The Lviv press of the 19th century reported with meticulous detail on various events in the lives of important figures associated with the community. The "Lvivska Gazeta" published such information in a special section entitled Lviv News. For example, in 1842, issue no. 108 carried side by side reports about painter Aloysius Rejchan's return from an artistic trip to Vienna and Dresden, and about the famous violinist Karol Lipiński's planned stay in the city in the winter of that year. For both men, the author of this portrait and his model, were considered the most prominent representatives of Lviv's artistic life in the second quarter of the century. They stood at the peak of their careers at the time, not only surrounded by widespread recognition in their home city, but also gaining considerable success on the international arena.

Alojzy Rejchan (1807-1860) was already the representative of the third generation of painters in his family. After his first professional lessons in Lemberg (Lemberg), he went to the imperial capital to study art, eventually graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna as a painter of history, portraits and miniatures. However, he decided to continue his artistic education with stays in the main art centres of Europe at the time. Between 1832 and 1835, he stayed in Italy (mainly Rome and Naples), where his portraits brought him some recognition. After a short stay in Lviv, he in turn left for Paris for less than a year. He was one of the first artists from Galicia to have his works exhibited at the famous Salon: in 1838, two portraits in watercolour (out of three submitted by the painter for the jury's assessment) were accepted for exhibition: of Baroness Lepic with her son, and of Mrs Orillat. His recognition abroad did not escape Lviv's art lovers, as the press regularly (albeit laconically) reported on his, as they wrote, "merits". When he finally returned to the city and settled here permanently, he immediately became a popular portraitist in Lviv. He was particularly appreciated for his watercolour miniatures, which were subtle in colour, but he also created oil paintings. He left a rich oeuvre, primarily comprising portraits, including images of many important figures of Galician political and cultural life.

Among them is an oil painting depicting Karol Lipiński (1790-1861), which formerly belonged to the collection of the Lubomirski Museum, now at the Lviv National Art Gallery. The musician was at the height of his fame in the 1830s. He began his career as concertmaster of the Lviv city theatre orchestra, and devoted himself to composing at the time. But his real breakthrough came with a trip to Italy in 1817, where he gave violin concerts. He quickly established himself as one of Europe's greatest virtuosos. He gave concerts together with the then already legendary Niccolò Paganini, was acquainted with Frédéric Chopin and was friends with Robert Schumann. He toured Germany, Russia, France and England. In 1839, he was given the prestigious position of concertmaster of the band and director of church music at the court of the Saxon king in Dresden. The final confirmation of his position was the receipt of one of the eight violins that Paganini bequeathed to what he considered Europe's most outstanding musicians. Undoubtedly, Lipinski was regarded in Lviv circles as a great violinist and the fame of the city.

An oil portrait by Rejchan depicts him as a man in his prime, confident in his skills and aware of his position. He is portrayed in half pose, sitting in an armchair against a background (in accordance with old portrait conventions) of a curtain and a window through which only a patch of blue sky is visible. Lipiński is dressed in a black frock-coat, white shirt and cream-coloured satin waistcoat. On the index finger of his right hand he is wearing a diamond ring - a status symbol. The painting is not dated by the artist. Specialists from the Lviv National Art Gallery have determined the time of its creation to be the second half of the 1930s, a time when the musician toured the most, and the painter, after completing his studies, developed his technique during his foreign travels. It seems, however, that the portrait may have been painted somewhat later, at the beginning of the following decade. This may be indicated by the violinist's hairstyle: longer, ear-length hair, which can be seen on his portraits from this period (e.g. on a lithograph by Hanns Hanfstaengel from 1841, one copy of which can be found in the National Library in Warsaw), while in portraits from the late 1830s he was shown with significantly shorter and more wavy hair.

Alojzy Rejchan actually portrayed Lipiński several times. There is a well-known watercolour, also belonging to the collection of the Lviv National Art Gallery, which must have been painted earlier, judging by the age of the model. And in 1856 another oil portrait of a musician by Rejchan was presented at an exhibition in Lviv, winning critical acclaim. One reviewer wrote of it at the time: "We see before us a man who is calm, but only when seated by the painter, and in the whole face is painted a lively temperament, the eye is illuminated by the fire of the creator, neither feverish enthusiasm nor exuberant fancy, he is thoughtful but pensive; he seems as if he were listening and counting. "This version now belongs to the National Museum in Krakow. The frequency with which Lipiński posed for Rejchan is not incidental, as the two shared a close family relationship. The colligations between the families dated back to the early 19th century, for it was then that Alojzy's father, Józef Rejchan, portrayed the young Karol Lipiński as a 'Wunderkind', with a harp in his hand, foretelling later musical fame. Alojzy's mother, Maria Garbaczynska, was the sister of Regina, the virtuoso's wife. Eventually Karol Lipiński became the painter's father-in-law, marrying his daughter (and his cousin) Ludwika. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to establish the date of his marriage, and little is known about this marriage. In the family memoirs, written down by Stanisław Reychan, the painter's grandson, only the account survives that she died early, leaving her husband with three small children. Around the mid-1950s the painter married his second wife, Kornelia Anna, née Wandruszka. In the absence of precise dating of the portrait in question and details of the painter's biography, it is impossible to say definitively whether the father-in-law or just the artist's uncle posed for the painting. Certainly, however, the two artists must have known each other well and both, each in his own field, were regarded in Lviv as the greatest masters of their epoch.