Updated November 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 43 works by Józef Mehoffer in our catalogue
In short
To the gallery's eye, Józef Mehoffer's most famous painting is Wife’s portrait study, sketch for “Strange garden” (1902), whose original hangs in the National Museum in Warsaw, Warsaw. Marshal Milkowski (1885) and Iza Axentowicz (1907) complete the trio every eye recognises. Of the 43 works by Józef Mehoffer in our catalog, the gallery presents the 43 most famous below, each original with its year, its museum and what makes it unique.
A woman’s face emerges from a deep, nocturnal gloom. The light catches the curve of her cheek and the bridge of her nose, pulling her features forward from a background of ink and midnight blue. She wears a large, dark hat, a heavy shape defined by swirling, green feather-like strokes that seem to pulse with a life of their own. This is a moment of quietude, a sketch captured in…
In Marshal Milkowski, Józef Mehoffer presents a dignified and somber oil portrait of an elderly man. The subject sits slightly off-center in a medium shot, draped in formal military attire that carries the weight of duty. A ceremonial saber rests near the figure, its metallic surface catching the light against the heavy fabric of a dark coat. The composition is anchored by this seated presence, a study of aging and…
The gaze of Iza Axentowiczowa née Giełgud meets the viewer through this intimate portrait, a work that captures a specific moment of poise and presence. Painted in 1907, the image presents a woman of quiet dignity, her form rendered with a sensitivity that suggests a deep familiarity between the subject and the artist. This portrait of Iza Axentowicz remains a significant piece of the artist's legacy, capturing her essence through…
In Portrait of Wanda Strażyńska, Józef Mehoffer employs a three-quarter length composition to establish the subject's presence. The figure is centered against a muted, atmospheric background, creating a sense of poise and social standing. This arrangement, paired with an eye-level perspective, fosters an intimate connection between the sitter and the viewer, emphasizing a mood of quiet introspection. Depth is achieved through the careful layering of the subject in the foreground…
In the Portrait of sculptor Konstanty Laszczka., Józef Mehoffer employs a vertically oriented composition to anchor a single male figure as the central subject. Seated in a moment of quiet reflection, the man is positioned slightly off-center within a dimly lit, rustic interior. The arrangement utilizes strong verticality, established by a wooden ladder, a pillar, and hanging fabric, which contrasts with the organic, soft contours of the subject's seated posture…
The oil painting titled Self-Portrait (1898) captures the likeness of its creator, Józef Mehoffer. This work emerged from the hands of an artist born in Ropczyce, Poland, in 1869. It remains a singular record of the man behind the brush, a moment frozen in the late nineteenth century.
This work is the Self-Portrait by Józef Mehoffer, a significant piece created about 1897. In this intimate oil study, the artist turns his gaze upon himself, offering a direct encounter between the subject and the viewer. It is a quiet moment of introspection captured on a modest scale, focusing on the psychological presence of the man behind the brush.
Sketch to the Painting "Conversation" is a work by Józef Mehoffer, created about 1895. The artist was a Polish painter and decorative artist who became a central figure of the Young Poland movement. His practice spanned from easel painting to the design of textiles, furniture, and monumental stained glass.
The gaze of the artist meets us directly in this Self-portrait by Józef Mehoffer. Within this intimate portrait, the subject stares back from a moment frozen in time, captured through the deliberate application of oil on canvas. The work emerges from the creative spirit of Mehoffer, who arrived in the world in Ropczyce, Poland, in 1869. He presents himself not merely as a figure, but as a creator caught in…
A quiet moment in a pastoral landscape unfolds in Village girl, a portrait painting by Józef Mehoffer. The scene captures a young girl as she moves through a meadow, her presence felt amidst the soft textures of the natural world. This work, created about 1894, finds its subject in a simple, rustic setting that speaks to the essence of rural life.
Strange garden1903 · National Museum in Warsaw
12
Portrait of Wife1904 · National Museum in Kraków
13
Paon (Sketches by the Artists of the Young Poland from the Café "Paon" of Ferdynand Turliński)1899 · National Museum in Kraków
14
Three angels1901 · National Museum in Warsaw
15
Head of a girl against gold background1901 · National Museum in Warsaw
16
Portrait of Iza Axentowicz (nee Giełgud)1907 · National Museum in Warsaw
17
Portrait of artist's wife, Jadwiga (nee Janakowska)1907 · National Museum in Warsaw
18
Portrait of Maksymilian Ehrenpreis1911 · National Museum in Warsaw
19
Portrait of artist's wife with Pegasus.1913 · Museum of Art in Łódź
20
Vita somnium breve1906 · National Museum in Kraków
21
Planty Park in Kraków1898 · National Museum in Warsaw
22
Our Lady Victorious1898 · Fribourg Cathedral
23
Head of a Model1896
24
La Gorge d'Areuse1897 · Muzeum Narodowe w Pozaniu
25
The Muse1897 · Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie
26
The Mantelpiece1895 · Muzeum Narodowe w Pozaniu
27
Main Market Square in Krakow1903 · National Museum in Kraków
28
Landscape, sketch for “Strange garden”1902 · National Museum in Warsaw
29
Eucharist1901 · Fribourg Cathedral
30
The Farewell1900
31
Three Kings1905 · Fribourg Cathedral
32
The Florentine Portrait of the Artist's Wife1900
33
Martyrs1905 · Fribourg Cathedral
34
May sun1911 · National Museum in Warsaw
35
Zinnias1911 · National Museum in Warsaw
36
St. George, Michael, Anne and Mary Magdalene1910 · Fribourg Cathedral
37
Saints bishops and deacons (St. Stephen, Lawrence, Martin of Tours and Claudio of Besançon),1917 · Fribourg Cathedral
38
Portrait of Father J. Joachim Berthier1918
39
Portrait of Juliusz KossakNational Museum in Warsaw
40
Allegory of Prosperity
41
Mosaic in the Armenian Cathedral in Lviv
42
Wife's portrait1909 · Silesian Museum in Katowice
43
Red Umbrella1917 · National Museum in Kraków
The four subjects that come back most often in these originals, each with its finest example.
The 7 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Józef Mehoffer | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 National Museum in Warsaw |
Warsaw | 17 | Wife’s portrait study, sketch for “Strange garden”, Iza Axentowicz, Portrait of Wanda Strażyńska |
 National Museum in Kraków |
Krakow | 8 | Self-Portrait (1898), Self-Portrait, Sketch to the Painting "Conversation" |
 Fribourg Cathedral |
Fribourg | 6 | Our Lady Victorious, Eucharist, Three Kings |
 Muzeum Narodowe w Pozaniu |
Poznań | 2 | La Gorge d'Areuse, The Mantelpiece |
 Museum of Art in Łódź |
Łódź | 1 | Portrait of artist's wife with Pegasus. |
 Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie |
Warsaw | 1 | The Muse |
 Silesian Museum in Katowice |
Katowice | 1 | Wife's portrait |
Pick a decade to see the original that defines it.
In Marshal Milkowski, Józef Mehoffer presents a dignified and somber oil portrait of an elderly man. The subject sits slightly off-center in a medium shot, draped in formal military attire that carries the weight of duty. A ceremonial saber rests near the figure, its metallic surface catching the light against the heavy fabric of a dark coat. The composition is anchored by this seated presence, a study of aging and…
In Portrait of Wanda Strażyńska, Józef Mehoffer employs a three-quarter length composition to establish the subject's presence. The figure is centered against a muted, atmospheric background, creating a sense of poise and social standing. This arrangement, paired with an eye-level perspective, fosters an intimate connection between the sitter and the viewer, emphasizing a mood of quiet introspection. Depth is achieved through the careful layering of the subject in the foreground…
A woman’s face emerges from a deep, nocturnal gloom. The light catches the curve of her cheek and the bridge of her nose, pulling her features forward from a background of ink and midnight blue. She wears a large, dark hat, a heavy shape defined by swirling, green feather-like strokes that seem to pulse with a life of their own. This is a moment of quietude, a sketch captured in…
Portrait of Maksymilian Ehrenpreis, painted by Józef Mehoffer in 1911, presents a formal study of a prominent figure. The work is an oil on canvas that captures the subject in a moment of quiet gravity. It is currently held in the National Museum in Warsaw, Poland.
Wife’s portrait study, sketch for “Strange garden” (1902), National Museum in Warsaw, Warsaw. Marshal Milkowski (1885) and Iza Axentowicz (1907) come next.
33 years old: Wife’s portrait study, sketch for “Strange garden” dates from 1902, and Józef Mehoffer was born in 1869.
Wife’s portrait study, sketch for “Strange garden”, Marshal Milkowski, Iza Axentowicz, Portrait of Wanda Strażyńska, Portrait of sculptor Konstanty Laszczka., Self-Portrait (1898), Self-Portrait, Sketch to the Painting "Conversation", Self-portrait and Village girl. The ranking above gives each one's year and museum.
Our catalog holds 43 works by Józef Mehoffer, dated from 1885 to 1918.
Mostly in National Museum in Warsaw (Warsaw), National Museum in Kraków (Krakow) and Fribourg Cathedral (Fribourg). The museum table above lists them all.
In 1900s: 17 of the 43 works on this page were made then, Wife’s portrait study, sketch for “Strange garden” among them.
On this page, the earliest is Marshal Milkowski (1885) and the latest Portrait of Father J. Joachim Berthier (1918).
Woman (8), Man (7) and Portrait (5), across the 43 works on this page.
Oil On Canvas, for 13 of the 43 works on this page.
Art nouveau, judging by the originals on this page.
Wife’s portrait study, sketch for “Strange garden”, Iza Axentowicz and Portrait of Wanda Strażyńska: the National Museum in Warsaw, Warsaw holds 17 of the works on this page.
Józef Mehoffer arrived in the world in Ropczyce, Poland, in 1869, though his path to the easel was not immediate. Before he embraced the brush, he pursued legal studies, a direction that only shifted after a gift of paints revealed a different vocation. He sought formal training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków under Władysław Łuszczkiewicz, later expanding his horizons through studies in Vienna and Paris at the Académie Colarossi. This period of wandering through Europe’s great art centers allowed him to absorb the diverse currents of his era.
His work became a bridge between the academic traditions of his teachers, such as Jan Matejko, and the emerging avant-garde. He moved with ease between easel painting and the monumental demands of decorative arts. Whether working on portraits, landscapes, or intricate book illustrations, Mehoffer sought a fusion of form and color. His style grew to include elements of Post- Impressionism and the Secession movement, often utilizing bold palettes and fluid lines that mirrored the organic spirit of Art Nouveau.
While his presence was felt throughout Poland, Mehoffer achieved significant recognition through his work in Switzerland. Between 1895 and 1936, he dedicated decades to a cycle of thirteen stained-glass compositions for the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Fribourg. This undertaking required immense technical precision, as he treated the lead came not merely as a structural necessity but as an autonomous graphic line. He selected glass of varying thicknesses and textures, using silver stain and vitreous black to manipulate how light moved through the windows.
The success of these windows brought him international attention. At the 1900 Paris World's Fair, his window titled The Martyrs earned a gold medal. This period of his life saw him blending Polish folk motifs with the sophisticated aesthetics of European Art Nouveau. His ability to translate complex religious and symbolic themes into luminous glass remains a central part of his professional identity.
Mehoffer’s creative output was remarkably broad, refusing to be confined to a single medium. He was as much a designer of furniture, textiles, and posters as he was a painter of canvases. His hand could be found in the mosaics of the Armenian Cathedral in Lviv and the frescoes of Wawel Cathedral. In 1897, he helped found the society Sztuka, an organization that sought to assert the independence of Polish art from the influence of occupying powers.
In his later years, Mehoffer established a home and studio on Krupnicza Street in Kraków. This house, which he purchased in 1932, became a center for musical and literary gatherings, reflecting his role as a figure of the Polish intelligentsia. He lived through the profound shifts of the early twentieth century, continuing to work even during the hardships of the Second World War. When he passed away in Wadowice in 1946, he left behind a body of work that spanned the transition from nineteenth-century tradition to the modern decorative era.
