Elviro ANDRIOLLI (1836-1893), At the Fair from the Meir Ezofovich cycle, 1888

Woodcut, paper, 20 x 14 cm (in light passe - partout);
Signed: l. d. on woodcut plate "Andriolli" and by xylographer p. d. "E.Gorazdowski".

Michał Elwiro Andriolli - Polish cartoonist and illustrator - representative of Romanticism. He was a popular book illustrator who worked with Warsaw, Paris and London publishers. Among the most famous works of Polish and foreign literature illustrated by Andriolli are such as: "Stara baśń" by J.I. Kraszewski, "Lilla Weneda" by J. Slowacki, "Meir Ezofowicz" by E. Orzeszkowa, "Born Jan Dęboróg" by W. Syrokomla, "Memoirs of a Quaestor" by I. Chodzko, "Marya" by A. Malczewski and "The Last of the Mohicans" by J.F. Cooper, "Legend of the Ages" by W. Hugo or "Romeo and Juliet" by W. Shakespeare. The artist worked intensively on paintings for the works of Adam Mickiewicz, being the author, among others, of the most famous and so far most popular illustrations for "Pan Tadeusz".
Edward Gorazdowski (1843-1901) - Warsaw wood engraver, one of the most outstanding and prolific Polish xylographers. Gorazdowski's first works appeared in 1863 in "Tygodnik Ilustrowany" (Illustrated Weekly); Juliusz Kossak was the magazine's artistic director at the time. Initially he engraved only landscapes and city architecture, but over time he was entrusted with engraving drawings by Elwiro Andriolli, Aleksander Gierymski, Juliusz Kossak, Ksawery Pillati, Władysław Podkowiński, Feliks Sypniewski, Władysław Szerner, Stanisław Witkiewicz and many others. In 1873, having already made a serious artistic contribution, he moved on to "Kłosy". After the closure of the magazine in 1890, he returned to "Tygodnik Ilustrowany". Awarded many times in Poland and abroad, Gorazdowski was one of the best wood engravers of his time. In addition to magazines, he also illustrated books, including Eliza Orzeszkowa's Meir Ezofowicz, Jozef Kraszewski's The Old Tale, and Stanisław Witkiewicz's On the Pass.