(Wieliczka 1852–1916 Krakow)
Portrait of a society lady, half-length (probably soprano Jozefine Reszke), signed, dated Tad. Ajdukiewicz (1)879,
oil on canvas, 132 x 87.5 cm, framed, (Rei)

Provenance:
continuous family ownership since 1892, Austria.

We are grateful to Izabela Wiercinska (curator at the National Museum, Warsaw) for her scientific assistance.

Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz was known in Warsaw as the portraitist of actresses and female singers. The lady represented here may be the singer Jozefine Reszke (1855–1891), who was a well-known soprano singer in Warsaw and who also had great success internationally. The singer performed in almost all notable opera houses, mostly in main roles. Highlights of her career included performances at the Parisian opera and as the prima donna in the Madrid Teatro Réal. She donated most of her earnings for her performances in Poland to philanthropic projects and was very popular amongst the people. The Krakow society, therefore, commissioned a portrait by Ajdukiewicz in her honour, which was then exhibited in the National Museum before her future husband, the manufacturer and banker Leopold Julian Kronenberg, exchanged another painting from his collection for it, keeping this portrait for his private collection in Warsaw.