Superb vintage equestrian horse painting, oil on wood panel by Polish artist Andre Bortowski. Depicting a portrait study of a thoroughbred in a stable. Painted in the style of old, realistic and natural in its composition. Beautiful life-like rendering with exquisite detail, the pale white color of the horse is contrasted with the dark interior of the stable background. Signed lower left. Unframed. In overall good vintage condition. There is some nicking to the upper left corner and general wear around the edges, hidden once framed. Measures 17 1/2" x 16".
ANDRZEJ BORTOWSKI (born 1938, Kościerzyn), a graphic artist and painter. During World War II, he was imprisoned and sent to Siberia, from where he went to Africa. He returned to Poland after the war and graduated from the Nicolaus Copernicus University, Faculty of Fine Arts (1968). In the beginning, he particularly liked easel painting, which he developed under the guidance of the famous Polish artist Tymon Niesiołowski (1882-1965). Later, he perfected his artistic workshop, in particular woodcut prints, under the supervision of Jerzy Hoppen, Wojciech Jakubowski and Ryszard Krzywka. Under the influence of the three, he began to move away from painting (without giving it up definitively) to graphics, which eventually gave him the greatest fame. To this day, Andrzej Bortowski created over 250 ex-librises / ex-libris (bookplates, woodcut and copper engravings), each of which is a miniature work of art. It is thanks to his work that the Polish art of ex-librises is so strong in the international arena. He presented the ex-libris on the First and Second International Biennial Exhibition of Modern Exlibris in Malbork and the 3rd Graphic Biennial in Krakow (1955), Exhibition of Military Ex-libris (1965) and the 12th International Exlibris Biennial in Como (1968). At the XXV International Biennial of Modern Exlibris in Malbork (2015) he received an Honorary Medal, which is a distinction for the authors of the best ex-librises, as well as two other awards - the Polish Bibliophiles Association Award in Warsaw and the Commemorative Medal of them. Andrzej Bortowski lives and creates in Toruń, Poland.