Still life with a green bottle

This early work, "Still life with a green bottle," was painted by Zygmunt Waliszewski in 1916, when he was just 19 years old. At this point, Waliszewski was still in Tbilisi, where he had moved with his family in 1907 and was already involved in the artistic avant-garde. He had his first exhibition in 1908, showing a precocious talent. While this still life doesn't yet show the full influence of the Russian Futurists he would soon encounter in Moscow, or the Old Masters he would copy at the Louvre, it offers a glimpse into his formative years. Waliszewski would later become known for his portraits, figural compositions, and landscapes, often characterized by his involvement with the Kapist movement and his fascination with artists like Cézanne and van Gogh. This painting, made before his studies in Kraków and Paris, provides a foundation for understanding the development of a painter who would quickly embrace avant-garde ideas and a diverse range of artistic influences.