Leon Jan Wyczółkowski (; 24 April 1852 – 27 December 1936) was one of the leading

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

s of the Young Poland movement, as well as the principal representative of Polish

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: * Classical Realism *Literary realism, a mov ...

in art of the Interbellum. From 1895 to 1911 he served as professor of the

Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki w Krakowie, usually abbreviated to ''ASP''), is a public institution of higher education located in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It is the oldest Pol ...

(ASP) in

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

, and from 1934, ASP 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 officiall ...

. He was a founding member of the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka" (Art, 1897).

Work

Wyczółkowski was born in Huta Miastowska near

Garwolin Garwolin is a town on the Wilga river in eastern Poland, capital of Garwolin County, situated in the southeast part of the Garwolin plateau in Masovian Voivodeship, 62 km southeast of Warsaw, 100 km northwest of Lublin. As of December ...

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. I ...

. At first, in his artistic experience he aimed at devoting himself to the genre of

historical painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

with documentary realism in the detail. After his trip to Paris though, he changed his focus and began implementing solutions typical of the French Impressionists. He painted dramatic landscapes, nudes and pastoral scenes with impasto and impressionist lighting effects (e.g., "Paddling Fishermen"). For a short while he came under the influence of Symbolism (e.g., "Fossilized Druid"), and around 1900 darkened his palette. His work is characterized by a richness of form and complex technical means. Thanks to a friendship with Feliks Manggha Jasieński, he expanded his interests to include oriental scenes as well. Wyczółkowski was a master of flower arrangements and still life. He portrayed almost the entire art world of

. Wyczółkowski died 1936 in

. After the war, on the anniversary of his birthday (11 April 1946According to old, Julian calendar. Wyczółkowski was born on April 24th, acc. to modern, Gregorian calendar - https://niezlasztuka.net/artysta/leon-wyczolkowski/), the District Museum in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with mor ...

took up his name in recognition of his outstanding achievements. His widow donated to the Museum many of his works and belongings. The Bydgoszcz museum owns one of the largest collections of Leon Wyczółkowski’s paintings, drawings and graphics in

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 populou ...

. The collection is complemented with numerous documents, a rich photographic archive, personal memorabilia, artistic workshop and other original items from his mansion in Gościeradz. The collection, organized into a new department, consists of over 700 works of Leon Wyczółkowski. His most representative impressionist paintings can be found at the

National Museum, Kraków The National Museum in Kraków ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie), popularly abbreviated as MNK, is the largest museum in Poland, and the main branch of Poland's National Museum, which has several independent branches with permanent collections arou ...

, the

National Museum, Warsaw The National Museum in Warsaw ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie), popularly abbreviated as MNW, is a national museum in Warsaw, one of the largest museums in Poland and the largest in the capital. It comprises a rich collection of ancient art ( Eg ...

and at the Bydgoszcz Museum.

Representative work

File:Leon Wyczółkowski 'Orka na Ukrainie'.jpg, ''Plowing in the Ukraine'', 1892,

File:Wyczółkowski Wading fishermen.jpg, ''Wading Fishermen'', 1891,

File:Leon Wyczółkowski, Akt, ok. 1908.jpg, ''Nude'', oil on canvas, 1908,

File:Karol Estreicher by Leon Wyczółkowski (1905).jpg, ''Portrait of Karol Estreicher'' by Leon Wyczółkowski, 1905, Jagiellonian University Museum File:Irena Solska by Leon Wyczółkowski (1899).jpg, '' Irena Solska'', 1899,

File:Konstanty Laszczka by Leon Wyczółkowski (1901-1902).jpg, ''Portrait of Konstanty Laszczka'', 1901-1902,

File:Wyczółkowski I once saw.jpg, ''Once I Glimpsed'', 1884, National Museum in Warsaw File:Selfportrait of Leon Wyczółkowski (1897).jpg, ''Self-Portrait at the Studio'', 1897, National Museum Kraków File:Wyczółkowski Fisherman.jpg, ''Fisherman'', 1911, National Museum in Warsaw

References

Gallery of paintings by Wyczółkowski
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyczolkowski, Leon 1852 births 1936 deaths People from Garwolin County Modern painters 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists Golden Laurel of the Polish Academy of Literature People from Siedlce Governorate People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent Polish male painters

Work

Representative work

See also

References