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DOI Artikel:Polanowska, Jolanta: Helena Skirmunttowa, zapomniana rzeźbiarka XIX w.
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49354#0132
126
Jolanta Polanowska
of the sculptress's social standing. Skirmunttowa be-
longed to a generation older than that of Olga
Boznańska, which gave rise to 'the first clearly de-
fined group of professional (women) artists'. She pre-
dated them in more than a purely chronological sense.
While she earned nothing from the works she pro-
duced, Skirmunttowa may be considered to represent
to a significant degree a professional artist. She
did her best to maximise her education and artistic
development. Living at the heart of what used to be
known to British geography as the Pripet Marshes,
she did not play any active part in urban life, but rather
tried, as far as the possibilities open to her permitted,
to develop professional contacts with the artistic
world in Warsaw. Her art, which initially was of a
purely private character, was transformed by her stud-
ies, thereby permitting her to take up religious and
patriotic-historical themes.
Translated by Peter Martyn
Illustrations
1. Helena Skirmunttowa, Self-portrait, 1855, chalk
drawing(?), lost*
2. Helena Skirmunttowa, Portrait of Tekla
Skirmunttowa of the Przybors, secundo voto
Lubańska, ca. 1845-1848, oil, lost
3. Helena Skirmunttowa, Countrywomen from
around Dawidgródek (in Polesia), 1855, chalk
drawing(?), lost
11. 4. Helena Skirmunttowa, Demonstrative cross in
1861 outside a church in Pinsk, 1861, chalk drawing
(?), lost
5. Helena Skirmunttowa, Church of St. Charles in
Pinsk, 1868, chalk (?), lost
6. Helena Skirmunttowa, Mickiewicz's nut tree at
Partenit, a Tartar village beneath Ayudah in the Cri-
mea, 1870, chalk drawing (?), lost
7. Helena Skirmunttowa, Portrait of Sister Maria
Czapska (in the Visitants' nunnery in Vilna), 1851,
oil, lost
8. L. Amici and Helena Skirmunttowa, Portrait of
the artiste's mother, Hortensja Skirmunttowa of the
Ords, 1854, marble, lost
9. Helena Skirmunttowa, Crucifix I, 1853, bronze,
lost
10. Helena Skirmunttowa, Crucifix II, 1863, bronze,
lost
11. Helena Skirmunttowa, Crucifix III, 1865, lost
12. Helena Skirmunttowa, Crucifix IV, 1871,
bronze, silver-plated
13. Helena Skirmunttowa, Paschal candles, 1871,
chalk drawings (?), lost
14. Helena Skirmunttowa, Mendog, Grand Duke of
Lithuania, 1872, plaster, lost
15. Helena Skirmunttowa, Giedymin, Grand Duke
of Lithuania, 1872, plaster, lost
16. Helena Skirmunttowa, Historical Chess Set.
King John III Sobieski, 1864-73, bronze
17. Helena Skirmunttowa, Historical Chess Set.
Hetman Stanisław Jabłonowski, 1864-73, bronze
18. Helena Skirmunttowa, Historical Chess Set.
Grand Vezir Kara Mustafa, 1864-73, bronze
19. Helena Skirmunttowa, Historical Chess Set.
Standard-bearer, 1864-73, bronze
20. Helena Skirmunttowa, Historical Chess Set.
'Poleszuk', 1864-73, bronze
* All illustrations reproduced in the text have been
taken from the portfolio titled Rzeźby Heleny
Skirmunttowej. 1827-1874, prep. by Konstancja
Skirmunttówna, photos. Józefa Bułhakówna (or her
studio in Warsaw), Pińsk 1931, Biblioteka IS PAN
nr 1756.
Jolanta Polanowska
of the sculptress's social standing. Skirmunttowa be-
longed to a generation older than that of Olga
Boznańska, which gave rise to 'the first clearly de-
fined group of professional (women) artists'. She pre-
dated them in more than a purely chronological sense.
While she earned nothing from the works she pro-
duced, Skirmunttowa may be considered to represent
to a significant degree a professional artist. She
did her best to maximise her education and artistic
development. Living at the heart of what used to be
known to British geography as the Pripet Marshes,
she did not play any active part in urban life, but rather
tried, as far as the possibilities open to her permitted,
to develop professional contacts with the artistic
world in Warsaw. Her art, which initially was of a
purely private character, was transformed by her stud-
ies, thereby permitting her to take up religious and
patriotic-historical themes.
Translated by Peter Martyn
Illustrations
1. Helena Skirmunttowa, Self-portrait, 1855, chalk
drawing(?), lost*
2. Helena Skirmunttowa, Portrait of Tekla
Skirmunttowa of the Przybors, secundo voto
Lubańska, ca. 1845-1848, oil, lost
3. Helena Skirmunttowa, Countrywomen from
around Dawidgródek (in Polesia), 1855, chalk
drawing(?), lost
11. 4. Helena Skirmunttowa, Demonstrative cross in
1861 outside a church in Pinsk, 1861, chalk drawing
(?), lost
5. Helena Skirmunttowa, Church of St. Charles in
Pinsk, 1868, chalk (?), lost
6. Helena Skirmunttowa, Mickiewicz's nut tree at
Partenit, a Tartar village beneath Ayudah in the Cri-
mea, 1870, chalk drawing (?), lost
7. Helena Skirmunttowa, Portrait of Sister Maria
Czapska (in the Visitants' nunnery in Vilna), 1851,
oil, lost
8. L. Amici and Helena Skirmunttowa, Portrait of
the artiste's mother, Hortensja Skirmunttowa of the
Ords, 1854, marble, lost
9. Helena Skirmunttowa, Crucifix I, 1853, bronze,
lost
10. Helena Skirmunttowa, Crucifix II, 1863, bronze,
lost
11. Helena Skirmunttowa, Crucifix III, 1865, lost
12. Helena Skirmunttowa, Crucifix IV, 1871,
bronze, silver-plated
13. Helena Skirmunttowa, Paschal candles, 1871,
chalk drawings (?), lost
14. Helena Skirmunttowa, Mendog, Grand Duke of
Lithuania, 1872, plaster, lost
15. Helena Skirmunttowa, Giedymin, Grand Duke
of Lithuania, 1872, plaster, lost
16. Helena Skirmunttowa, Historical Chess Set.
King John III Sobieski, 1864-73, bronze
17. Helena Skirmunttowa, Historical Chess Set.
Hetman Stanisław Jabłonowski, 1864-73, bronze
18. Helena Skirmunttowa, Historical Chess Set.
Grand Vezir Kara Mustafa, 1864-73, bronze
19. Helena Skirmunttowa, Historical Chess Set.
Standard-bearer, 1864-73, bronze
20. Helena Skirmunttowa, Historical Chess Set.
'Poleszuk', 1864-73, bronze
* All illustrations reproduced in the text have been
taken from the portfolio titled Rzeźby Heleny
Skirmunttowej. 1827-1874, prep. by Konstancja
Skirmunttówna, photos. Józefa Bułhakówna (or her
studio in Warsaw), Pińsk 1931, Biblioteka IS PAN
nr 1756.