San Francisco Acatepec

Katerina Wilczynski was born in Poznan (Posen) in Poland in 1894 and educated in Berlin. From 1916 she studied at the Leipzing Academy for Graphic Arts, the Berlin School of Arts and Crafts and the Academy of Fine Arts, Berlin. In 1930, Wilczynski travelled to Rome on a Prix de Rome scholarship, where her work included drawings of churches and monuments in the city. She remained until 1938 when the new racial laws in Italy stripped many Jews of their rights, and in 1939, she moved to England, settling in London. During the Second World War, she drew London buildings and landmarks damaged by bombing and contributed pieces to the war artists exhibitions held in the National Gallery. In this work, some of the elements of the facade of San Francisco Acatepec have been rearranged by the artist; the 18th century 'poblano' style church, decorated with polychrome tiles is near Puebla in Mexico.