DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41455#0028
Masters
of P o
These were most fully exploited by Wlodzimierz
Tetmajer (1862-1923), who was the model for the Host
in Stanislaw Wyspiariski’s famous drama, The Wedding.
Tetmajer painted in a broad, simplified realist style
tinged with Art-Nouveau. Most of his paintings depict
the life of the village of Bronowice near Cracow, where
the artist lived. He also painted polychrome decorations
in churches and designed stained-glass windows. In the
latter two fields, he gave much more prominence to Art-
Nouveau elements.
Folklore also held a fascination for Vlastimil Hofman
(1881-1970), an extremely popular painter of Czech
origin, who often used folk motifs as material for
compositions of symbolic or religious significance.
Throughout the nineteenth century, artists interested
in folk culture sought inspiration mainly in the environs
of Cracow and in the Podhale region at the foot of the
Tatra Mountains. It was not until the end of the century
that the rich folklore of the Hutsul highlanders from the
Eastern Carpathians was discovered.
There soon emerged a kind of “Hutsul school” in
Polish painting, which concentrated on human types
and scenes from village life - particularly Orthodox and
Greek Catholic holidays and funerals, depicted in the
form of richly-coloured processions with a landscape in
the background.
One of the first painters to take an interest in Hutsul
folklore, already in the 1890s, was Teodor Axentowicz
(1859-1938), whose sweeping realist style and sensitivity
to impression were somewhat reminiscent of Julian
Falat. Surprisingly, the other strand of the artist’s work
comprised refined portraits of beautiful ladies of the
belle epoque.
The three keenest admirers of the Hutsul region
belonged to the next generation of artists. They studied
at the Cracow School of Fine Arts, and their common
interests included not only folk themes, but also the
translation of religious scenes into the language of folk
motifs and settings. The works of Fryderyk Pautsch
(1877-1950) unite the flat colour patches and decorative
contours characteristic of Art Nouveau with extremely
powerful expression. Kazimierz Sichulski (1879-1942)
used an astonishing variety of styles, although his early
easel painting and decorative design were mainstream
Art Nouveau. The artist was the best cartoonist of the
Young Poland period. Paintings by Wladyslaw Jarocki
(1879-1965) are especially valued for their decorative
qualities achieved through the exuberant use of
colourful surfaces, which turned his folk scenes into
truly fairy-like spectacles.
The work of each of the hitherto mentioned artists -
or at least the most significant phase thereof - was
lish Painting
completed prior to 1914. That date is seen in the history
of Polish literature as a conventional transition point
marking the end of the “classic” period. In the history of
painting, it is of lesser significance, but even so, with
the artistic scene dominated in the subsequent years by
avant-garde trends (found unpalatable by a large part of
the general public), there was only one artist from that
period whose place in the hypothetical Hall of Fame of
Polish painters would be warranted by his popularity.
The artist in question was Tadeusz Makowski
(1882-1932). During the early days of his career, spent
in Cracow, he painted mostly landscapes, which
reflected the influence of his teacher, Jan Stanislawski,
in their preoccupation with impressions. His less
frequent figurative compositions show an Art-Nouveau
stylization. Makowski spent the greater part of his
artistic career in Paris, where he was influenced by the
monumental art forms created by Puvis de Chavannes,
and in the years 1911-1913 went through a Cubist stage.
However, he soon broke away from Cubism, which he
criticized for losing contact with nature. Makowski’s
next fascination was with Corot and Theodore
Rousseau, under whose influence he painted subtle still
lifes and landscapes. From around 1917, his painting
started to evolve consciously towards the primitivism,
with ever more frequent references to Bruegel, Henri
Rousseau “le Douanier” and folk painting.
From the early 1920s, children became one of the
chief themes of Makowski’s work {Children’s Band,
1922). In 1928, which the artist himself considered a
turning point in his career, Makowski’s mature style
took final shape. He had returned to Cubist geometric
simplification. Initially, it was justified by the ubiquitous
motif of a carnival mask, and in later stages reached
a point where the depicted children almost turned into
wooden marionettes. In the final years of the artist’s life,
his individual style was combined with the pursuit of
monumental form.
❖ ❖ ❖
The definition of mastery in art is extremely difficult
and depends on a host of factors. It may happen that an
artist whose work receives a favourable assessment from
the point of view of objective scientific criteria fails to
achieve the popularity of a less original painter who
knows how to capture the imagination of the viewing
public. The choice of painters designated as “masters”
by inclusion in the present album has been subjective to
some extent. Nevertheless, each of them undoubtedly
made a substantial and lasting contribution to the Polish
artistic heritage.
24
of P o
These were most fully exploited by Wlodzimierz
Tetmajer (1862-1923), who was the model for the Host
in Stanislaw Wyspiariski’s famous drama, The Wedding.
Tetmajer painted in a broad, simplified realist style
tinged with Art-Nouveau. Most of his paintings depict
the life of the village of Bronowice near Cracow, where
the artist lived. He also painted polychrome decorations
in churches and designed stained-glass windows. In the
latter two fields, he gave much more prominence to Art-
Nouveau elements.
Folklore also held a fascination for Vlastimil Hofman
(1881-1970), an extremely popular painter of Czech
origin, who often used folk motifs as material for
compositions of symbolic or religious significance.
Throughout the nineteenth century, artists interested
in folk culture sought inspiration mainly in the environs
of Cracow and in the Podhale region at the foot of the
Tatra Mountains. It was not until the end of the century
that the rich folklore of the Hutsul highlanders from the
Eastern Carpathians was discovered.
There soon emerged a kind of “Hutsul school” in
Polish painting, which concentrated on human types
and scenes from village life - particularly Orthodox and
Greek Catholic holidays and funerals, depicted in the
form of richly-coloured processions with a landscape in
the background.
One of the first painters to take an interest in Hutsul
folklore, already in the 1890s, was Teodor Axentowicz
(1859-1938), whose sweeping realist style and sensitivity
to impression were somewhat reminiscent of Julian
Falat. Surprisingly, the other strand of the artist’s work
comprised refined portraits of beautiful ladies of the
belle epoque.
The three keenest admirers of the Hutsul region
belonged to the next generation of artists. They studied
at the Cracow School of Fine Arts, and their common
interests included not only folk themes, but also the
translation of religious scenes into the language of folk
motifs and settings. The works of Fryderyk Pautsch
(1877-1950) unite the flat colour patches and decorative
contours characteristic of Art Nouveau with extremely
powerful expression. Kazimierz Sichulski (1879-1942)
used an astonishing variety of styles, although his early
easel painting and decorative design were mainstream
Art Nouveau. The artist was the best cartoonist of the
Young Poland period. Paintings by Wladyslaw Jarocki
(1879-1965) are especially valued for their decorative
qualities achieved through the exuberant use of
colourful surfaces, which turned his folk scenes into
truly fairy-like spectacles.
The work of each of the hitherto mentioned artists -
or at least the most significant phase thereof - was
lish Painting
completed prior to 1914. That date is seen in the history
of Polish literature as a conventional transition point
marking the end of the “classic” period. In the history of
painting, it is of lesser significance, but even so, with
the artistic scene dominated in the subsequent years by
avant-garde trends (found unpalatable by a large part of
the general public), there was only one artist from that
period whose place in the hypothetical Hall of Fame of
Polish painters would be warranted by his popularity.
The artist in question was Tadeusz Makowski
(1882-1932). During the early days of his career, spent
in Cracow, he painted mostly landscapes, which
reflected the influence of his teacher, Jan Stanislawski,
in their preoccupation with impressions. His less
frequent figurative compositions show an Art-Nouveau
stylization. Makowski spent the greater part of his
artistic career in Paris, where he was influenced by the
monumental art forms created by Puvis de Chavannes,
and in the years 1911-1913 went through a Cubist stage.
However, he soon broke away from Cubism, which he
criticized for losing contact with nature. Makowski’s
next fascination was with Corot and Theodore
Rousseau, under whose influence he painted subtle still
lifes and landscapes. From around 1917, his painting
started to evolve consciously towards the primitivism,
with ever more frequent references to Bruegel, Henri
Rousseau “le Douanier” and folk painting.
From the early 1920s, children became one of the
chief themes of Makowski’s work {Children’s Band,
1922). In 1928, which the artist himself considered a
turning point in his career, Makowski’s mature style
took final shape. He had returned to Cubist geometric
simplification. Initially, it was justified by the ubiquitous
motif of a carnival mask, and in later stages reached
a point where the depicted children almost turned into
wooden marionettes. In the final years of the artist’s life,
his individual style was combined with the pursuit of
monumental form.
❖ ❖ ❖
The definition of mastery in art is extremely difficult
and depends on a host of factors. It may happen that an
artist whose work receives a favourable assessment from
the point of view of objective scientific criteria fails to
achieve the popularity of a less original painter who
knows how to capture the imagination of the viewing
public. The choice of painters designated as “masters”
by inclusion in the present album has been subjective to
some extent. Nevertheless, each of them undoubtedly
made a substantial and lasting contribution to the Polish
artistic heritage.
24