in the foreground a half-figure of a woman - Sybil - in an antique stylized costume consisting of a black headdress, a loose plum-colored robe and a black cloak fastened at the chest with an ornamental fibula. The figure of the bard, contrary to the prevailing iconography in the history of art, is depicted as an elderly woman with gray hair and a serious face showing signs of age. Sibyl holds her attribute - a scroll of prophecy - in her left hand, while her right hand is raised, as if pointing toward the manuscript or in a gesture of speech. In the background one can see rocks with an overcast sky above them. On the left side of the composition, the artist has placed an emaciated naked figure with long blond hair facing the ground. Above her hover two eagles - a black one and a brown one. The scene brings to mind two mythical stories: The story of Prometheus, condemned to eternal torture for creating man and passing fire to him, or the moment when the two birds sent by Zeus meet, tasked with determining omphalos, the location of Pythia, the Delphic oracle.
Wlastimil Hofman's symbolic paintings are often extremely poetic in expression. In fact, lyricism was an important inspiration in the painting work of the artist, who not only read, but also wrote poems himself (see the volume Through Thorns to Freedom). The poetic basis for the present composition was Adam Asnyk's work Daremne żale - a fragment of the first stanza of the poem ("[...] Surviving shapes no miracle | No return to existence.") was written by Wlastimil Hofman's hand on the back of the painting. Adam Asnyk (1838-1897) was one of the leading Polish literati of the late 19th century, a man active in many fields, also revolving around artists-artists (for example, he was a friend of Hofman's master, Jacek Malczewski, who immortalized the poet's image in two of his works). The works of Adam Asnyk, along with those of Juliusz Słowacki, were the most common poetic inspiration for Wlastimil Hofman's paintings.
The featured painting is the middle part of a triptych, at this point the painter's original intention has not been identified, the other two parts intended to flank the offered "Prophecy" are not known, so it is difficult to make an overall interpretation of the work. The triptych convention played a major role in Wlastimil Hofman's creative output; the painter depicted both religious and symbolic motifs and even portraits in this (rather typical of altarpiece painting) arrangement.
The painting "Prophecy" should be considered by combining the painting layer with the quote from Adam Asnyk's poem recalled by the artist's brush. Thus, the main theme of the painting is the passing of time, the inevitability of the passage of time and the consequences of the deeds done. In the composition, time has even reached the bard, but her age also testifies to her wisdom. There is no escape from the passing of time, nor does the world offer a chance to return to the past, what has passed will never return. So a good choice is to turn to the future, to continue on the path that fate has planned for us.
Wlastimil Hofman's biography is available on the Krakow Auction House website [SEE].
If you would like to sell paintings by Wlastimil Hofman, please contact us [LINK].
