1928 woodcut print by Wladyslaw Skoczylas

Wladyslaw Skoczylas (1883-1934)
During the twenty interwar years, when Poland briefly existed as an independent nation, there was a great upsurge of interest in the country's cultural folk traditions as a result of renewed nationalistic pride. A great number of Polish artists found inspiration in the rich, age-old folk traditions of the Podhale mountain region of southern Poland - centered in the town named Zakopane. It was here in 1908 that Wladyslaw Skoczylas settled. Almost singlehandedly he reestablished the cultural tradition of the folk woodcut and, through this forgotten technique, also the folkart of Podhale. The subjects of these bold, energetic prints were the proud and fiercely independent mountain people attired in rich folk dress. Skoczylas engraved scenes of their unique customs, feats of daring, and legends of the fearless outlaw, Janosik. Through this technique, Skoczylas created a national style; one of vigor, strength and decorativeness, based on the best in Polish folk art tradition.