Artwork
Self-Portrait with Apron and Brushes
Self-Portrait with Apron and Brushes is an oil painting by Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz. It is held in the collection of the National Museum in Kraków. Created in 1894, this oil painting presents a seated woman in a chair, her gaze directed forward.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Rendered in oil on canvas, the work was first shown at the Salon of 1887 and is now part of the National Museum in Kraków’s Sukiennice Museum collection.
The painting shows the artist in a modest studio, wearing an apron while holding brushes, suggesting her identity as a working painter. The palette and brushes function as symbolic tools of artistic creation, emphasizing her dedication to the craft and the self‑portrait genre as a statement of professional aspiration. Rendered in oil on canvas, the work was first shown at the Salon of 1887 and is now part of the National Museum in Kraków’s Sukiennice Museum collection.
Technique & Style
Self-Portrait with Apron and Brushes is an oil painting executed on canvas, measuring 117 cm in height by 90 cm in width. The work is classified as a portrait and depicts the artist alongside attributes of her profession, including a palette and paintbrushes. As an oil-on-canvas self-portrait, the medium allowed Bilińska-Bohdanowicz to render the textures of the working apron and the implements of painting with the tonal range characteristic of late nineteenth-century academic practice.
The painting was shown at the Salon of 1887, situating it within the formal exhibition conventions of the period and suggesting a finished, Salon-standard handling rather than a sketch or study.
History & Provenance
Created in 1887, this oil on canvas portrait shows Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz in a self-representational pose with apron and brushes. It entered the collection of the National Museum in Kraków, Sukiennice Museum shortly after its execution and was first shown at the Salon of 1887. The work measures 117 cm by 90 cm.
Overview
Created in 1894, this oil painting presents a seated woman in a chair, her gaze directed forward. She wears a dark, high‑collared dress beneath a patterned apron and holds a cloth concealing a cluster of brushes. The composition is set against a dark backdrop, with light falling on her face to produce a gentle contrast.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Anna Bilińska (pronounced: also known as Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz; 8 December 1854 – 8 April 1893) was a Polish painter, known for her portraits.
- Self-portrait
Portrait of artist’s sister
The village girl
Gabrielle Cot
Portrait of a Woman
Portrait of a Woman
Portrait of a young woman leaning on a meridienne
A Painter
Self-portrait of Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
The Painter Agnes Paulsen, the Artist's Sister, at her Easel
Portrait of Jenny Kamerlingh Onnes
Mathilde Costermans
