DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41455#0102
Leon
Wyczolkowski
1852 Huta Miastowska near Siedlce - 1936 Warsaw
Leon Wyczolkowski’s father came from a petty-
nobility family who settled in the Podlasie region.
He kept a small country estate at Ostrow on the
River Wieprz and traded in glass. The future artist attend-
ed the village school in nearby Kamionka. From 1863
he studied at the lycee, first in Siedlce and then in War-
saw. After leaving school he attended the Warsaw Draw-
ing Class from 1869 to 1874, initially under Antoni Ka-
minski and Rafal Hadziewicz, and then under Wojciech
Gerson. Already in 1873, the Society for the Encourage-
ment of Fine Arts purchased his painting St Casimir and
Dlugosz the Chronicler. Wyczolkowski’s youth was full
of colourful events. Following Gerson’s example, he made
a trip - for sightseeing as well as artistic purposes -
around what was then the Kingdom of Poland: from Pu-
lawy, Zamosc and Lublin to D^browa Gornicza. In 1873,
only a bribe saved him from long-term service in the Rus-
sian army. In the same year, Wyczolkowski illegally
crossed the border of Galicia, and subsequently reached
Vienna to see the World Exhibition.
In 1875, Wyczolkowski went to Munich, where he stu-
died at the Academy of Fine Arts for two years under
Alexander Wagner. In 1876, he was awarded a bronze
medal for achievement in painting. In the years 1877-
1879, the young artist stayed in Cracow, studying at the
School of Fine Arts. He became a student of Jan Matej-
ko, who offered him a room in his house. While in Cra-
cow, he befriended Jacek Malczewski. A small bequest
left by his grandfather allowed Wyczolkowski to make a
trip to Paris in 1878. Already at that time he admired the
Impressionists, and especially Renoir.
From 1879 to 1880, Wyczolkowski lived in Lvov, where
he made friends with Albert Chmielowski. He then
moved to Warsaw and stayed there until 1894. He often
left Warsaw for longer periods to go to the Ukraine, whe-
re he was invited to the countiy estates of his Polish friends
(by that time he was already a well-known artist). Wyczol-
kowski was a particularly frequent guest of the Podhor-
ski family in Bere2na and the Branicki family in Stawisz-
cze. He would also visit Balta and Odessa. His works
from that period include portraits, genre scenes and land-
scapes. In 1889, he visited Paris again and saw there,
among other things, the great Claude Monet exhibition. It
was on this occasion that he assimilated some of the prin-
ciples of Impressionism, but never became a follower of
this trend in the way Podkowiriski and Pankiewicz did.
In 1895, Wyczolkowski accepted Julian Falat’s pro-
posal and became Professor at the School of Fine Arts in
Cracow, where he settled for a long time, although he
continued to visit the Ukraine and Western Europe.
In Cracow, Wyczolkowski entered the artistic and litera-
ry circles of Young Poland. He renewed his acquaintance
with Jacek Malczewski, and maintained contacts with Wlo-
dzimierz Tetmajer, Kazimierz Tetmajer, Adam Asnyk
and Wladyslaw Reymont. In 1897, he was one of the co-
founders of the Polish Artists’ Society “Sztuka” and later
regularly participated in its exhibitions at home and abroad.
For a little while he worked as art designer for the Zycie
[Life] periodical. An important role in his life was played by
his friendship with Feliks “Manggha” Jasieriski, whom
Wyczolkowski portrayed on several occasions and whom
he accompanied on a trip to Spain in 1905.
In 1911, Wyczolkowski resigned from his professor-
ship at the Academy. During the First World War, he
lived in Warsaw and Cracow, devoting much time and
energy to his art. In 1916, he briefly joined Pilsudski’s
Polish Legions. The artistic outcome of that encounter
was a portfolio of lithographs devoted to the Legions. In
1922, the artist donated his rich collection of painting
and decorative art to the Wielkopolska Museum in Poz-
nan. In recognition of his gift, the municipal authorities
presented him with a small country estate at Goscieradz
near Bydgoszcz, not far from the Tuchola Forest, where
Wyczolkowski would spend summer months thereafter.
From 1929, he stayed mainly in Poznan. In the last two
years of his life he commuted to Warsaw, where he held
a chair of graphic art at the School of Fine Arts.
Leon Wyczolkowski became one of the most popular
Polish artists, not least because of his widely available,
high-quality graphics. From 1897, he held numerous
individual exhibitions and received many awards and
honours. There exists a Leon Wyczolkowski Museum in
the city of Bydgoszcz.
108
Wyczolkowski
1852 Huta Miastowska near Siedlce - 1936 Warsaw
Leon Wyczolkowski’s father came from a petty-
nobility family who settled in the Podlasie region.
He kept a small country estate at Ostrow on the
River Wieprz and traded in glass. The future artist attend-
ed the village school in nearby Kamionka. From 1863
he studied at the lycee, first in Siedlce and then in War-
saw. After leaving school he attended the Warsaw Draw-
ing Class from 1869 to 1874, initially under Antoni Ka-
minski and Rafal Hadziewicz, and then under Wojciech
Gerson. Already in 1873, the Society for the Encourage-
ment of Fine Arts purchased his painting St Casimir and
Dlugosz the Chronicler. Wyczolkowski’s youth was full
of colourful events. Following Gerson’s example, he made
a trip - for sightseeing as well as artistic purposes -
around what was then the Kingdom of Poland: from Pu-
lawy, Zamosc and Lublin to D^browa Gornicza. In 1873,
only a bribe saved him from long-term service in the Rus-
sian army. In the same year, Wyczolkowski illegally
crossed the border of Galicia, and subsequently reached
Vienna to see the World Exhibition.
In 1875, Wyczolkowski went to Munich, where he stu-
died at the Academy of Fine Arts for two years under
Alexander Wagner. In 1876, he was awarded a bronze
medal for achievement in painting. In the years 1877-
1879, the young artist stayed in Cracow, studying at the
School of Fine Arts. He became a student of Jan Matej-
ko, who offered him a room in his house. While in Cra-
cow, he befriended Jacek Malczewski. A small bequest
left by his grandfather allowed Wyczolkowski to make a
trip to Paris in 1878. Already at that time he admired the
Impressionists, and especially Renoir.
From 1879 to 1880, Wyczolkowski lived in Lvov, where
he made friends with Albert Chmielowski. He then
moved to Warsaw and stayed there until 1894. He often
left Warsaw for longer periods to go to the Ukraine, whe-
re he was invited to the countiy estates of his Polish friends
(by that time he was already a well-known artist). Wyczol-
kowski was a particularly frequent guest of the Podhor-
ski family in Bere2na and the Branicki family in Stawisz-
cze. He would also visit Balta and Odessa. His works
from that period include portraits, genre scenes and land-
scapes. In 1889, he visited Paris again and saw there,
among other things, the great Claude Monet exhibition. It
was on this occasion that he assimilated some of the prin-
ciples of Impressionism, but never became a follower of
this trend in the way Podkowiriski and Pankiewicz did.
In 1895, Wyczolkowski accepted Julian Falat’s pro-
posal and became Professor at the School of Fine Arts in
Cracow, where he settled for a long time, although he
continued to visit the Ukraine and Western Europe.
In Cracow, Wyczolkowski entered the artistic and litera-
ry circles of Young Poland. He renewed his acquaintance
with Jacek Malczewski, and maintained contacts with Wlo-
dzimierz Tetmajer, Kazimierz Tetmajer, Adam Asnyk
and Wladyslaw Reymont. In 1897, he was one of the co-
founders of the Polish Artists’ Society “Sztuka” and later
regularly participated in its exhibitions at home and abroad.
For a little while he worked as art designer for the Zycie
[Life] periodical. An important role in his life was played by
his friendship with Feliks “Manggha” Jasieriski, whom
Wyczolkowski portrayed on several occasions and whom
he accompanied on a trip to Spain in 1905.
In 1911, Wyczolkowski resigned from his professor-
ship at the Academy. During the First World War, he
lived in Warsaw and Cracow, devoting much time and
energy to his art. In 1916, he briefly joined Pilsudski’s
Polish Legions. The artistic outcome of that encounter
was a portfolio of lithographs devoted to the Legions. In
1922, the artist donated his rich collection of painting
and decorative art to the Wielkopolska Museum in Poz-
nan. In recognition of his gift, the municipal authorities
presented him with a small country estate at Goscieradz
near Bydgoszcz, not far from the Tuchola Forest, where
Wyczolkowski would spend summer months thereafter.
From 1929, he stayed mainly in Poznan. In the last two
years of his life he commuted to Warsaw, where he held
a chair of graphic art at the School of Fine Arts.
Leon Wyczolkowski became one of the most popular
Polish artists, not least because of his widely available,
high-quality graphics. From 1897, he held numerous
individual exhibitions and received many awards and
honours. There exists a Leon Wyczolkowski Museum in
the city of Bydgoszcz.
108