Dominik
Witke-Jeżewski (1862-1944), collector of works of art, mainly of
prints, drawings and paintings; member of associations supporting art
(among which were The Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Poznań, the
Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw) and museology
(Council of Museums of the National Museum in Warsaw); founder of a
foundation supporting young artists; patron of art and of museum
institutions, mainly of the National Museum in Warsaw, to which he
donated a part of his holdings; antiquarian; co-founder and president
of the Warsaw House of Art (Dom Sztuki); a knight of the Legion of
Honor and the Commodore’s Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of
Poland.
His passion for
collecting developed within the space of several years, between the
beginning of the 20th century and 1914. The latest
exposition of prints from the Witke-Jeżewski collection was
organised by the National Museum in 1936 as a sign of gratitude for
his generous donations the Museum received between 1917 and 1939.
The realization of
such an impressive collector’s undertaking by Witke-Jeżewski was
possible thanks to the investment of huge sums in order to purchase
works of art and also thanks to his acquaintance with various
antiquarians, who, as Hieronim Wilder, searched for interesting
pieces for him.
Thanks to the
donations and purchases from Dominik Witke-Jeżewski, the National
Museum in Warsaw has the possibility to vaunt precious works
illustrating the history of graphic art in Poland. These works
constitute the core of the Museum’s collection of prints. In
keeping with collector’s will, they are made accessible for
research and exhibited in Poland and abroad.
Piotr P. Czyż
translated by Anna Kiełczewska
Selected prints
Willem
Hondius (after 1597-1652) Map of Smolensk during the Siege in
1634, 1636
Engraving, print made of 16 plates, 1650 x
2290
Inscribed top center: SMOLENSCIUM VRBS, OPE DIVINA
VLADISLAI IV. POL. SVECIAQUE REGIS INVICTISSIMI PRINCIPIS, VIRTUTE
LIBERATUM, OBSESSI OBSESSORES MOSCOVITA ET | AUXILIARII, VICTI ARMIS
HOSTES FORTITUDINE, VITA DONATI CLEMENTIA INUSITATA. ANN.
M. DC. XXXIV.|
Bottom
left, the epigram placed on the block of stones and the list of main
characters
National Museum in Warsaw, Inv.no.Gr.Pol.4155
Donated by Dominik Witke-Jeżewski, 1918
Stefano
della Bella 1610-1664) The Entrance of Jerzy Ossoliński to
Rome in 1633, II state, 1633
Etching, paper, six prints on
separate sheets of paper, dimensions: I: 15,6 x 43; II: 14 x 15,6 x
42,4; III: 15,7 x 42,6; IV: 15,6 x 42,8; V: 15,6 x 42,8; VI: 15,5 x
50,6
Inscribed bottom center in the first plate: ENTRATA IN ROMA
DELL'ECCELmo AMBASCIATORE DI POLLONIA L ANNO MDCXXXIII
National
Museum in Warsaw, I: Gr.Pol.15170; II: Gr.Pol.15169; III:
Gr.Pol.16168; IV: Gr.Pol.15167; V: Gr.Pol.15166; VI: Gr.Pol.15510.
Donated by Dominik Witke-Jeżewski, 1937
Jeremias
Falck (c.1610–1677) after the drawing by Adolf Boy and Eliasz Noski
Triumphal Gate with Atlas and Hercules Erected in Gdansk in
Honor of Marie Louise Gonzaga (Arcus Gratiae et Pacis),
1646
Engraving, ribbed paper, 62,9 x 45 [cut in the
bottom]
Inscribed: ARCVS CIRCA FESTIVITATEM | REGIARUM
NUPTIARUM | IN MEDIO LONGA - PLATEA CIVITATIS GEDANENSIS ERECTUS |
ANNO M.DC.XLVI.
National Museum in Warsaw, Inv.no.24332
Donated by Dominik Witke-Jeżewski, 1918
Teodor
Lubieniecki (1654–1718 or 1720) Mountain Landscape with Two
Travelers, 1698–1701
Etching, paper, 20,6 x 29,9 [cut
margins]
National Museum in Warsaw, Inv.no.24578
Donated by Dominik Witke-Jeżewski, 1918
Józef
Pankiewicz (1866–1940) Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,
1903
Etching, dry point, paper, 14,2 x 18,8 [22,0 x 30,5]
Signed
in pencil bottom right: Pankiewicz
National Museum in
Warsaw, Inv.no.Gr.Pol.21743
Donated by Dominik Witke-Jeżewski, 1918
Józef
Mehoffer (1869–1946)
Frightened,
second print from the cycle Dancer – Guerrero, 1905 –
1907
Etching, dry point, paper, 18,2 x 12,9
Signed bottom
right: Józef Mehoffer
National Museum in Warsaw,
Inv.no.25817
Donated by Dominik Witke-Jeżewski, 1918
Leon
Wyczółkowski (1852–1936) Pines of Polaga, 1908
Soft-ground etching, light cream-colored paper, 28,5 x 33
Signed
with pencil bottom right: LWyczół 908.
National
Museum in Warsaw, Inv.no.Gr.Pol.5483
Donated by Dominik Witke-Jeżewski, 1918
Feliks
Jabłczyński (1865–1928) View of Rome, 1911
Colored
ceratite, paper, 32,3 x 24,8
Signed in ink bottom left: F.
Jabłczyński 911.
National Museum in Warsaw,
Inv.no.Gr.Pol.18119
Donated by Dominik Witke-Jeżewski, 1918
Franciszek
Siedlecki (1867–1934) Spring, 1913
Etching, dry
point, cream-colored Japanese paper, 17,5 x 23,6
Signed in pencil
bottom right: Fr. Siedlecki
National Museum in Warsaw,
Inv.no.Gr.Pol.24459
Donated by Dominik Witke-Jeżewski, 1918
Zofia
Stankiewiczówna (1862–1955) Warsaw by night, 1913
Aquatint, paper, 14,5 x 21,5
Signed in pencil, bottom right:
Z. Stankiewicz
National Museum in Warsaw,
Inv.no.Gr.Pol.5489
Donated by Dominik Witke-Jeżewski, 1918
