In 1938, the 21st Venice Biennale took place. At the invitation of Mieczysław Treter, curator of the Polish Pavilion, Boznańska held a solo exhibition there, at which she presented 27 works. She sold five paintings, one of which – ‘Portrait of Konstancja Dygatowa’ from 1907 — was purchased for 6,000 French francs by Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy, who donated it to a Venetian museum that same year. Today, it is part of the collection of the Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna di Ca’ Pesaro in Venice.

The portrait depicts Konstancja Karpińska-Dygatowa, the second wife of Ludwik Dygat, mother of Antoni (architect) and Stanisław (diplomat), and grandmother of Stanisław (writer). The Dygat family lived in France for many years, where, in Paris, Konstancja ran a guesthouse for Poles, which was situated in the same building as Boznańska’s studio. This is how the two ladies came to know each other and became friends. Boznańska painted another portrait of her, which was probably destroyed in Warsaw during the Second World War.

Purchased for the City of Venice’s collection at the 21st Venice Biennale in 1938 by King Victor Emmanuel III.

Technical details: oil on canvas, 100 × 77 cm.