Signed l.g.: Wlastimil Hofmann Prague 1916
On the reverse, author's inscription in black oil: Portrait of Ada conceived on | Her name day December 16 | r.p. 1915 | Wlastimil Hofmann | Completed December 16 r.p. 1916; below inscription: PORTRET OF THE ARTIST'S WIFE | 41 cm x 31 cm
Ada, d.o.b. Adela, née Goller, was the most important person in Wlastimil Hofman's life, his beloved wife. Born in 1884, she was the thirteenth child, the long-awaited daughter of Franciszek Goller. From an early age, her father shared with her a passion for art, literature and music. In 1906, together they went to an exhibition of the "Manes" group, from which her father purchased the painting On Light by Wlastimil Hofman. In 1905. Ada married Ludwig Hammer - Wlastimil's aunt's brother. It was not a happy marriage, however, and the spouses' paths quickly diverged. The husband worked late and got into numerous romances, and Ada, left alone with no children, lived in solitude. Everything changed when, at Ludwik's invitation, Hofman came and lived with them. Ada spent a lot of time with the artist, had lively discussions. She helped him with his work - cleaning his studio, cleaning brushes, buying canvases. She also often posed for his paintings, one of which is the work on offer. Thus, the painting was created at a special moment in the artist's life, when a warm feeling was being born between him and his future wife. In 1917, Ada decided to go with Hofman to Krakow - this is how their relationship began, which only ended with Ada's death in 1968.
♣ a fee will be added to the auctioned price in addition to other costs, based on the right of the artist and his heirs to receive remuneration in accordance with the Act of February 4, 1994 - on Copyright and Related Rights (droit de suite)
Wlastimil Hofman / Vlastimil Hofmann (Prague 1881 - Szklarska Poreba 1970) studied at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow - initially under Florian Cynk, later also under Jan Stanislawski, Leon Wyczółkowski and Jacek Malczewski. In 1899-1902 he still studied with Jean Léon Gérôme at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. During World War I he stayed in Prague and Paris; from 1920 he lived permanently in Cracow. He exhibited a lot; he belonged to many creative associations - he was a co-founder of the "Group of Five" (1905) and the "Group of Zero" (1908), a member of the Association of Czech Artists "Manes", and from 1911 a member of the Polish Artists' Society "Sztuka". During World War II, through the USSR and Turkey, he made his way to Jerusalem, from where he returned to Krakow in 1946. Since 1947 he lived permanently in Szklarska Poreba. Hofman painted primarily fantastic-symbolic compositions with folk motifs, as well as genre scenes, portraits and landscapes. His paintings, despite close analogies and connections with the art of Malczewski, are always distinguished by their individual character, style and mood.
