Wladyslaw Skoczylas (1883 - 1934), Fight with the Dragon, 1919

woodcut on tissue paper, originally glued along the top edge onto bookbinding cardboard, paper slightly yellowed, 11 x 13 cm
The engraving was published in the Vilnius monthly "South" in 1923, and accompanied an extensive article on interwar woodcuts.

Wl. Skoczyłas began his artistic education in 1901 at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna. In 1904 he entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, where he studied painting under T. Axentowicz and L. Wyczółkowski. He then went to Paris to study at Emile Bourdelle's sculpture atelier. He also studied for a while at the Academy of Graphic Arts in Leipzig. From 1908, he taught at the Zakopane School of Wood Industry. He worked with the "Kilim" Weaving Association, and was also a member of the "Rhythm" Association of Polish Artists. He is best known for his woodcuts with themes drawn from the Podhale tradition. He actively popularized this oldest graphic technique not only through his own work, but also through scientific treatises: "Woodcut, its essence and history" and "Folk Woodcut in Poland". His individual exhibitions were organized by, among others, the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw, the Municipal Art Gallery in Lodz, the Arcta Art Salon in Poznan, the Salon of the Association of Polish Painters, the TPSP in Cracow and the Art Salon of Czesław Garlinski.