Polish history through paintings

[Jaga]

I am reading a book related to Polish history of XIX century when Poland was occupied. There were marvelous artists that illustrated this difficult history through their paintings.
One of them Maximilian Gierymski who died on tuberculosis when he was only 29 years old.
Here in some of the paintings one can see the fate of Polish uprising 1963 (so called January uprising that started after tzar army started to take Polish youth to compulsory tzar army that service lasted 25-30 years.

Here is his biography and one of the famous paintings:

Maksymilian Dionizy Gierymski (1846 in Warsaw – 1874 in Reichenhall, Bavaria) was a Polish painter, specializing mainly in watercolours. He was the older brother of painter Aleksander Gierymski.

As a seventeen-year-old boy, he participated in the January Uprising. He was educated at the Warsaw Drawing School initially, but then received a government scholarship in 1867 and went to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. He became one of the leading painters of the Munich realistic school. Initially best known for this battle paintings, he also created many landscape paintings, especially of southern Poland, which he visited several times.

Completely successful in western Europe, he did not gain approval nor popularity in Poland of the 19th century, although he sent paintings to exhibitions in Warsaw regularly from 1868 on. He did however win awards at exhibitions in Munich (1869) and in Berlin (1872).[


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maksymilian_Gierymski

[Jaga]

Karl, it seems that this guy got lots of his training in Germany and was pretty respected there. Poles in that time were more fed up with Russia than with Germany or Austria, in spite of the fact that all of these countries participated in Polish partition/

[karl]

Jaga

Mr. Gierymski was very well trained in his kraft in painting by observation of some of his presented works. My self am not an expert in the art of painting, but in that stead an observer. The use of water colours as indicated by the hand of Mr. Gierymski is well illistrated by these examples as shown. Speaking for my self, my personal preference is paintings using water colour for it is much softer in rendition and with this, the preference he {Gierymski} had in the realistic form of painting.

Even though Mr. Gierymski did share his works with Warsaw but by appearances he was not accepted, non the less, although provided a Government Scholarship in a foreign state, he never for got his home land of Poland. With this, is shown the great deal of high character Mr. Gierymski possessed and carried.

Thank you for sharing of a very remarkable Polish man..

Karl

[kaima]

Interesting! Thanks for posting.

One surprise for me is seeing the almost desert like conditions in Poland. That is very different from what we commonly see. However, it brings to mind the 'sand dunes of Poland' that I have heard of, perhaps west of Krakow, which developed when wood was in great demand for industrial production and vast areas were deforested. The soils were sandy and they never grew back to their original environment, remaining as sand dunes. I wonder how accurate that story is, and what the area looks like today.

With so many historical paintings we have to keep in mind that they were, by nature, painted after the fact, and often by people who never witnessed the scene. At its most extreme we have the various scenes with Christ and people appearing in clothing and style from Medieval Europe! Then, on top of that there is a degree of romantization that is added by people in later times, be it a patriot, and admirer of some king or politician, or artist under the influence of wanting to gain more customers, so they naturally paint their patron in the most flattering light.

But much of that commentary is to the side of the topic presented, and is intended as general commentary on historical art as a category.

Kai

[Jaga]

Kai, I bet that some of these scenery takes place in southeastern Poland or maybe rather Ukraine. Since historically many Poles came from there, majority of the aristocracy lived in Belarus and Ukraine. Polish boarder and culture was shifted almost by force after the WW II. These so called poloniny are now in Bieszczady mountains.

There are almost no deserts in Poland except small so called Bledowska desert.

[Jaga]

Karl, Gierymski was a real artist of painting technique. Do you really paint? Maybe you should share some of your paintings with us?

[pieter]

Maksymilian Gierymski, Insurgent from 1863, c. 1869




Patrol Polski w 1830 ROKU , 1869


Skirmish with Tatars.1867. Medium: oil on panel




Painting Maksymilian Gierymski between 1868 and 1869. Medium: oil on canvas. Dimensions: Height: 42 cm (16.5″); Width: 65.5 cm (25.7″)








Maksymilian Gierymski (1846–1874) Hunting "par force" on deer. Collection: Kunsthalle Kiel. Medium: oil on canvas. Dimensions: 96.5 × 182.5 cm (37.9 × 71.8 ″


Maksymilian Gierymski (1846–1874), Oil painting, landscape art. Medium: oil and canvas. Dimensions: Height: 50.5 cm (19.8″); Width: 45.5 cm (17.9″)




Maksymilian Gierymski (1846–1874, By the Vistula river, 1873


Maksymilian Gierymski (1846–1874), Jesień w miasteczku , 1868. Medium: oil on canvas laid on canvas. Size: 32.5 x 43.5 cm. (12.8 x 17.1 in.)


Landscape by Maksymilian Gierymski (1846–1874)


Landscape by Maksymilian Gierymski (1846–1874)


Landscape by Maksymilian Gierymski (1846–1874)

[karl]

Feb 23, 2020 21:21:52 GMT -7 Jaga said:

Karl, Gierymski was a real artist of painting technique. Do you really paint? Maybe you should share some of your paintings with us?

Jaga

It is my best hope for as not to mislead you, for I am not a painter by any means. I was to take an art course whilst at the University, the instructor was very polite with not throwing me out, as she was to accuratly label me, I was the worse art student she has ever had. She did give me a passing grade so I would not get one of those nasty letters from administration.

But, I do have very good powers of observation and do enjoy observing paintings and photography.

Karl