Teodor Axentowicz (; 13 May 185926 August 1938) was a Polish-Armenian painter and university professor. He was also the rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. As an artist, Axentowicz was famous for his portraits and scenes of

Hutsul The Hutsuls (Rusyn language, Hutsul/; ; ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and northern Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). In Ukraine, they have often been officially and administra ...

life, set in the Carpathians.

Life

Axentowicz was born on 13 May 1859 in Brassó, Hungary (now Brașov,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

), to a family of Polish-

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

ancestry. In 1893 in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

, he married Iza Henrietta Gielgud, aunt of Val Gielgud and John Gielgud of the theatrical dynasty. A son, Philip S.A.D. Axentowicz, was born in Chelsea in 1893. Between 1879 and 1882 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. From there he moved to Paris, where he was a student of Carolus-Duran and continued his education until 1895. During that time he started a long cooperation with various journals and started his career as a copyist, duplicating the works of

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

and

Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli ( ; ) or simply known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 1 ...

for . He also made numerous travels to London and Rome, where he prepared a set of portraits, one of the first in his career. In 1894 he started collaboration with

Wojciech Kossak Wojciech Horacy Kossak (31 December 1856 – 29 July 1942) was a Polish Painting, painter and member of the celebrated Kossak family of artists and writers. He was the son of painter Juliusz Kossak, and twin brother of freedom fighter Tadeusz Ko ...

and Jan Styka during the preparation of the '' Racławice Panorama'', one of the largest

panoramic painting Panoramic paintings are massive artworks that reveal a wide, Panorama, all-encompassing view of a particular subject, often a landscape, military battle, or historical event. They became especially popular in the 19th century in Europe and the Un ...

s in the history of Polish art. The following year he moved to

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 ...

, where he became a professor at the local Academy of Fine Arts. He was also active in the local society and cooperated with various societies devoted to propagation of arts and crafts. In 1897 he founded an artistic conservatory for women and soon afterwards became one of the founders of the ''Sztuka'' society, whose members were such artists as

Józef Chełmoński Józef Marian Chełmoński (7 November 1849 – 6 April 1914) was a Polish painter of the Realism (art movement), realist school with roots in the historical and social context of the late Romanticism in Poland, Romantic period in partitioned Pol ...

, Julian Fałat, Jacek Malczewski, Józef Mehoffer, Jan Stanisławski, Włodzimierz Tetmajer, Leon Wyczółkowski and Stanisław Wyspiański. In 1910 he became the rector of the academy and since 1928 was also an honorary member of the Zachęta Society. He died on 26 August 1938 in Kraków. Throughout his life he had numerous exhibitions, both in Poland and abroad. He was awarded many gold medals at both national and international exhibitions, including those in Berlin (1896, 1913), St. Louis (1904),

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(1905, 1935), London (1906), Vienna (1908), Rome (1911),

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

(1914, 1926), Paris (1921),

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

(1927), and Prague (1927). His paintings can be found in almost all public collections in Poland and in numerous private ones there and abroad. In 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair, Axentowicz received a Special Commemorative Award in recognition of service in connection with various national sections of the Department of Art. While in Paris, he received the title of Officier d'Académie Ordre des Palmes académiques and Member of Académie des Beaux-Arts. In addition to Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka", he was also a member of Hagenbund and a founding member of the Vienna Secession.

Awards

* 1909, knighted by Franz Joseph I of Austria to Order of the Iron Crown (Austria). * 1923, the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. * 1929, Medal of the Decade by the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. * 1929, the Grand Gold Medal at the Universal Exhibition in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. * 1936,

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

References

External links

Paintings

Biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Axentowicz, Teodor 1859 births 1938 deaths 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists Ethnic Armenian painters Polish people of Armenian descent Hungarian people of Armenian descent Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni People from Brașov Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery Members of the Vienna Secession Polish male painters Painters from Austria-Hungary

Life

Awards

See also

References

External links