Portrait of Stanisław Witkiewicz with Wojciech Roj 1902

Leon Wyczółkowski painted this portrait of Stanisław Witkiewicz with Wojciech Roj in 1902. The painting speaks to the cultural and political context of Poland at the turn of the century. The figures represent two distinct social classes. Witkiewicz, on the left, was an intellectual, artist, and art critic, while Roj was a local guide from the Tatra mountains. Poland did not exist as an independent nation at the time, having been partitioned between Russia, Prussia, and Austria, so the role of art and literature in maintaining Polish national identity was very important. The figures, who both came from Zakopane, a mountain resort in the south of Poland, show an attempt to create and maintain a distinct Polish identity through the creation of a visual culture tied to the Zakopane region. To understand the role of the artist, and of art, in early twentieth century Poland, one can look to archives of cultural institutions of the time and to the writings of artists and critics. Through this we may see the complex role that cultural figures play in maintaining national identity.