Nikifor Krynicki, Epifaniusz Drowniak dit (18... Lot n° 24

L'Homme pressé Watercolor and pencil on paper 21.5 x 17 cm Provenance: > Collection Berthe Reysz (1905-1974), annotated on back > Private collection, Paris Condition report : Framed A self-taught Polish painter, Epifaniusz Drowniak grew up in poverty in his native village of Krynica. As a child, he began using the nickname "Nikifor". His vocation for painting soon became his only means of survival. Extremely poor, he painted on all kinds of supports, creating and selling in the center of his town. His naive art attracts the attention of Ukrainian painter Roman Turin. Turin presented Nikifor's work in Paris, where it made a strong impression. Nikifor then wins the support of Ella and Andrzej Banach. The painter's subjects are varied: images of saints, passers-by, city views and landscapes... His art reflects his formidable intuition for color and his unique vision of reality. "I have never experienced stronger emotions than those aroused by his paintings when seen in person. I first saw them in 1965. He was an accomplished painter, tall and deep, and he approached painting like the Renaissance masters - in a classical, honest way. Everything he painted was something he had seen. What he had seen was then reworked by his memory and imagination. He was perfect for freeing himself from the constraints of reality and creating a vision, a world, his own structure. He was telling and painting his world." (Edward Dwurnik, Polish painter)