Włastimil Hofmann

Polish painter Włastimil Hofman was born to a Czech father and a Polish mother in Praha, then Czechoslovakia. His Czech and birth name was Vlastimil Hofmann. As early as 1889, however, the family moved to Kraków. He studied in Kraków and Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1907 he was the first Pole to join the Vienna Secession. Between the two World Wars he lived in Praha, Paris and Kraków. As he was married to a Jewish woman, he had to flee from the Nazi invasion in 1939, through the Soviet Union and Turkey to Palestine. After World War II Hofman returned to Poland. He painted mainly religious and mythological motives, and became well-known for his paintings of Madonna, children and angels in rural locations, and portraits. He was representative of the young-Polish symbolism, influenced by painter Jacek Malczewski (1854-1929), and also wrote essays and poems.

Hofman remained uninfluenced by the styles of 20th century modernism. He submitted oil paintings on canvas showing images of players from the “Wisła Kraków” soccer team. Two footballers shows, amongst others, player Jan Reyman (1902-84) and is exhibited in the conference room of the club. Team Wisła was painted after Hofman promised to portray the entire winning team on canvas in life size if they were to win the Polish Cup in 1926, which they did. In 1927 he created the painting with dimensions 210 x 488 cm. The team is shown standing under the wings of the Goddess of Victory, who is holding the Polish Cup in her hand. After World War II, under unclear circumstances, it was given to the Museum of Sport and Tourism in Warszawa but could not be exhibited there because of its size.