
Portrait of Mrs Getter – two-sided painting
Olga Boznańska·1900
Historical Context
Olga Boznańska's double-sided painting of Mrs. Getter — one face presenting the portrait, the reverse presumably bearing a sketch or study — reflects the working practices of an artist who used both sides of a support to maximize materials and capture studies efficiently. Boznańska painted Mrs. Getter in 1900, during the period of her mature Paris career when her portraiture was attracting serious international attention. The work is now held in Kraków's National Museum as part of its substantial Boznańska holdings. The intimate scale and atmospheric handling typical of her best portraits are present here, the sitter rendered with the psychological attentiveness that distinguishes Boznańska from academic portraitists of the same generation.
Technical Analysis
The portrait side employs Boznańska's signature atmospheric handling — broken, feathery strokes building a shimmering field of color around the sitter. The tonal palette moves between warm flesh and cool grey-silver clothing or background, achieving psychological depth through tonal modulation rather than sharp contour.




 - BF286 - Barnes Foundation.jpg&width=600)
 - BF1179 - Barnes Foundation.jpg&width=600)
 - BF577 - Barnes Foundation.jpg&width=600)
 - BF534 - Barnes Foundation.jpg&width=600)