DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41455#0155
Olga
Boznanska
1865 Cracow - 1940 Paris
Olga Boznariska’s father was a building engineer
and her French mother was a teacher (among
other things, of drawing). From childhood, Olga
displayed a remarkable artistic talent (pastels which she
painted at the age of ten have survived). Her parents
were intent on developing her abilities. Boznanska went
to Paris for the first time already in 1878, and to Vienna
in 1886. Her first teacher of drawing and painting was
her mother, succeeded, in turn, by Jozef Siedlecki, Hi-
polit Lipiriski and Kasper Pochwalski (1883).
As women were not admitted to the School of Fine
Arts, from 1884 to 1886 Boznanska attended the ad-
vanced art course at the Museum of Technology and
Industry, where she was a student of Jozef Siedlecki and
Antoni Piotrowski. In 1886-1889, she studied in Munich,
first at Karl Kricheldorf s school and then with Wilhelm
Durr. During her stay there, she was chaperoned by the
Polish Munchner. Jozef Brandt, Alfred Wierusz Kowal-
ski and Waclaw Szymanowski.
Boznanska exhibited in Cracow from 1886 and abroad
from 1887. Her paintings were given a cool reception
by the Cracovian public. A contemporary critic ex-
plained this reluctance in the following words: “Our au-
dience has no artistic training... What it looks for is either
a pleasant way of painting or the pleasant personality of
the artist. Among those rejected by our public is Olga
Boznanska. Her pictures are not popular because they
are painted too well ... and do not flatter the viewers
with the cliches they expect.”
There were only few who appreciated Boznariska’s
art. One of them was Stanislaw Wyspiariski, who ad-
mitted to Karol Maszkowski on seeing the Portrait of
the Artist’s Mother in 1890: "... I admired the new ma-
sterpiece by Miss Boznanska - a true masterpiece this
time - extremely well painted and excellent as a portrait
... Well, I myself feel disinclined to get down to painting
now that I have seen what a fine painter Miss Boz-
nariska is.”
In the years 1889-1898, the artist worked in Munich
on her own. She visited Cracow and Paris many times
during those years, and also made a trip to Switzerland.
By the mid-1890s, Boznanska had already gained wide
international recognition. In 1895, the Bazar magazine
published in Berlin included her among the twelve best
female painters in Europe. In the following year she
was offered a professorship at the women’s section of
the reformed School of Fine Arts in Cracow, a proposal
which she turned down. Instead, in 1898 she took the
post of acting head of Theodor Hummel’s school of
painting in Munich. In the same year she joined the
Polish Artists’ Society “Sztuka” and in 1913 became its
President.
Towards the end of 1898, Boznanska moved to Paris
for good, but she frequently visited Poland thereafter. In
the French capital, she took active part in the life of the
local Polish community. She was a co-founder of the
Polish Artists’ Society and President of the Polish Society
of Arts and Letters.
In 1904, Boznanska became a member of the Societe
Nationale des Beaux-Arts. She took part in numerous
exhibitions - in France, Poland and elsewhere - and
frequently participated in official Polish exhibitions abroad,
although she did also exhibit her works in the French
section on such occasions. Boznanska won many pres-
tigious awards, for instance, the Grand Prix at the World
Exhibition in Paris in 1937. In 1912, she received the
cross of the Legion of Honour, and in 1938 - the cross
of the Polonia Restituta Order.
Despite the certain one-sidedness of her art, Boz-
nariska occupies a prominent position in the history
of Polish painting. She became involved very early
in the innovative trends of French art, breaking away
from the Romantic tradition that encumbered Polish
painting, especially in the artistic circles of Cracow. She
sooner won recognition abroad than at home. Boznari-
ska’s rich output in the field of portraiture is largely in
private hands today. The best collections of her works
are found at the National Museums in Cracow, Warsaw
and Poznan.
This is how Olga Boznanska herself characterized her
art: “My pictures look great, because they are truthful,
honest, noble and free of pettiness, mannerism and
deceit. They are silent, but they live, as if there was a
light veil separating them from the audience. They exist
in an atmosphere of their own.”
162
Boznanska
1865 Cracow - 1940 Paris
Olga Boznariska’s father was a building engineer
and her French mother was a teacher (among
other things, of drawing). From childhood, Olga
displayed a remarkable artistic talent (pastels which she
painted at the age of ten have survived). Her parents
were intent on developing her abilities. Boznanska went
to Paris for the first time already in 1878, and to Vienna
in 1886. Her first teacher of drawing and painting was
her mother, succeeded, in turn, by Jozef Siedlecki, Hi-
polit Lipiriski and Kasper Pochwalski (1883).
As women were not admitted to the School of Fine
Arts, from 1884 to 1886 Boznanska attended the ad-
vanced art course at the Museum of Technology and
Industry, where she was a student of Jozef Siedlecki and
Antoni Piotrowski. In 1886-1889, she studied in Munich,
first at Karl Kricheldorf s school and then with Wilhelm
Durr. During her stay there, she was chaperoned by the
Polish Munchner. Jozef Brandt, Alfred Wierusz Kowal-
ski and Waclaw Szymanowski.
Boznanska exhibited in Cracow from 1886 and abroad
from 1887. Her paintings were given a cool reception
by the Cracovian public. A contemporary critic ex-
plained this reluctance in the following words: “Our au-
dience has no artistic training... What it looks for is either
a pleasant way of painting or the pleasant personality of
the artist. Among those rejected by our public is Olga
Boznanska. Her pictures are not popular because they
are painted too well ... and do not flatter the viewers
with the cliches they expect.”
There were only few who appreciated Boznariska’s
art. One of them was Stanislaw Wyspiariski, who ad-
mitted to Karol Maszkowski on seeing the Portrait of
the Artist’s Mother in 1890: "... I admired the new ma-
sterpiece by Miss Boznanska - a true masterpiece this
time - extremely well painted and excellent as a portrait
... Well, I myself feel disinclined to get down to painting
now that I have seen what a fine painter Miss Boz-
nariska is.”
In the years 1889-1898, the artist worked in Munich
on her own. She visited Cracow and Paris many times
during those years, and also made a trip to Switzerland.
By the mid-1890s, Boznanska had already gained wide
international recognition. In 1895, the Bazar magazine
published in Berlin included her among the twelve best
female painters in Europe. In the following year she
was offered a professorship at the women’s section of
the reformed School of Fine Arts in Cracow, a proposal
which she turned down. Instead, in 1898 she took the
post of acting head of Theodor Hummel’s school of
painting in Munich. In the same year she joined the
Polish Artists’ Society “Sztuka” and in 1913 became its
President.
Towards the end of 1898, Boznanska moved to Paris
for good, but she frequently visited Poland thereafter. In
the French capital, she took active part in the life of the
local Polish community. She was a co-founder of the
Polish Artists’ Society and President of the Polish Society
of Arts and Letters.
In 1904, Boznanska became a member of the Societe
Nationale des Beaux-Arts. She took part in numerous
exhibitions - in France, Poland and elsewhere - and
frequently participated in official Polish exhibitions abroad,
although she did also exhibit her works in the French
section on such occasions. Boznanska won many pres-
tigious awards, for instance, the Grand Prix at the World
Exhibition in Paris in 1937. In 1912, she received the
cross of the Legion of Honour, and in 1938 - the cross
of the Polonia Restituta Order.
Despite the certain one-sidedness of her art, Boz-
nariska occupies a prominent position in the history
of Polish painting. She became involved very early
in the innovative trends of French art, breaking away
from the Romantic tradition that encumbered Polish
painting, especially in the artistic circles of Cracow. She
sooner won recognition abroad than at home. Boznari-
ska’s rich output in the field of portraiture is largely in
private hands today. The best collections of her works
are found at the National Museums in Cracow, Warsaw
and Poznan.
This is how Olga Boznanska herself characterized her
art: “My pictures look great, because they are truthful,
honest, noble and free of pettiness, mannerism and
deceit. They are silent, but they live, as if there was a
light veil separating them from the audience. They exist
in an atmosphere of their own.”
162