DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23631#0093
In the Young Poland period attempts were made to return to old Polish traditions in ladies' dress.
This can be seen in the arresting designs of Czeslaw Borys Jankowski, a painter and draughtsman, who
worked in Paris for a time: elegant little hats modelled on the four-cornered cap, fur-trimmed tight fitting
jackets and long ample skirts. His ideas, however, did not find favour with Polish ladies who remained
true to West European styles following the latest fashions launched by Paris and Vienna. Beautiful
creations in 'Art Nouveau and modernistic' style appeared in Poland, but they were always modelled
on western fashion journals. The same was true of accessories which were either imported from abroad
or made in Poland according to foreign models.
The Young Poland applied art found its most original and lasting reflection in interior design, mainly
thanks to the painters Wyspiahski, Mehoffer and Frycz. Stanislaw Wyspiahski was an artist of universal
talent. He seems to have tried to fulfil the testament of the great poet Cyprian Norwid in his efforts
to steep every field of life with art. Wyspiahski painted murals, designed stained-glass windows, tapestries,
and furniture, made objects in metal and took an interest in the art of printing and typography. In every
branch of art he showed great understanding of the material used, a sense of harmony and great invent-
iveness as regards both form and decoration. It is therefore not surprising that the interiors designed by
this versatile artist demonstrated complete uniformity in every respect — general decor, furniture, fittings,
colour scheme. During his studies in Paris, Wyspiahski came to know the concepts of Ruskin and the
Pre-Raphaelites, Morris and Walter Crane, as well as views of French theoreticians on applied art in
industry. Seeking original forms of expression, he created his own style based on folk motifs and on
legends of the origin of the Polish people, which he associated occasionally with Greek mythology.
The best example of Wyspiahski's style m interior design was the Reception Room in the Cracow Art
Club, arranged in 1904. Its grey walls, woollen floor covering and door curtains contrasted with
the red geraniums painted on the frieze and embroidered on the door curtains. It had three large wooden
thrones and a long bench opposite them, all seemingly crude in form. Both the above mentioned pieces
of furniture and the wainscottmg round the room featured motifs recalling medieval crenelation. Similar
in character were the premises of the Cracow Medical Society in Kopernika Street, where the most original
feature was the staircase with a yellow and violet stained-glass window with a representation of Apollo
and balustrade of wrought iron horse-chestnut leaves and flowers. The ceiling in the library was decorated
with rosettes. The meeting room had a frieze of geraniums and its balcony and door frames were carved
in folk motifs. The interiors, designed by Wyspiahski and put into effect by Cracow craftsmen, aroused
varied feelings, both of admiration and criticism, and even found a number of imitators, but were never
adopted on a larger scale. This was probably because his interiors had something reminiscent of stage
decor and in fact it was in stage sets that this side of his talent found the most profound outlet.
Folk art elements are also discernible in interiors designed between 1900 and 1905 by Jozef Mehoffer
for whom wall painting constituted an important component of general decor. A good example of his
style is the debating room of the Cracow Chamber of Trade and Industry with its wavy panelling,
metal chandeliers made by J. Butelski, and a mural painting representing the War of Elements.
Mehoffer also designed the interior of the treasury in Wawel Cathedral. In 1905—06, the restaurant of
Cracow's Old Theatre was redecorated in Art Nouveau style according to plans by Jozef Czajkowski,
Eugeniusz D^browa D^browski, Edward Trojanowski and Ludwik Wojtycki. The walls of the smaller
of the two restaurant rooms were hung with folk style rugs and its radiators were screened by a metal
railing with peacock motifs. The larger room had a panelling and a painted frieze and contained cupboards
of two different kinds of wood. The walls in the bar, appointed in Chippendale style, featured ornamental
flower designs recalling multi-branched candleholders painted often against a gold background. The frieze
in the private banqueting room featured scenes of merry-makers dancing with demi-mondaines. All
the fittings, the furniture, metal-work, upholstery and paintings were the work of Cracow craftsmen,
except the rugs which were made by Antonina Sikorska in Czernichow. This was one of the most original
Aut Nouveau interiors, unfortunately scrapped after the Second World War, at a time when this style was
viewed as an extravagance in bad taste. Luckily another famous Cracow interior from the Young Poland
period escaped a similar fate. We refer to the cafe opened by Jan Michalik in Cracow's Floriahska
Street, where the famous Zielony Balonik (Green Balloon) Cabaret used to give regular performances.
The front room of the cafe, known as Michalik's Den, was arranged mainly by Henryk Szczyglihski
who adorned it with a painted garland of rowan-berries and furnished with simple pieces of furniture
and some twenty iron lanterns. Unfortunately after the Second World War, the bohemian style of this
This can be seen in the arresting designs of Czeslaw Borys Jankowski, a painter and draughtsman, who
worked in Paris for a time: elegant little hats modelled on the four-cornered cap, fur-trimmed tight fitting
jackets and long ample skirts. His ideas, however, did not find favour with Polish ladies who remained
true to West European styles following the latest fashions launched by Paris and Vienna. Beautiful
creations in 'Art Nouveau and modernistic' style appeared in Poland, but they were always modelled
on western fashion journals. The same was true of accessories which were either imported from abroad
or made in Poland according to foreign models.
The Young Poland applied art found its most original and lasting reflection in interior design, mainly
thanks to the painters Wyspiahski, Mehoffer and Frycz. Stanislaw Wyspiahski was an artist of universal
talent. He seems to have tried to fulfil the testament of the great poet Cyprian Norwid in his efforts
to steep every field of life with art. Wyspiahski painted murals, designed stained-glass windows, tapestries,
and furniture, made objects in metal and took an interest in the art of printing and typography. In every
branch of art he showed great understanding of the material used, a sense of harmony and great invent-
iveness as regards both form and decoration. It is therefore not surprising that the interiors designed by
this versatile artist demonstrated complete uniformity in every respect — general decor, furniture, fittings,
colour scheme. During his studies in Paris, Wyspiahski came to know the concepts of Ruskin and the
Pre-Raphaelites, Morris and Walter Crane, as well as views of French theoreticians on applied art in
industry. Seeking original forms of expression, he created his own style based on folk motifs and on
legends of the origin of the Polish people, which he associated occasionally with Greek mythology.
The best example of Wyspiahski's style m interior design was the Reception Room in the Cracow Art
Club, arranged in 1904. Its grey walls, woollen floor covering and door curtains contrasted with
the red geraniums painted on the frieze and embroidered on the door curtains. It had three large wooden
thrones and a long bench opposite them, all seemingly crude in form. Both the above mentioned pieces
of furniture and the wainscottmg round the room featured motifs recalling medieval crenelation. Similar
in character were the premises of the Cracow Medical Society in Kopernika Street, where the most original
feature was the staircase with a yellow and violet stained-glass window with a representation of Apollo
and balustrade of wrought iron horse-chestnut leaves and flowers. The ceiling in the library was decorated
with rosettes. The meeting room had a frieze of geraniums and its balcony and door frames were carved
in folk motifs. The interiors, designed by Wyspiahski and put into effect by Cracow craftsmen, aroused
varied feelings, both of admiration and criticism, and even found a number of imitators, but were never
adopted on a larger scale. This was probably because his interiors had something reminiscent of stage
decor and in fact it was in stage sets that this side of his talent found the most profound outlet.
Folk art elements are also discernible in interiors designed between 1900 and 1905 by Jozef Mehoffer
for whom wall painting constituted an important component of general decor. A good example of his
style is the debating room of the Cracow Chamber of Trade and Industry with its wavy panelling,
metal chandeliers made by J. Butelski, and a mural painting representing the War of Elements.
Mehoffer also designed the interior of the treasury in Wawel Cathedral. In 1905—06, the restaurant of
Cracow's Old Theatre was redecorated in Art Nouveau style according to plans by Jozef Czajkowski,
Eugeniusz D^browa D^browski, Edward Trojanowski and Ludwik Wojtycki. The walls of the smaller
of the two restaurant rooms were hung with folk style rugs and its radiators were screened by a metal
railing with peacock motifs. The larger room had a panelling and a painted frieze and contained cupboards
of two different kinds of wood. The walls in the bar, appointed in Chippendale style, featured ornamental
flower designs recalling multi-branched candleholders painted often against a gold background. The frieze
in the private banqueting room featured scenes of merry-makers dancing with demi-mondaines. All
the fittings, the furniture, metal-work, upholstery and paintings were the work of Cracow craftsmen,
except the rugs which were made by Antonina Sikorska in Czernichow. This was one of the most original
Aut Nouveau interiors, unfortunately scrapped after the Second World War, at a time when this style was
viewed as an extravagance in bad taste. Luckily another famous Cracow interior from the Young Poland
period escaped a similar fate. We refer to the cafe opened by Jan Michalik in Cracow's Floriahska
Street, where the famous Zielony Balonik (Green Balloon) Cabaret used to give regular performances.
The front room of the cafe, known as Michalik's Den, was arranged mainly by Henryk Szczyglihski
who adorned it with a painted garland of rowan-berries and furnished with simple pieces of furniture
and some twenty iron lanterns. Unfortunately after the Second World War, the bohemian style of this