DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41455#0070
Jozef
Brandt
1841 Szczebrzeszyn - 1915 Radom
Jozef Brandt’s family came from the petty nobility.
His father was the chief physician of the Zamoyski
estate and his mother an amateur painter. Brandt
was educated in Warsaw: first at the Leszczynski School
and then at the Noblemen’s Institute. In 1858 he went to
Paris and undertook technical studies at the Ecole des
Ponts et Chaussees. His interests soon shifted and he
entered the studio of Leon Cogniet. He also received
advice from Juliusz Kossak, who persuaded him to
choose an artistic career, and from Henryk Rodakowski,
another onetime student of Cogniet’s. In I860, Brandt
accompanied Kossak on a trip to Podolia and the
Ukraine - those regions would provide the setting for
innumerable compositions by both artists. A year later
he exhibited his first works in Warsaw; their themes being
derived from Romantic literature and their form heavily
influenced by Kossak.
In 1863 Brandt went to Munich, where he studied under
Franz Adam, Teodor Horschelt and Karl von Piloty. The
Bavarian capital was to become the artist’s permanent
place of residence, although he did spend the summer
months in Poland, either travelling, or (from 1875) stay-
ing at his estate in Ororisko near Radom. From 1866 he
ran his own studio in Munich. He soon won broad recog-
nition among the critics and public, accompanied by
considerable earnings. Brandt was one of the most cele-
brated Polish artists. In 1869 he received the first class
gold medal at the World Art Exhibition in Munich; in
1891, the gold medal at the International Art Exhibition
in Berlin; he was also awarded the Order of Franz Josef,
the Spanish Order of Isabella the Catholic, and the Ba-
varian Maximilian Order. Besides, Brandt was appoin-
ted member or Honorary Professor of the Fine Arts Acad-
emies in Berlin, Munich and Prague.
In spite of his international success and permanent
residence abroad, Brandt consciously chose to remain a
Polish painter. He painted almost exclusively historical
and genre scenes connected with Poland and when sign-
ing his pictures, he appended the words “of Warsaw” to
his name, as if to clarify in advance any possible doubts
concerning his German-sounding name. Brandt’s studio
was the hub of the sizeable Polish artistic milieu in Mu-
nich. From 1873, it was also a centre of education for
young painters, mainly from Poland. This is what the
painter Henryk Pi^tkowski wrote about the artist: “Brandt’s
role as the leader of the [Polish] circle in Munich was
highly beneficial. He was the sheet anchor for all those
who came to know him. With his good connections not
only in the art world, but also in high society and in
official circles, he provided young people with assist-
ance, using his influence when necessary, supported
the needy and was always willing to give advice.”
Brandt never took up teaching within the formal struc-
tures of an art school, even though after Matejko’s death
he was a candidate to become Head of the Cracow School
of Fine Arts.
Over the several decades of his career, Jozef Brandt’s
painting was almost totally immune to evolution. He
used the modern advancements in art only very sparing-
ly - for instance, by introducing elements of plein-air
landscape painting. He always remained faithful to re-
alism, which he combined with virtuoso drawing and
composition skills, and a characteristic approach to his-
torical themes, typical of genre scenes.
Brandt’s late works, however, show signs of haste and,
all in all, represent a lower artistic level.
Works by Jozef Brandt were in many respects like those
of his teacher and friend Juliusz Kossak (there were
differences, too: the latter preferred watercolours, while
the former had a liking for oils). It is the type of painting
that corresponds closely to Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy in the
field of literature. Sienkiewicz thought very highly of
Brandt’s work and wrote, inter alia-. “Brandt is simply a
poet of the steppe... The past comes to life at the touch
of his brush and a single scene is enough for the soul to
reconstruct unwittingly an entire world of knights and
Cossacks.”
Brandt’s pictures remain popular to this day, as an
example of a typically Polish kind of art which relies on
themes close to the viewer and on easily legible artistic
devices. For the selfsame reasons, the artist was criti-
cized by the Modernist avant-garde and other artistic
circles of the inter-war period.
70
Brandt
1841 Szczebrzeszyn - 1915 Radom
Jozef Brandt’s family came from the petty nobility.
His father was the chief physician of the Zamoyski
estate and his mother an amateur painter. Brandt
was educated in Warsaw: first at the Leszczynski School
and then at the Noblemen’s Institute. In 1858 he went to
Paris and undertook technical studies at the Ecole des
Ponts et Chaussees. His interests soon shifted and he
entered the studio of Leon Cogniet. He also received
advice from Juliusz Kossak, who persuaded him to
choose an artistic career, and from Henryk Rodakowski,
another onetime student of Cogniet’s. In I860, Brandt
accompanied Kossak on a trip to Podolia and the
Ukraine - those regions would provide the setting for
innumerable compositions by both artists. A year later
he exhibited his first works in Warsaw; their themes being
derived from Romantic literature and their form heavily
influenced by Kossak.
In 1863 Brandt went to Munich, where he studied under
Franz Adam, Teodor Horschelt and Karl von Piloty. The
Bavarian capital was to become the artist’s permanent
place of residence, although he did spend the summer
months in Poland, either travelling, or (from 1875) stay-
ing at his estate in Ororisko near Radom. From 1866 he
ran his own studio in Munich. He soon won broad recog-
nition among the critics and public, accompanied by
considerable earnings. Brandt was one of the most cele-
brated Polish artists. In 1869 he received the first class
gold medal at the World Art Exhibition in Munich; in
1891, the gold medal at the International Art Exhibition
in Berlin; he was also awarded the Order of Franz Josef,
the Spanish Order of Isabella the Catholic, and the Ba-
varian Maximilian Order. Besides, Brandt was appoin-
ted member or Honorary Professor of the Fine Arts Acad-
emies in Berlin, Munich and Prague.
In spite of his international success and permanent
residence abroad, Brandt consciously chose to remain a
Polish painter. He painted almost exclusively historical
and genre scenes connected with Poland and when sign-
ing his pictures, he appended the words “of Warsaw” to
his name, as if to clarify in advance any possible doubts
concerning his German-sounding name. Brandt’s studio
was the hub of the sizeable Polish artistic milieu in Mu-
nich. From 1873, it was also a centre of education for
young painters, mainly from Poland. This is what the
painter Henryk Pi^tkowski wrote about the artist: “Brandt’s
role as the leader of the [Polish] circle in Munich was
highly beneficial. He was the sheet anchor for all those
who came to know him. With his good connections not
only in the art world, but also in high society and in
official circles, he provided young people with assist-
ance, using his influence when necessary, supported
the needy and was always willing to give advice.”
Brandt never took up teaching within the formal struc-
tures of an art school, even though after Matejko’s death
he was a candidate to become Head of the Cracow School
of Fine Arts.
Over the several decades of his career, Jozef Brandt’s
painting was almost totally immune to evolution. He
used the modern advancements in art only very sparing-
ly - for instance, by introducing elements of plein-air
landscape painting. He always remained faithful to re-
alism, which he combined with virtuoso drawing and
composition skills, and a characteristic approach to his-
torical themes, typical of genre scenes.
Brandt’s late works, however, show signs of haste and,
all in all, represent a lower artistic level.
Works by Jozef Brandt were in many respects like those
of his teacher and friend Juliusz Kossak (there were
differences, too: the latter preferred watercolours, while
the former had a liking for oils). It is the type of painting
that corresponds closely to Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy in the
field of literature. Sienkiewicz thought very highly of
Brandt’s work and wrote, inter alia-. “Brandt is simply a
poet of the steppe... The past comes to life at the touch
of his brush and a single scene is enough for the soul to
reconstruct unwittingly an entire world of knights and
Cossacks.”
Brandt’s pictures remain popular to this day, as an
example of a typically Polish kind of art which relies on
themes close to the viewer and on easily legible artistic
devices. For the selfsame reasons, the artist was criti-
cized by the Modernist avant-garde and other artistic
circles of the inter-war period.
70