DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41455#0129
, Wladyslaw
Slewinski
1854 Bialynin near Mikolajew - 1918 Paris
Unlike most Polish painters of the period, Wlady-
slaw Slewinski came from a fairly prosperous land-
owning family. This did not mean, however,
a trouble-free childhood and youth. His mother died at
his birth and his father was deported to Siberia for his
involvement in the January Uprising. From 1866, Wlady-
slaw Slewinski attended a lycee in Radom, where he also
took his final exams. Probably in 1875, he commenced
studies at the Agricultural School in Czernichow, which,
however, he did not complete. His oldest known water-
colour dates back to the same year. Subsequently, he
attended the Drawing Class in Warsaw for a brief period.
In 1886, he took possession of the Pilaszkowice estate,
inherited from his mother, but soon brought it to ruin.
In 1888, facing sequestration of property for unpaid
taxes, Slewinski clandestinely left for Paris, where he took
up the study of painting at the Academie Colarossi and
Academie Julian. He soon formed a close acquaintance
with Gauguin, which determined the future course of his
art, and came to know some other eminent figures of the
Parisian art world. He worked together with Paul Serusier,
maintained close contacts with Edvard Munch and with
Russian artists resident in Paris. Around that time he mar-
ried the Russian painter Evgeniya Shevtsov. His wife’s re-
sources gave Slewinski financial independence, but his
marriage to a Russian met with the disapproval of the art-
ist’s family, and in particular his father, a Siberian deportee.
From the early 1890s, Slewinski began to visit Brittany
with an increasing frequency and joined the so-called
Pont Aven School. In 1896-1905, he resided permanent-
ly at Le Pouldu, where he entertained, among others,
Gauguin. In 1896, he participated for the first time in the
Salon des Independents, and already in 1897 and 1898
held his first individual exhibitions in Paris. Well estab-
lished in the Parisian art world, he willingly offered as-
sistance to young Polish painters coming to Paris, includ-
ing Wyspiariski and Mehoffer.
In 1905, Slewinski returned to Poland. He stayed ini-
tially in Cracow and Poronin and painted, among other
things, the landscapes and people of the highlands. In
1905 he held an individual exhibition in Warsaw, and
another one two years later in Lvov. Soon afterwards
the artist made a short trip to Munich. In the years 1908-
1910 he was Professor at the School of Fine Arts in War-
saw. He took his students to plein-air sessions in Kazi-
mierz-on-the-Vistula, and in 1909 exhibited his works
alongside theirs in the gallery of the Society for the En-
couragement of Fine Arts.
Having lived abroad for a long time, Slewinski could
not readjust to life at home. In 1910, he went back to
France and settled in Doelan in Brittany. At his house
there, called “The Little Castle”, he entertained the paint-
er Tadeusz Makowski at the beginning of the First World
War. In 1914, an exhibition of Slewiriski’s art was organ-
ized by the Galerie Reutlinger in Paris, and in 1916 - the
war notwithstanding - his works were shown in Cracow,
for the last time in the artist’s lifetime.
Slewinski used to say that “the only thing that befits a
Polish nobleman is to cultivate either land, or art”. Al-
though he began painting late in life, he managed to fulfil
a dream that Piotr Michalowski had cherished half a centu-
ry before: to become fully involved in the artistic life of
Paris. He had come to the French capital as an amateur,
but surprisingly quickly managed to find himself at the
very centre of the artistic scene, while his art attained a
truly professional quality. Slewinski painted mainly land-
scapes, still lifes, portrait studies and, occasionally, simple
genre scenes. These are all characterized by simplicity
and a specific kind of serenity. The artist used long, soft
brushstrokes and flowing, confident contours. He avoid-
ed strong tonal contrasts, and, therefore, his paintings are
marked by quiet, sometimes slightly subdued hues.
Referring to the art of Slewinski, the Russian poet Maxi-
milian Voloshin wrote: “What message can be conveyed
by two apples, a bulbous plant, an earthenware vessel
from Brittany, the yellow cover of a volume of French
poetry, a gypsum mask or a bookshelf? And yet in Sle-
wiriski’s still lifes, each of these objects speaks in a deep
and mysterious voice, musical like an eternal song and as
moving as nostalgia for one’s homeland”. An apt charac-
terization of Slewiriski’s painting was given by Jan Ka-
sprowicz: “Those flowers of yours! Poppies, anemones,
sunflowers. Unlike photographs - perfect though they
may be - of living things that die the moment they are
captured on a plate, your paintings will live forever and
never cease to impress with their individuality, technique
and, above all, with the melancholy music of your soul.”
136
Slewinski
1854 Bialynin near Mikolajew - 1918 Paris
Unlike most Polish painters of the period, Wlady-
slaw Slewinski came from a fairly prosperous land-
owning family. This did not mean, however,
a trouble-free childhood and youth. His mother died at
his birth and his father was deported to Siberia for his
involvement in the January Uprising. From 1866, Wlady-
slaw Slewinski attended a lycee in Radom, where he also
took his final exams. Probably in 1875, he commenced
studies at the Agricultural School in Czernichow, which,
however, he did not complete. His oldest known water-
colour dates back to the same year. Subsequently, he
attended the Drawing Class in Warsaw for a brief period.
In 1886, he took possession of the Pilaszkowice estate,
inherited from his mother, but soon brought it to ruin.
In 1888, facing sequestration of property for unpaid
taxes, Slewinski clandestinely left for Paris, where he took
up the study of painting at the Academie Colarossi and
Academie Julian. He soon formed a close acquaintance
with Gauguin, which determined the future course of his
art, and came to know some other eminent figures of the
Parisian art world. He worked together with Paul Serusier,
maintained close contacts with Edvard Munch and with
Russian artists resident in Paris. Around that time he mar-
ried the Russian painter Evgeniya Shevtsov. His wife’s re-
sources gave Slewinski financial independence, but his
marriage to a Russian met with the disapproval of the art-
ist’s family, and in particular his father, a Siberian deportee.
From the early 1890s, Slewinski began to visit Brittany
with an increasing frequency and joined the so-called
Pont Aven School. In 1896-1905, he resided permanent-
ly at Le Pouldu, where he entertained, among others,
Gauguin. In 1896, he participated for the first time in the
Salon des Independents, and already in 1897 and 1898
held his first individual exhibitions in Paris. Well estab-
lished in the Parisian art world, he willingly offered as-
sistance to young Polish painters coming to Paris, includ-
ing Wyspiariski and Mehoffer.
In 1905, Slewinski returned to Poland. He stayed ini-
tially in Cracow and Poronin and painted, among other
things, the landscapes and people of the highlands. In
1905 he held an individual exhibition in Warsaw, and
another one two years later in Lvov. Soon afterwards
the artist made a short trip to Munich. In the years 1908-
1910 he was Professor at the School of Fine Arts in War-
saw. He took his students to plein-air sessions in Kazi-
mierz-on-the-Vistula, and in 1909 exhibited his works
alongside theirs in the gallery of the Society for the En-
couragement of Fine Arts.
Having lived abroad for a long time, Slewinski could
not readjust to life at home. In 1910, he went back to
France and settled in Doelan in Brittany. At his house
there, called “The Little Castle”, he entertained the paint-
er Tadeusz Makowski at the beginning of the First World
War. In 1914, an exhibition of Slewiriski’s art was organ-
ized by the Galerie Reutlinger in Paris, and in 1916 - the
war notwithstanding - his works were shown in Cracow,
for the last time in the artist’s lifetime.
Slewinski used to say that “the only thing that befits a
Polish nobleman is to cultivate either land, or art”. Al-
though he began painting late in life, he managed to fulfil
a dream that Piotr Michalowski had cherished half a centu-
ry before: to become fully involved in the artistic life of
Paris. He had come to the French capital as an amateur,
but surprisingly quickly managed to find himself at the
very centre of the artistic scene, while his art attained a
truly professional quality. Slewinski painted mainly land-
scapes, still lifes, portrait studies and, occasionally, simple
genre scenes. These are all characterized by simplicity
and a specific kind of serenity. The artist used long, soft
brushstrokes and flowing, confident contours. He avoid-
ed strong tonal contrasts, and, therefore, his paintings are
marked by quiet, sometimes slightly subdued hues.
Referring to the art of Slewinski, the Russian poet Maxi-
milian Voloshin wrote: “What message can be conveyed
by two apples, a bulbous plant, an earthenware vessel
from Brittany, the yellow cover of a volume of French
poetry, a gypsum mask or a bookshelf? And yet in Sle-
wiriski’s still lifes, each of these objects speaks in a deep
and mysterious voice, musical like an eternal song and as
moving as nostalgia for one’s homeland”. An apt charac-
terization of Slewiriski’s painting was given by Jan Ka-
sprowicz: “Those flowers of yours! Poppies, anemones,
sunflowers. Unlike photographs - perfect though they
may be - of living things that die the moment they are
captured on a plate, your paintings will live forever and
never cease to impress with their individuality, technique
and, above all, with the melancholy music of your soul.”
136