Eligiusz Niewiadomski
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Eligiusz Niewiadomski (December 1, 1869 in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
– January 31, 1923 in Warsaw) was a Polish
modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
painter and art critic who sympathized with the right-wing
National Democracy National Democracy may refer to: * National Democracy (Czech Republic) * National Democracy (Italy) * National Democracy (Philippines) * National Democracy (Poland) * National Democracy (Spain) See also * Civic nationalism, a general concept * ...
movement. In 1922 he assassinated Poland's first President,
Gabriel Narutowicz Gabriel Józef Narutowicz (; 29 March 1865 – 16 December 1922) was a Polish professor of hydroelectric engineering and politician who served as the first President of Poland from 11 December 1922 until his assassination on 16 December, five d ...
, in his first week in office as president.


Life

Niewiadomski was born into a family of
gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...
descent. His father, Wincenty Niewiadomski, of the ''Prus'' coat-of-arms, was a
veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...
of the January Uprising and a worker at the Warsaw
mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
. At the age of two, Eligiusz lost his mother Julia, and was raised by his elder sister Cecylia. After graduating from a local trade school in 1888, Niewiadomski moved to
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, where he continued his studies at the
Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the T ...
. He graduated in 1894 with honors, and won a scholarship to the ''École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts'' in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. After his return to Warsaw, he became a student of
Wojciech Gerson Wojciech Gerson (; July 1, 1831 – February 25, 1901) was a leading Polish painter of the mid-19th century, and one of the foremost representatives of the Polish school of Realism during the foreign Partitions of Poland. He served as long-time ...
, one of the best-known Polish artists of the age. After 1897, he taught drawing at the
Warsaw Polytechnic The Warsaw University of Technology ( pl, Politechnika Warszawska, lit=Varsovian Polytechnic) is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professor ...
. He also collaborated with a number of
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
-based magazines and newspapers as a journalist and art critic, which gave him considerable notoriety, mostly among the artists themselves. He became involved in various artistic movements, among them the "re-discovery" of the
Tatra Mountains The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - '' plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the hi ...
, which at the time attracted some of the most renowned Polish painters, poets and writers as a source of inspiration. Niewiadomski prepared and published a map of the Tatras, one of the first tourist maps of the area. He also prepared a set of historical maps of Poland, ''Album of the History of Poland'' (1899). He also became involved in the reorganization of the
Zachęta The Zachęta National Gallery of Art ( Polish: ''Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki'') is a contemporary art museum in the center of Warsaw, Poland. The Gallery's chief purpose is to present and support Polish contemporary art and artists. With numer ...
art society. Using contacts acquired there, he promoted the idea of creating a separate Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. However, when the school was finally opened in 1903, Niewiadomski was not invited to teach there. Politically, Niewiadomski was a strong supporter of
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
, particularly the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
. In 1901 he was arrested by the Tsarist police for smuggling nationalist propaganda booklets from Galicia into
Vistula Land Vistula Land, Vistula Country (russian: Привислинский край, ''Privislinsky krai''; pl, Kraj Nadwiślański) was the name applied to the lands of Congress Poland from 1867, following the defeats of the November Uprising (1830–3 ...
. Though released after several months in the
Pawiak Prison Pawiak () was a prison built in 1835 in Warsaw, Congress Poland. During the January 1863 Uprising, it served as a transfer camp for Poles sentenced by Imperial Russia to deportation to Siberia. During the World War II German occupation ...
, he lost his job at the
Warsaw Polytechnic The Warsaw University of Technology ( pl, Politechnika Warszawska, lit=Varsovian Polytechnic) is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professor ...
and fell into an impoverished state. This further radicalized his political beliefs. During the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
he promoted the idea of perpetrating anti-Russian
sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
, for which he was excluded from the National League. To make a living, Niewiadomski began teaching art classes at numerous schools and churches in Poland. He also made frescoes in
Konin Konin (german: Kunau) is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Prior to 1999, it was the capital of the Konin Voivodeship (1975–1998). In 2021 the p ...
's St. Bartholomew's Church. However, his two-volume monograph ''On Mediaeval Art'' sold poorly, and Niewiadomski was on the verge of being forgotten by his contemporaries. After the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he remained in Warsaw, where he published
brochure A brochure is originally an informative paper document (often also used for advertising) that can be folded into a template, pamphlet, or leaflet. A brochure can also be a set of related unfolded papers put into a pocket folder or packet or can ...
s and manifestos describing his views on the role of art. He also continued teaching art history and artistic technique at various schools. On March 1, 1918, he was appointed director of painting and sculpture at the
Regency Council A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...
's Ministry of Culture, a post that had previously been turned down by numerous artists. After Poland regained independence, Niewiadomski joined the newly reborn country's Ministry of Culture. In 1920, during the Polish-Soviet War, he tried to join the
Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...
but was turned down as too old. However, he was accepted by
Polish intelligence This article covers the history of Polish Intelligence services dating back to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Commonwealth Though the first official Polish government service entrusted with espionage, intelligence and counter-intelligence ...
and served as a translator of Russian documents. During the last months of the war, he finally managed to convince his superiors to transfer him to front-line service and fought in the 5th Legions' Infantry Regiment. Demobilized in 1921, Niewiadomski returned to the Ministry of Culture and continued his work there as a clerk. However, on November 8, 1921, after
Antoni Ponikowski Antoni Ponikowski (; May 29, 1878 – December 27, 1949) was a Polish academician and politician who served as 7th Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council ...
's government refused to grant Niewiadomski's department a higher budget, he resigned his post. He then devoted himself to writing and prepared several monographs on 19th- and 20th-century Polish painting, and on the theory of art. He made his living illustrating books.


Assassin

On December 9, 1922,
Gabriel Narutowicz Gabriel Józef Narutowicz (; 29 March 1865 – 16 December 1922) was a Polish professor of hydroelectric engineering and politician who served as the first President of Poland from 11 December 1922 until his assassination on 16 December, five d ...
was elected by the National Assembly as the first President of Poland. After a heated debate, Narutowicz's candidacy managed to gather 289 votes, including 113 votes of various national minority MPs. The defeated candidate of the National Democratic Party Maurycy Zamoyski gathered 227 votes, yet the National Democrats decided to boycott the President and announced that he was elected by the “Reds, Jews, and Germans” rather than Poles. This started a period of civil unrest in Warsaw, where the supporters of nationalist ideas protested against the election of their president. On December 16, 1922, the newly elected president attended the opening of an art exhibition at the Zachęta Art Gallery. Niewiadomski, a frequent guest at such gatherings, pulled out his revolver, approached Narutowicz and shot him. The president died instantly. Arrested on December 30, he demanded a death penalty for himself, and was sentenced to death by
firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...
, and the sentence was carried out at the
Warsaw Citadel Warsaw Citadel (Polish: Cytadela Warszawska) is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster imperial Russian control of the city. ...
on January 31, 1923. He was 53 years old. His body was interred at
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
's
Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Powązkowski), also known as Stare Powązki ( en, Old Powązki), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of t ...
. After his execution, Niewiadomski remained a controversial figure. His funeral was attended by 10,000 people. Bartłomiej Kozłowski
"Proces o zabójstwo prezydenta Narutowicza"
, Polska.pl: Kalendarium, Wydarzenia; 2003


See also

*
List of Poles This is a partial list of notable Polish or Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited. Science Physics * Czesław Białobrzeski * Andrzej Buras * Georges Charpa ...


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Niewiadomski, Eligiusz 1869 births 1923 deaths 1922 murders in Poland Artists from Warsaw Burials at Powązki Cemetery National League (Poland) members 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists Polish assassins Academic staff of the Warsaw University of Technology People executed by the Second Polish Republic Executed Polish people Executed assassins People executed by Poland by firing squad Polish people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Poland Assassins of presidents Executed people from Masovian Voivodeship 20th-century Polish criminals Polish male painters Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War