Red Hair in Art: Teodor Axentowicz

Teodor Axentowicz (13 May 1859 – 26 August 1938) was a Polish-Armenian painter and university professor. He was also the rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków.

Axentowicz was born in Brassó, Hungary (now Brașov, Romania), to a family of Polish-Armenian ancestry. Between 1879 and 1882 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. From there he moved to Paris, where he started a long cooperation with various journals and started his career as a copyist. He also made numerous travels to London and Rome. In 1893, while he was in London, he married Iza Henrietta Gielgud, daughter of politician Adam Giełgud as well as aunt of Val and John Gielgud of the theatrical dynasty.

In 1895 Axentowicz moved to Kraków, where he became a professor at the local Academy of Fine Arts. He was also active in the local society and cooperated with various societies devoted to propagation of arts and crafts. In 1897 he founded an artistic conservatory for women and soon afterwards became one of the founders of the Sztuka, the Society of Polish Artists.

Throughout his life he had numerous exhibitions, both in Poland and abroad and was awarded many gold medals at both national and international exhibitions.

The red-haired model we see in many of his paintings is Ata Zakrzewska.

Poster for the 2nd exhibition of the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka" (Ata Zakrzewska)

"Secession" postcard

Wiosna (The Spring, Ata Zakrzewska)

Jesien (Autumn)

Przed lustrem (In front of a Mirror)

Portrait of a Young Woman in Krakòw Costume

Young Lady with Pearls

Rudowlosa (The Redhead)

Portrait of a Lady with a Fur

Rudowłosa 1 (The Redhead, Ata Zakrzewska)

Rudowlosa 2  (The Redhead, Ata Zakrzewska)

Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt in the third act of Tosca

Portrait of Ata Zakrzewska With A Fan