Portrait of a Woman

Ciągliński painted this portrait in 1912, a year before his death. A woman in a blue dress and white shawl sits against a background of bold floral patterning in reds, pinks, and teals. Her face and hair are painted in quick, confident strokes, and the patterned textile behind her is rendered loosely enough that it flattens into near-abstraction. Ciągliński was an amateur pianist who painted portraits of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Anton Rubinstein, among others. This portrait shares the same directness — the subject is centered, close, and looking slightly past the viewer.