Xavier PILLATI (1843-1902), Alms, 1880

woodcut, paper, 16 x 12 cm (clear passe-partout); signed on matrix l. d.: Xawery Pillati

Ksawery Franciszek Pillati (born 1843 in Warsaw, died January 31, 1902 in Zakopane) - Polish painter, illustrator and book illustrator. Married (1869) to Maria Bagniewska, with whom he had two sons, Stefan (sculptor) and Gustav (painter, illustrator and teacher). He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and then studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich under Herman Anschütz and Alexander Wagner (he enrolled in the Antikenklasse at the end of October 1868: matriculating on November 18, 1868)[3]. He belonged to the local artists' association ("Münchner Kunstverein"). Upon his return to Warsaw, as a contributor to local magazines, he was one of the most prolific and respected illustrators, along with Michal Elwiro Andriolli.He was a painter of genre scenes, portraits and religious paintings. However, he is best known as an illustrator of books and magazines. He worked for "Tygodnik Ilustrowany" and the weekly "Kłosy", among others. Among the more important editions, he illustrated the Universal Encyclopedia, published in 1898-1903 by Samuel Orgelbrand, and Wizerunki książąt i królów polskich (1888) with text by Jozef Ignacy Kraszewski.