Jacek Malczewski, coat of arms of Tarnawa (born on 15 July 1854 in Radom, died on 8 October 1929 in Cracow) was born into an impoverished noble family. At first he studied at home under the watchful eye of his parents, but when he was 13 years old he stayed with his uncle, where Adolf Dygasiński became his teacher. He attended regularly the School of Fine Arts as a free student and these were his first encounters with art.
Jan Matejko, who persuaded him to study at the School of Fine Arts, drew his attention to his talent. A few years later he taught himself - especially to women who at that time did not have the opportunity to study at the Academy of Fine Arts. He became one of the founders of the Society of Polish Artists Stuka.
The features of Malczewski's work: inspired by Polish romantic traditions and folklore, symbolism manifested in the figures of faunas, angels, centaurs, works marked by the painter's obsessions: death and the passion for creation, historical and patriotic themes (mysticism, messianism, existentialism).
At the end of his life, the artist lost his sight. He was buried in the Crypt of Merit on the Rock in 1929.
Selected works: Portrait of a fiancée, Sunflowers, Melancholy, Christmas Eve in Siberia.
Polski
English
