The Girl Musician – drawing by Wojciech Grottger, Montrésor Castle, France

The Girl Musician – a charcoal drawing by Wojciech Grottger, Montrésor Castle in France

At the age of 14 Artur Grottger was accidentally discovered as a particularly talented draftsman. Thanks to a scholarship from Emperor Franz Joseph, he was able to study painting in Cracow and Vienna. While in Vienna, he became involved in helping the fleeing January insurgents and when a Pole suspected of conspiracy activities in Cracow was arrested in his apartment, the imperial scholarship was revoked. Grottger fell into financial trouble, which affected him for the rest of his life. After returning to the country he earned a living painting and drawing on commission, wandering from one estate to another. At the age of 30 he left for Paris, where he died of tuberculosis shortly thereafter. Reportedly, the romantic portrait of the girl musician in the Montrésor collection was bought directly from the artist by Ksawery Branicki, who vastly overpaid the artist in order to support him financially.

ACTIONS OF POLONIKA INSTITUTE
Strategic program RESEARCH
– documentation of the Montrésor Castle collection, 2019
Strategic program POPULARIZATION
– a documentary within the series Oral history: (History and presentation of the collection at the Montrésor Castle), 2019