Językowy autoportret malarza orientalisty w listach prywatnych Stanisława Chlebowskiego

The considerations set out in the article are the reason for the studies on idiolects of extraordinary creative persons of the past ages. The basis for the study is 487 private letters of a Sultan’s painter – Stanisław Chlebowski (1835–1884), sent to the family settled in Krakow, and J.I. Kraszewski, living in Drezno. The aim of the discussion is the analysis of a linguistic layer of correspondence, including especially the lexical part and phraseology, which allow for a reconstruction of the artist-painter self-portrait – his self-assessment of own works, attitude towards art, creative work, signs of everyday life and social contacts of the sender. The examined means of linguistic discourse externalize the internal states of the writer, his emotional and evaluative attitude towards the presented content, especially himself.