Maria Gażycz, née Maria Nowina-Chrzanowska (20 March 1860, Vishera,

Kursk Governorate Kursk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, which existed from 1796 to 1928 with its capital in Kursk. Administrative divisions As of 1914, Kursk Governorate included 15 uyezds. * Belgorods ...

– 13 September 1935,

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

) was a Belarusian-born Polish figure painter, art restorer, and nun in the order of the

Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth The Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (Latin: ''Congregatio Sororum Sacrae Familiae de Nazareth'') are a Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute founded in Rome in 1875 by Mother Franciszka Siedliska. They use the po ...

Biography

Her father was an engineer; involved in the building of railways and bridges in Kursk. Her Swedish mother, Elzbieta, was a member of the aristocratic

Nobel family The Nobel family ( ), is a prominent Swedish family closely related to the history both of Sweden and of Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its legacy includes its outstanding contributions to philanthropy and to the development of the ar ...

.Biography
@ Наша вера (Our Faith) by Tatyana Malinovskaya. According to her mother's wishes, she was raised in the strict

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

tradition. Their winters were generally spent in Warsaw. She and her three siblings were educated at home. From 1874 to 1878, she studied in Warsaw with

Wojciech Gerson Wojciech Gerson (; 1 July 1831 – 25 February 1901) was a Polish painter, educator, architect and art critic who was one of the foremost representatives of the Polish school of Realism during the foreign Partitions of Poland. He served as long ...

. In 1878, she had her first exhibition at the Zachęta and married Konstantin Gażycz (1848-1900), who owned an estate in the Grodno Region. They had a son who died in infancy. Later, she studied in Munich and, from 1891 to 1895, attended the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

in Paris, where she worked with

William-Adolphe Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French Academic art, academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of Classicism, classical subjects, with a ...

Tony Robert-Fleury Tony Robert-Fleury (1 September 18378 December 1911) was a French painter, known primarily for historical scenes. He was also a prominent art teacher, with many famous artists among his students. Biography He was born just outside Paris, and st ...

and

Jules Joseph Lefebvre Jules Joseph Lefebvre (; 14 March 183624 February 1911) was a French painter, educator and theorist. Early life Lefebvre was born in Tournan-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, on 14 March 1836. He entered the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Ar ...

. When she was widowed, she went to live with her sister, Janina, 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 ...

. The following year she converted to Catholicism and, in 1906, entered the convent of the Sisters of Nazareth in Rome. She took her first vows in 1908, and her perpetual vows in 1912. After that, she signed her paintings as "Sister Paula of Nazareth". Until 1919, she served at the Sisters' convent dedicated to the

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

in Grodno, followed by service in

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

. From 1923 to 1928, she was

Mistress of novices In the Christian Church, a novice master or master of novices (), is a member of an institute of consecrated life who is responsible for the training and government of the novitiate in that institute. In religious institutes for women, the novice ...

in Albano and was Superior of the convent there until 1932. As her health began to fail, she retired to Grodno, where she died.

Selected paintings

File:Maria Gażycz - Dama w stroju balowym 1897.jpg, Lady Dressed for a Ball File:Maria Gażycz - Wieśniak.jpg, Peasant File:Maria Gażycz - Wieśniaczka.jpg, Peasant Woman File:Saint Joseph Carpenter by Maria Gazhych.jpg,

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

References

External links

"Siostry Pawły z Nazaretu życie niezwykłe i obrazy w kolekcji Muzeum Polskiego w Ameryce"
(Sister Paula of Nazareth: Life and Extraordinary Paintings in the Collection of the

Polish Museum of America The Polish Museum of America is located in West Town, in what had been the historical Polish Downtown neighborhood of Chicago. It is home to numerous Polish artifacts, artwork, and embroidered folk costumes in its growing collection. Founded in ...

) by Julita Siegel, @ Dziennik Związkowy {{DEFAULTSORT:Gazycz, Maria 1860 births 1935 deaths 19th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish painters Polish women painters Belarusian painters Religious artists Belarusian women painters People from Kursk Governorate 20th-century Polish Roman Catholic nuns Nobel family 20th-century Polish women artists 19th-century Polish women artists 19th-century women painters from the Russian Empire 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links