You are standing before the portrait of Leonard Tarnawski, a Przemyśl lawyer and participant in the January Uprising of 1863. A man widely known and respected for his extensive socio-political activities in the city on the San River. Tarnawski was, among other things, a co-founder of the Polish Gymnastic Society “Sokół” and the Society of Friends of Science in Przemyśl, of which he was president for many years. At his initiative, a stone was placed on Castle Hill to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of May 3rd, where May Day ceremonies are held to this day. Together with his wife, Wincenta Tarnawska, in 1904 he built a tenement house at 19 Grodzka Street, nicknamed the “Polish Embassy” due to the significant involvement of both spouses in national affairs. The portrait, painted by Marian Stroński, exudes calm and sobriety. Against a neutral brown background, an elderly man with a good-natured expression is depicted, seated in an armchair. He is dressed in a black suit, the details of which are unclear, as they are also irrelevant. The light illuminates the half of the man’s face, turned towards the viewer, from the semi-darkness. Towards the end of his life, Leonard Tarnawski lost his sight. The portrait was painted in 1924, when he still had sight. Two other bright accents are the subject’s hands. Depicting the model knee-high, slightly diagonally, is a common technique for Stroński. The hands had to be included in the composition. For the artist, they also conveyed character traits, a hallmark of the subject. Therefore, the face and hands are the brightest elements in Stroński’s early portraits.
