Andrzej Wróblewski (15 June 1927 - 23 March 1957) was a Polish

figurative painter Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. The term is often in contrast to abstract a ...

who died in a

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

accident in 1957 when he was only 29. He is recognized by many as one of Poland's most prominent artists in the early post

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

era, creating a distinctly individualistic approach to

representational art Representation is the use of signs that stand in for and take the place of something else.Mitchell, W. 1995, "Representation", in F Lentricchia & T McLaughlin (eds), ''Critical Terms for Literary Study'', 2nd edn, University of Chicago Press, Chica ...

Biography

Wróblewski was born in

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

(modern Vilnius) on 15 June 1927, the son of law professor Bronisław Wróblewski from the

Stefan Batory University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

and the painter

Krystyna Wróblewska Krystyna Wróblewska (1904 – 1994),Małgorzata Kozłowska, Życie dłutem wyżłobione. Twórczość Krystyny Wróblewskiej (1904-1994).' Wyd. Neriton publishing, Warsaw 2007. was a Polish painter, graphic artist, book designer and member of t ...

. He showed artistic talent at a very young age. His education was interrupted by the German invasion of Poland, although he was able to attend some underground courses; his mother introduced him to the art of

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

which he practiced from 1944 to 1946.Andrzej Wróblewski
at culture.pl Immediately after the end of World War II, following the shifting of Poland's national borders, his family moved from Wilno to

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, where he passed the matura exams and became a student in the Painting and Sculpture Department of Poland's oldest art school, the Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied between 1945 and 1952 under Zygmunt Radnicki, Zbigniew Pronaszko (pl),

Hanna Rudzka-Cybisowa Hanna Rudzka-Cybisowa (1897-1988) was a Polish artist and teacher. Biography Rudzka-Cybisowa was born on 27 June 1897 in Mława, Poland. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw where she was taught by . In 1923 Rudzka-Cybisowa becam ...

and Jerzy Fedkowicz. Also between 1945 and 1948 he simultaneously studied art history at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

, Poland's oldest university (and one of the oldest in the world).

1945-1949

Through exploration in art Wroblewski devised his own formal style, with his own artistic interpretation, revealed in one of his most famous works ''Executions'' dating from the late 1940s illustrating his heightened expressiveness and metaphorical abilities depicting real life events. He was also highly interested in art theoretician and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

critique at times, since 1948 publishing articles in ''Głos Plastyków'' ("Artists' Voice"), ''

Przegląd Artystyczny Przegląd (English: ''Review'') is a weekly Polish news and opinion magazine published in Warsaw, Poland. History and profile ''Przegląd'' was started in 1990 as the successor of another weekly, ''Przegląd Tygodniowy'', which had been published ...

'' ("Arts Review"), ''

Twórczość ''Twórczość'' (Creativity, or Creative Output) is a Polish monthly literary journal, first published in 1945. Since 1 April 2000, ''Twórczość'' has been published by the state-funded Book Institute (Instytut Książki).Gazeta Krakowska The ''Gazeta Krakowska'', (full title ''Polska Gazeta Krakowska'') is the largest regional daily newspaper in Kraków, Poland, published five times a week in that city. Gazeta Krakowska was established on 15 February 1949. It features articles abo ...

'' (Kraków's Newspaper) and ''

Życie Literackie ''Życie'' (, "Life") was an illustrated weekly established in 1897 and published in Kraków and Lwów in the Austrian partition of Poland. Founded by Ludwik Szczepański, with time it became one of the most popular Polish literary and artistic j ...

'' ("Literary Life").

Last years

In the early 1950s in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

Wróblewski adopted the state-favoured style of

socrealism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

. After the death of Soviet premier

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

and resulting destalinization lessened governmental pressures on various spheres of life, art included. Wroblewski died in a mountaineering accident in Tatry on 23 March 1957. He was the author of over 150

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

s, 1400 drawings, dozens of other art forms and over 80 published articles. His works are featured in the collections of many Polish museums and exhibitions.

Art market

In November 2021, his painting titled ''Two Married Women'' (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: "Dwie mężatki") was sold at an auction in Warsaw for a record 13.4 million zloty (ca. $3.2 million) becoming at the time the most expensive work of art sold on the Polish market. It was painted in 1949 and is part of the artists' ''Societal Contrasts'' series. It is considered an iconic work of Polish post-war art.

Notes

References

* Feliks Szyszko
"Impact of History on Polish Art in the Twentieth Century"
essay on Wroblewski's role and contribution illustrated with painting "Execution V" at Info-Poland.Buffalo.edu
Gallery of selected 5 paintings
at Info-Poland.Buffalo.edu

Short bio with 2 pictures
at Artyzm.com
Andrzej Wróblewski, czyli spór artysty z rzeczywistością
in

Przekrój ''Przekrój'' (; ''Cross-section'') was the oldest Polish weekly newsmagazine in operation, established in 1945 in Kraków. After temporary closure in 2013, it was bought by photographer Tomasz Niewiadomski and subsequently relaunched in December ...

, 21/2006.
Biography, gallery of pictures

Nieznany Wróblewski - essay

Wróblewski or the Unwillingness to Reconcile Contradictions

Andrzej Wróblewski biography on Culture.pl