The first known dated graphic works by Marian Stroński date from the 1920s. They are recorded views from the artist’s travels to the Balkan Peninsula, Hel, France, and Italy. Examples of these prints include “Raguza,” “Sailing Boats by the Sea,” and “Clouds,” presented in the exhibition in the previous room. The first prints depicting Przemyśl date from the 1930s. These are the most famous, as they were reproduced by Stroński many times. Stroński used the same matrices for years. When they wore out, he used them as painting palettes. However, if he deemed them successful, he copied motifs from the prints onto a new plate. These later prints, made in the 1960s, were often colored. The artist often arranged the prints with views of Przemyśl and Krasiczyn into thematic portfolios. However, they were not prepared for printing, for repeated reproduction and sale, but rather as gifts. The sets were different, each time individually selected by the artist. He packed his prints in a cardboard portfolio, which he decorated on the front with a small graphic featuring a Przemyśl motif (if the prints concerned Przemyśl) or a Krasiczyn motif (if the subject of the work was Krasiczyn Castle). He usually dated the portfolios and sometimes wrote a dedication on them. Stroński printed one of these title prints, depicting the old Przemyśl town hall and the city’s coat of arms, in red ink. Next to them, hang prints from various sets of so-called “Przemyśl portfolios.” The display case contains a cardboard folder the artist used to store “to-dos” and photographs from which Stroński made stencils and prints. Opposite the Przemyśl prints are several examples of works with Krasiczyn motifs and color prints.
