“Study of an Old Man.” You see before you a large, black-and-white reproduction of the painting “Study of an Old Man.” A sheet of paper with the inscription “SILVER MEDAL” affixed to the top left corner of the painting. Marian Stroński painted this painting during his final year of studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. He received a medal, which is displayed in a display case nearby, and a cash prize. “Study of an Old Man” was considered lost for years. The artist’s family only has a photograph of it. A few years ago, the painting was discovered in a private collection. The owners purchased it in an antique shop as the work of the Nowy Sącz painter Bolesław Barbacki. Where did this mistake come from? The District Museum in Nowy Sącz holds a painting by Bolesław Barbacki depicting the same old man, depicted in the same position but from a different angle. It turned out that Bolesław Barbacki and Marian Stroński were studying at the same time at the Academy of Fine Arts in the studio of Teodor Axentowicz. Marian Stroński’s painting, “Studium Starca” (Study of an Old Man), had, under unknown circumstances, come into Bolesław Barbacki’s possession and was being offered for sale, along with other items belonging to Barbacki, as part of his legacy.
