Leon Jan Wyczółkowski (; 11 April 1852 – 27 December 1936) was a Polish painter and educator who was one of the leading painters of the

Young Poland Young Poland ( ) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Poland promoted tre ...

movement, as well as the principal representative of Polish Realism 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 (, usually abbreviated to ''ASP''), is a public higher education, institution of higher education located in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It is the oldest Polish fine art academy, established in 1 ...

(ASP) in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, and from 1934, ASP in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. He was a founding member of the

Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka" The Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka" () founded in 1897 in Kraków, was a gathering of prominent Polish visual artists from around the turn of the century (or fin-de-siècle era) living under the foreign partitions of Poland The Partitions ...

(Art, 1897).

Work

Wyczółkowski was born in Huta Miastowska near

Garwolin Garwolin is a town on the Wilga (Garwolin), Wilga river in eastern Poland, capital of Garwolin County, situated in the southeast part of the Garwolin plateau in Masovian Voivodeship, southeast of Warsaw, northwest of Lublin. As of December 2021, ...

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of 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. It was established w ...

. 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 Bi ...

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 Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subjec ...

. He painted dramatic landscapes, nudes, and pastoral scenes with

impasto Impasto is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides tex ...

and impressionist lighting effects (e.g., "Paddling Fishermen"). For a short while he came under the influence of

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

(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 (also called Manggha), 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 is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

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 extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. 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 in Kraków The National Museum in Kraków (), 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 around the country. Established in ...

, the

National Museum in Warsaw The National Museum in Warsaw (, 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 ( Egyptian, Greek, Roman), counting about 11,000 pieces, an ...

, and at the Bydgoszcz Museum.

Selected works

References

External links

Digital collection of artworks by Leon Wyczółkowski at the National Museum in Kraków
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyczolkowski, Leon 1852 births 1936 deaths People from Garwolin County Polish modern painters Artists from Congress Poland Painters from the Russian Empire 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

Selected works

See also

References

External links