DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.38678#0047
eminent among them were Kazimierz Woj makowski, Konstanty Aleksandrowicz, Józef
Faworski, and then Józef Wall, Józef Peszka and Maciej Topolski. Much in the work of these
painters, who were active in the Age of Enlightenment and at the turn of two epochs, augured
the magnificent development of Polish painting in the 19th century.
Directions in the Development of Polish
Neoclassicism in the 19th Century
The partitions of Poland and the loss of its own statehood essentially affected the development
of Polish art and artistic culture. There was no longer royal patronage, which had some
features of State patronage and influenced to a greater or lesser extent the various centres in
Poland. In the lands annexed by Prussia, and particularly by Austria, the infiltration of not
only foreign officials but also of foreign artists brought by their governments could soon be
felt. In view of such developments, it is possible to evaluate correctly the great significance of
attempts to make the arts in Poland national, which were consciously undertaken and carried
out systematically in the Age of Enlightenment. This was expressed in a great variety of
phenomena and was perhaps most readily discernibłe in the Polish themes, historical and
contemporary, in painting, sculpture and the graphic arts. But also particular significance
should be ascribed to the emergence of a very large group of artists who were of Polish origin
or were Polish from deep conviction. It would be superfluous to enumerate here the many
names of Polish architects, painters, graphic artists, sculptors or authors of decorative art
works. The ąuestion of the nationality of artists was all the morę important as it was from the
beginning of the 19th century that their social position changed essentially - they fprmed part
of a new class of urban intelligentsia which would play such a great role in Polish history in the
19th and 20th centuries. Polish artists and Polish art were important under the partitions, in
the struggle to keep the national identity. It was essential for our national survival that in
a period of political catastrophes, for morę than a hundred years, the development of national
art was increasingly strong.
Although Poland was divided by borders, Warsaw remained its capital, with the highest
concentration of cultural life influencing all the Polish lands. Despite the fact that Warsaw
was no longer the capital of a State, it remained the capital of the nation. And apart from
Warsaw, in the first thirty years of the 19th century, Vilna was another great centre of Polish
culture.
In considering what was particularly important for the development of Polish art in the 19th
century, it is above all necessary to mention the unbreakable ties with the cultural artistic
ideas of the Age of Enlightenment, transmitted by artists, patrons and wide strata of society.
If one attempted to determine which single artistic phenomenon in the first thirty years of the
19th century should be considered the most significant, one would have to mention the
magnificent, monumental neoclassical architecture and neoclassical planning. The continuity
of development was sustained by old artists and those who now entered the scene. Artists were
now educated by as many as three schools: Warsaw University, VilnaUniversityandCracow
University, and public exhibitions provided a new form of contacts between artists and
society.
Thus, despite close relations to the Age of Enlightenment, changes occurring in art and
artistic life were fundamental. It should be added that in the twenties of the 19th century,
apart from the neoclassical movement, neo-gothic occupied an increasingly strong position. It
was no longer related to neoclassicism, but to romanticism in literaturę.
The development of the arts from 1795 to 1831 can be divided into three periods connected
42
Faworski, and then Józef Wall, Józef Peszka and Maciej Topolski. Much in the work of these
painters, who were active in the Age of Enlightenment and at the turn of two epochs, augured
the magnificent development of Polish painting in the 19th century.
Directions in the Development of Polish
Neoclassicism in the 19th Century
The partitions of Poland and the loss of its own statehood essentially affected the development
of Polish art and artistic culture. There was no longer royal patronage, which had some
features of State patronage and influenced to a greater or lesser extent the various centres in
Poland. In the lands annexed by Prussia, and particularly by Austria, the infiltration of not
only foreign officials but also of foreign artists brought by their governments could soon be
felt. In view of such developments, it is possible to evaluate correctly the great significance of
attempts to make the arts in Poland national, which were consciously undertaken and carried
out systematically in the Age of Enlightenment. This was expressed in a great variety of
phenomena and was perhaps most readily discernibłe in the Polish themes, historical and
contemporary, in painting, sculpture and the graphic arts. But also particular significance
should be ascribed to the emergence of a very large group of artists who were of Polish origin
or were Polish from deep conviction. It would be superfluous to enumerate here the many
names of Polish architects, painters, graphic artists, sculptors or authors of decorative art
works. The ąuestion of the nationality of artists was all the morę important as it was from the
beginning of the 19th century that their social position changed essentially - they fprmed part
of a new class of urban intelligentsia which would play such a great role in Polish history in the
19th and 20th centuries. Polish artists and Polish art were important under the partitions, in
the struggle to keep the national identity. It was essential for our national survival that in
a period of political catastrophes, for morę than a hundred years, the development of national
art was increasingly strong.
Although Poland was divided by borders, Warsaw remained its capital, with the highest
concentration of cultural life influencing all the Polish lands. Despite the fact that Warsaw
was no longer the capital of a State, it remained the capital of the nation. And apart from
Warsaw, in the first thirty years of the 19th century, Vilna was another great centre of Polish
culture.
In considering what was particularly important for the development of Polish art in the 19th
century, it is above all necessary to mention the unbreakable ties with the cultural artistic
ideas of the Age of Enlightenment, transmitted by artists, patrons and wide strata of society.
If one attempted to determine which single artistic phenomenon in the first thirty years of the
19th century should be considered the most significant, one would have to mention the
magnificent, monumental neoclassical architecture and neoclassical planning. The continuity
of development was sustained by old artists and those who now entered the scene. Artists were
now educated by as many as three schools: Warsaw University, VilnaUniversityandCracow
University, and public exhibitions provided a new form of contacts between artists and
society.
Thus, despite close relations to the Age of Enlightenment, changes occurring in art and
artistic life were fundamental. It should be added that in the twenties of the 19th century,
apart from the neoclassical movement, neo-gothic occupied an increasingly strong position. It
was no longer related to neoclassicism, but to romanticism in literaturę.
The development of the arts from 1795 to 1831 can be divided into three periods connected
42