Starowieyski Wojtyla Poster - Original Vintage Polish Theater Art

Specifications
Artist / Designer: Franciszek Starowieyski (Polish, 1930–2009)
Playwright: Karol Wojtyła (Pope John Paul II, 1920–2005)
Production: Brat Naszego Boga (Our God's Brother), Jerzy Szaniawski Dramatic Theatre in Płock
Printer: WDA-offset, Warsaw (Official order code: Zam. 1359)
Edition Size: Limited historical edition of only 2,500 copies (Nakład 2500)
Type: Original Polish School of Posters Theater Graphic
Dimensions: B1 format, c. 67x97 cm (27x39 inches)
Condition: Vintage state, rich sepia and earth-tone ink contrast
 
Description (About the Artwork)
This original vintage theatrical print is a verified Starowieyski Wojtyla poster, commissioned to advertise a significant staging of the play Brat Naszego Boga (Our God's Brother), written by Karol Wojtyła prior to his ascension as Pope John Paul II. Staged at the Jerzy Szaniawski Dramatic Theatre in Płock and documented along the lower margin with the official state archival mark "WDA-offset. Zam. 1359. Nakład 2500", this lithographic print stems from a restricted run of only 2,500 copies. Designed by legendary master Franciszek Starowieyski, the composition exhibits his signature Baroque-Surrealist style. The artwork features a highly expressive, sepia-toned portrait juxtaposed with a spectral visage of Christ donning a crown of thorns, framed by raw calligraphic borders. This rare B1 format item represents an institutional-grade historical and design artifact.
 
About the Designer
Franciszek Starowieyski (1930–2009) was a towering figure in European graphic design and a key practitioner of the internationally acclaimed Polish Poster School. Graduating from the Academies of Fine Arts in Kraków and Warsaw, Starowieyski rejected clean, commercial western marketing in favor of highly individual, calligraphic, and expressionistic imagery drawing from 17th-century traditions. He became the first Polish artist to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 1985. His dramatic, unforgettable cultural graphics reside in premier global institutions, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.