"Bohdanowicz was undoubtedly an original type: dressed in just any multicoloured cloth, she was nevertheless able to give her 'mise' a unique character. Underneath this was a soul utterly devoted to art, and the artist herself was prepared to sacrifice everything to live in the aura of art.

And even if nature was not very generous towards her in terms of physical appearance, she certainly did not treat it lightly, endowing the artist with a heart and mind extremely sensitive and open to art. (...) The artist, fragile and frail in appearance, combined an angelic and demonic nature. She was a person of great temperament"

Little is known about the life of this temperamental sculptor. In the few publications in which Jadwiga Bohdanowicz is mentioned, biographical information from her youth is lacking. It is known that she was born in 1887 in Warsaw.

She chose Paris for her artistic education and there, between 1913 and 1916, she honed her sculptural talent under the god Émile-Antoine Bourdelle. The French educator and sculptor was extremely appreciative of the young artist's talent, which he expressed when he wrote the introduction to the catalogue of her monographic exhibition at the Balzac Gallery in New York (1930). He wrote at the time: "Ms Bohdanowicz studied for many years under me with other young sculptors and I particularly value her talent.

After completing her education at Bourdelle's workshop, Bohdanowicz left France for several years. She probably returned to Warsaw, from where she corresponded with Bourdelle in 1919 and planned her return to Paris (correspondence preserved in the archives of the Bourdelle Museum). When she realised her intention in the early 1920s, she began to collaborate with her master in the creation of many of his sculptures. She also became a member of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts.

The following years brought her numerous successes. In 1924, she received a scholarship from the French government, which allowed her to remain in the country to showcase her talent, earning her recognition from French and foreign critics. She also received first prizes at the Academy competitions in Krakow and Warsaw. Bohdanowicz became part of the Polish artistic bohemia, which at the time included artists such as Henryk Gottlieb, Eugeniusz Zak, August Zamoyski, Roman Kramstyk, Leopold Zborowski and Witold Hulewicz. Their meeting place was the café "La Rotonde" in Montparnasse.

She exhibited her works at numerous salons: Paris Salon d'Automne between 1926 and 1929, Salon de Tuilleries (Paris, 1926-1938-1929), Salon des Independants (Paris, 1927), Exposition Internationale (Geneva), Balzac Galleries (New York, 1930), or Galerie de la Jeune Europe (Paris, 1933).

Her studio, which was located at 18 Impasse du Maine in Paris, was also open to those who wanted to admire her work. As we read in The New York Herald (20.08.1922), the artist had "several interesting examples of her recently completed sculptures there. Her style has been influenced by her studies of Gothic cathedrals, she is an interesting modification of her teacher's manner, and her bold composition is refined and humanised. The instinctive feminine interest in personality is reflected in the almost portrait-like details of her heads."

The artist also collaborated with the Sèvres manufactory, which made her sculptural designs for commercial use. However, this collaboration did not bring her popularity or financial stability.

In 1934, Bohdanowicz left Paris to live in Rome. She joined the circle of Polish artists in the Eternal City, which oscillated around the famous Caffé Greco.

She joined, founded in Rome in 1936, the Association of Artists "Capitol", which included artists such as Antoni Madeyski, Józef Gosławski, Wiktor Mazurowski, Krystyna Dąbrowska and Michał Paszyn. During the group's first joint exhibition, which took place on 9 May 1936 at the Palazzo Doria in Rome, it presented two bronze sculptures: "an interesting female bust and a bas-relief with the image of the Marshal" (Józef Piłsudski - A.K.).

Bodanowicz also exhibited her work at the Biennale di Venezia in 1934 and in 1936.

The artist mainly executed portraits and busts, which were characterised by delicate modelling, clear and lucid structure and rhythm, where 'construction and expression merge into an inseparable whole'. The sculptor drew inspiration from her study of the Italian Renaissance and medieval art, as well as the influence she gained from her collaboration with Bourdell. Prampolini wrote of her talent as follows:

"Bohdanovich moulded clay, wax and marble in a post-impressionist style that required strength and passion; but under her industrious thumb, worn down to the bone, one could sense something intangible, mysterious emanating from the matter..."

The artist's works include Bourdelle's Portrait (1912), Ali Khan's Portrait (1925), in which "one is struck by the subordination to discipline, the elimination of detail accompanied by a harmonious transition between plans", Javanese (1926), purchased by the French government in 1928. Portrait of Chopin (1938/39), about which Koltoński wrote as follows: 'the uncanny charm of her Chopin - between the beautifully extended, perhaps even slightly heavy hand and the deeply thoughtful face, some kind of supernatural fluids seem to flow'.

The bust of Nicolaus Copernicus for the University of Bologna, executed in white marble, "probably the best of her works to date", or the bust of Miss M. "a very interesting development (...). The symmetry of the angular planes of the figure blends into the overall composition, which still retains its internal rhythm".

Unfortunately, as Małgorzata Dąbrowska writes, despite recognition from eminent artists who supported and appreciated her, despite favourable criticism of her artistic activity, many world exhibitions, the sale of some of her sculptures on the world market ("The New York Herald" of 20.08.1922 reports that the Polish sculptor sold one of her bronze sculptures to Mrs Alice Roullier of Chicago, while other works of hers are being seriously considered by the Albright Gallery of Buffalo), despite her collaboration with the Sèvres manufactory and the presence of her sculptures in museums, Bohdanova never succeeded in building a career that would ensure her recognition and material stability.

The outbreak of the Second World War plunged her into poverty. She died in the winter of 1943, leaving behind little more than a few personal possessions. She was buried in the common Tomb of Polish Artists at Campo Verano, designed by Antonio Madeyski. This tomb, which could "accommodate several coffins, is at the same time the last refuge for deserving but poverty-stricken Polish artists whose remains would be in danger of being buried in a common temporary pit". In 2014, the artists resting there lived to see their commemorative plaques (thanks to the initiative of Ewa Prządka, the tombstone was restored in 2014 by the team of Professor Janusz Smaz from the Faculty of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw).

The artist's sculptures can be found in various parts of the world: in the United States, Italy and France. Part of the collection is in the Xawery Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture in Warsaw's Królikarnia.