Mieczysław Szczuka (19 October 1898 – 13 August 1927) was a

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 ...

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

and

mountaineer 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, an ...

. Szczuka was born 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 ...

, Kingdom of Poland,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(now

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) and studied painting in 1915–1918 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, with Professor Miłosz Kotarbiński. After graduation, he worked as painter and graphic artist. His main work was as a book

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

and a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

set designer Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

. He also produced photomontages and

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...

films. Szczuka participated in several international exhibitions such as the "First exhibition of modern art" in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. A promoter of

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...

in Poland, Szczuka joined the group of avantgarde artists "Blok". Diagnosed with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, in 1923 Mieczysław Szczuka moved to the mountain resort of

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been par ...

at the foot of Tatras. He started

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 ...

and in 1923-1927 repeated some most difficult climbs of the time and established own new routes. He died in an accident while climbing the south face of Zamarła Turnia in the Tatra Mountains with a novice climber.

References

Kossowska, Irena. ''Sylwetki sztuka. Mieczysław Szczuka'' Instytut Sztuki Polskiej Akademii Nauk, July 2002
(Retrieved 13 April 2010)

(after Zofia i Witold H. Paryscy, ''Wielka Encyklopedia Tatrzańska) (Retrieved 13 April 2010) * Zofia Radwańska-Paryska, Witold Henryk Paryski – ''Wielka Encyklopedia Tatrzańska'' Wydawnictwo Górskie, 1995, reprint edition 2004,

External links

18 Most Important Polish Graphic Designers of the 20th Century
1898 births 1927 deaths 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists Polish mountain climbers Mountaineering deaths Artists from Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw alumni Polish male painters Sport deaths in Poland {{Poland-artist-stub