Who painted Portrait of a man?

Portrait of a man was painted by Karol Miller in 1870.

Where can I see Portrait of a man?

Portrait of a man is held by National Museum in Warsaw.

What movement is Portrait of a man?

Portrait of a man is associated with Realism.

Can I buy a print of Portrait of a man?

Museum-quality prints of Portrait of a man are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Portrait of a man

Karol Miller , 1870

Portrait of a man is an oil painting by the Realist artist Karol Miller. It dates from 1870 and is held in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw.

About this work

Overview

Portrait of a man is an oil on canvas painting by the Polish artist Karol Miller, dated 1870. Measuring 99 by 75.5 centimeters, the work depicts an unidentified seated male figure and belongs to the portraiture genre for which Miller eventually became known. The painting is currently held in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw.

Subject & Meaning

These accessories indicate a degree of middle-class prosperity and respectability, common conventions of masculine portraiture in the era.

The painting presents a three-quarter length portrait of a seated man turned slightly toward the viewer, his body facing left while his gaze meets the viewer directly. He has dark, wavy hair parted on the side, a full mustache with extended ends, and a small goatee. Dressed in a black suit coat, white collared shirt, and black bow tie, with light gray trousers visible, he wears a gold watch chain at his waist and a ring on the ring finger of his left hand, which rests on his thigh. These accessories indicate a degree of middle-class prosperity and respectability, common conventions of masculine portraiture in the era.

Context

Karol Miller lived from 1835 to 1920 and studied at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts between 1851 and 1857 under K. Kaniewski, R. Hadziewicz, and M. Zaleski. As a scholarship holder from the Enlightenment Commission, he continued his training at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, receiving the title of Klassny Chudoznik of the 2nd degree in 1873. While he initially painted historical scenes, views, and genre scenes, he later specialized in portraiture, the category to which this 1870 work belongs. He exhibited frequently at the TZSP in Warsaw, in the Warsaw salons of Aleksander Krywult and Józef Ungr, and at the TPSP in Krakow, alongside international exhibitions in Philadelphia in 1876, Paris in 1878, and Vienna in 1886.