Apolinary_kotowicz_autoportret_w_pracowni

Apolinary Stanisław Kotowicz (24 March 1859 – 21 April 1917) was a Polish painter of landscapes, portraits and

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

scenes. He was also a

set decorator The set decorator is the head of the set decoration department in the film and television industry, responsible for selecting, designing, fabricating, and sourcing the "set dressing" elements of each set in a Feature Film, Television, or New Media ...

and amateur photographer.

Biography

Kotowicz was born on 24 March 1859 in

Biecz Biecz () (german: Beitsch) is a town and municipality in southeastern Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Gorlice County. It is in the Carpathian Mountains, in the Doły Jasielsko-Sanockie, by the Ropa River. Due to its rich history, it is oft ...

. His father, Antoni Kotowicz (1816-1885) was a medical doctor and naturalist from

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

. He began his education in

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów ...

. In 1878, he moved 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 spent most of his adult life. Through 1887, he studied at the

Academy of Fine arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

with

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Poles, Polish painting, painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works includ ...

(history painting) and

Władysław Łuszczkiewicz Władysław Łuszczkiewicz (September 3, 1828 – May 23, 1900) was a Polish historian and painter of the late Romantic era from Kraków, active in the period of the foreign partitions of Poland. He was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts and ...

(drawing and anatomy).Biographical notes
@ AgraArt. After graduating, he spent two years in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

on a scholarship, where he studied at a private school operated by

Simon Hollósy Simon Hollósy; (2 February 1857, Máramarossziget (now Sighetu Marmației, Romania) – 8 May 1918, Técső (now Tiachiv, Ukraine) was a Hungarian painter of Armenian ancestry; original name was: Choriban (Korbuly).Gudenus János József:Ör ...

, who took him on field trips to the Hungarian countryside. Upon returning home, he began to exhibit regularly at the showings of the

Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts The Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts ( pl, Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Sztuk Pięknych w Krakowie, TPSP) is a social group of artists, artisans and their supporters founded in Kraków in 1854, under the Austrian Partition of Poland. Today, the ...

. From 1894 to 1895, he was one of the artists who participated in creating the , a view of the

Tatra Mountains The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak language, Slovak () or in Polish language, Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovak ...

that measured 115 meters (337 ft.) by 16 meters (52 ft.), making it the largest Polish panorama and the only one to feature a landscape rather than historical scenes. It was on display in Warsaw for three years (1896-1899), when the promoters went bankrupt and it was sold to

Jan Styka Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

, a panorama painter. It disappeared during World War I. Apolinary Kotowicz Stary Biecz

From 1898 to 1903, he was the decorator at the Kraków Municipal Theatre. He also designed

playbills ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...

and posters and illustrated the first edition of ''Tamten'', a play by

Gabriela Zapolska Maria Gabriela Stefania Korwin-Piotrowska (1857–1921), known as Gabriela Zapolska, was a Polish novelist, playwright, naturalist writer, feuilletonist, theatre critic and stage actress. Zapolska wrote 41 plays, 23 novels, 177 short stories, 25 ...

. In 1904, he returned to his native countryside, settled in

Jasło Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesse ...

, and taught drawing at the local gymnasium, where he painted a "Vision of Saint Francis" for the school chapel. Together with

Włodzimierz Tetmajer Włodzimierz Tetmajer (December 31, 1861 in Harklowa – December 26, 1923 in Kraków) was a Polish painter with works in collections of the Warsaw National Museum and Kraków. Biography Włodzimierz Tetmajer was born in Harklowa near Krako ...

(an associate from the Panorama Tatr) he created decorations for the parish church in Biecz. He was also involved in the cataloguing and preservation of local monuments. Following the

Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive The Gorlice–Tarnów offensive during World War I was initially conceived as a minor German offensive to relieve Russian pressure on the Austro-Hungarians to their south on the Eastern Front, but resulted in the Central Powers' chief offensiv ...

, he painted scenes of the destruction in the vicinity of Jasło. He died in Jasło during the German occupation in 21 April 1917.

References

External links

Biographical notes and images
from the Galeria Osobowości @ Facebook {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotowicz, Apolinary 1859 births 1917 deaths Polish painters Polish male painters Polish landscape painters Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts alumni Set decorators Polish poster artists People from Gorlice County Painters from Austria-Hungary

Biography

References

Further reading

External links