DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41455#0139
Teodor
Axentowicz
1859 Bra§ov in Transylvania - 1938 Cracow
TThe family of Teodor Axentowicz was of Arme-
nian origin. The future artist finished the lycee in
Lvov, and then, in the years 1878-1882, studied at
the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich under Gabriel von
Hackl, Alexander Wagner and Gyula Benczur. During
that period he painted realist historical and genre scenes.
His works were first exhibited at the gallery of the
Society of Fine Arts in Cracow in 1880. From 1882 to
1895, Axentowicz stayed in Paris. He initially studied
under Emile Carolus-Duran. Whilst a student, he earned
a living by painting copies of the old masters and mak-
ing illustrations for magazines. He established in Paris
a broad range of contacts with the Polish and French
artistic, intellectual and financial elites. He was on friend-
ly terms with the sculptor Cyprian Godebski and regu-
larly visited the Hotel Lambert. He also knew Wlady-
slaw Mickiewicz, Jozef Chelmonski and the famous ac-
tress Sarah Bernhardt. His portrait of Bernhardt was high-
ly acclaimed and won the artist a reputation as a pop-
ular painter of women. Axentowicz received commis-
sions from England, too, and visited that country on a
number of occasions - for instance, in 1890, the year he
was granted membership in the Societe Nationale des
Beaux Arts.
In 1895 Axentowicz settled in Cracow, where until 1934
he held the post of Professor at the School (subsequent-
ly, Academy) of Fine Arts, of which he was Rector in
1910—1911 and 1927-1928. In 1897, he founded his own
school of painting for women, in which instruction was
given by Leon Wyczolkowski and Jan Stanislawski. In
the same year he became one of the founder-members
of the prestigious Polish Artists’ Society “Sztuka”. As a
member of that Society, he frequently exhibited his works
in Poland and abroad. He also belonged to the Vien-
nese “Sezession” and to the Historical Society of Cracow.
During his long and successful career, Axentowicz often
travelled abroad, mainly in connection with the organi-
zation of Polish art exhibitions. Among other places, he
visited St. Louis (1904), Munich (1905), Rome (1911) and
Venice (1914). During his lifetime, Axentowicz held in-
dividual exhibitions in Cracow (1923, 1927 and 1938),
Lodz (1930) and Warsaw (1930).
Axentowicz achieved perfection in the use of pastels.
His works were marked by a felicitous combination of
elegance and decorative qualities. The domain which al-
lowed him to become one of the most popular and best
paid Polish artists was portraiture. The artist painted a
great number of portraits, mostly of female sitters. The
critic Stefan Popowski wrote in 1930: “As a matter of fact,
Axentowicz has been and remains the painter of “Wom-
anhood"... He has explored in depth the notion of «eter-
nal womanhood», to borrow a phrase from Goethe’s Faust,
for whom it was an object of craving... The dominant
accent in the female heads and faces is their expression.
These are often beautiful or even veiy beautiful heads, as
is the case with real-life women... This applies equally to
the subtle features of grand dames, the fresh cheeks of
country girls, the playful visages of urban grisettes, and
the classic faces of statuesque beauties.”
Axentowicz was among the first artists who intro-
duced the motifs of Hutsul folklore into their painting.
His genre scenes in this setting were painted in watercol-
ours or in oils, and the artist often duplicated successful
compositional solutions. This is what the critic quoted
above, Stefan Popowski, wrote about one such work,
Hutsul Dance (also known as Oberek): “Everything in
this picture resounds in bustling commotion. The viewer
can almost feel on his face the wind stirred by the dancers.
Movement and colour, light and an atmosphere of sheer
joy permeate the painting to the fullest extent.”
Occasionally, Axentowicz undertook historical subjects,
too. As if to belie his preference for smaller forms, he
designed a stained-glass window for the Armenian ca-
thedral in Lvov in 1896. He also participated in the pro-
duction of the Raclawice Panorama.
Axentowicz is an example of an extremely talented
“salon” artist, who accommodated the requirements of
his well-to-do clients, while maintaining his works at a
high artistic level. Even so, his success provoked jeal-
ousy among the predominantly poor artists of Cracow,
who accused Axentowicz of excessive commercialism.
The popularity of Axentowicz during his lifetime means
that his oeuvre is highly dispersed now and remains large-
ly uncatalogued.
146
Axentowicz
1859 Bra§ov in Transylvania - 1938 Cracow
TThe family of Teodor Axentowicz was of Arme-
nian origin. The future artist finished the lycee in
Lvov, and then, in the years 1878-1882, studied at
the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich under Gabriel von
Hackl, Alexander Wagner and Gyula Benczur. During
that period he painted realist historical and genre scenes.
His works were first exhibited at the gallery of the
Society of Fine Arts in Cracow in 1880. From 1882 to
1895, Axentowicz stayed in Paris. He initially studied
under Emile Carolus-Duran. Whilst a student, he earned
a living by painting copies of the old masters and mak-
ing illustrations for magazines. He established in Paris
a broad range of contacts with the Polish and French
artistic, intellectual and financial elites. He was on friend-
ly terms with the sculptor Cyprian Godebski and regu-
larly visited the Hotel Lambert. He also knew Wlady-
slaw Mickiewicz, Jozef Chelmonski and the famous ac-
tress Sarah Bernhardt. His portrait of Bernhardt was high-
ly acclaimed and won the artist a reputation as a pop-
ular painter of women. Axentowicz received commis-
sions from England, too, and visited that country on a
number of occasions - for instance, in 1890, the year he
was granted membership in the Societe Nationale des
Beaux Arts.
In 1895 Axentowicz settled in Cracow, where until 1934
he held the post of Professor at the School (subsequent-
ly, Academy) of Fine Arts, of which he was Rector in
1910—1911 and 1927-1928. In 1897, he founded his own
school of painting for women, in which instruction was
given by Leon Wyczolkowski and Jan Stanislawski. In
the same year he became one of the founder-members
of the prestigious Polish Artists’ Society “Sztuka”. As a
member of that Society, he frequently exhibited his works
in Poland and abroad. He also belonged to the Vien-
nese “Sezession” and to the Historical Society of Cracow.
During his long and successful career, Axentowicz often
travelled abroad, mainly in connection with the organi-
zation of Polish art exhibitions. Among other places, he
visited St. Louis (1904), Munich (1905), Rome (1911) and
Venice (1914). During his lifetime, Axentowicz held in-
dividual exhibitions in Cracow (1923, 1927 and 1938),
Lodz (1930) and Warsaw (1930).
Axentowicz achieved perfection in the use of pastels.
His works were marked by a felicitous combination of
elegance and decorative qualities. The domain which al-
lowed him to become one of the most popular and best
paid Polish artists was portraiture. The artist painted a
great number of portraits, mostly of female sitters. The
critic Stefan Popowski wrote in 1930: “As a matter of fact,
Axentowicz has been and remains the painter of “Wom-
anhood"... He has explored in depth the notion of «eter-
nal womanhood», to borrow a phrase from Goethe’s Faust,
for whom it was an object of craving... The dominant
accent in the female heads and faces is their expression.
These are often beautiful or even veiy beautiful heads, as
is the case with real-life women... This applies equally to
the subtle features of grand dames, the fresh cheeks of
country girls, the playful visages of urban grisettes, and
the classic faces of statuesque beauties.”
Axentowicz was among the first artists who intro-
duced the motifs of Hutsul folklore into their painting.
His genre scenes in this setting were painted in watercol-
ours or in oils, and the artist often duplicated successful
compositional solutions. This is what the critic quoted
above, Stefan Popowski, wrote about one such work,
Hutsul Dance (also known as Oberek): “Everything in
this picture resounds in bustling commotion. The viewer
can almost feel on his face the wind stirred by the dancers.
Movement and colour, light and an atmosphere of sheer
joy permeate the painting to the fullest extent.”
Occasionally, Axentowicz undertook historical subjects,
too. As if to belie his preference for smaller forms, he
designed a stained-glass window for the Armenian ca-
thedral in Lvov in 1896. He also participated in the pro-
duction of the Raclawice Panorama.
Axentowicz is an example of an extremely talented
“salon” artist, who accommodated the requirements of
his well-to-do clients, while maintaining his works at a
high artistic level. Even so, his success provoked jeal-
ousy among the predominantly poor artists of Cracow,
who accused Axentowicz of excessive commercialism.
The popularity of Axentowicz during his lifetime means
that his oeuvre is highly dispersed now and remains large-
ly uncatalogued.
146