Stanisław Witkiewicz ( lt, Stanislovas Vitkevičius) (8 May 1851 – 5 September 1915) was a Polish painter, art theoretician, and amateur architect, known for his creation of " Zakopane Style".

Life

Witkiewicz was born in Poszawsze in

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, present-day Lithuania, in the lands of the partitioned

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

, ruled at the time by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. As an adolescent, he spent several years in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

Tomsk Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a n ...

, where his parents and two older siblings were exiled for their support of the January Uprising. He studied at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

(1868–1871) and furthered his studies in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

(1872–1875). During his stay in Munich, he befriended painters Aleksander Gierymski,

Józef Chełmoński Józef Marian Chełmoński (November 7, 1849 – April 6, 1914) was a Polish painter of the realist school with roots in the historical and social context of the late Romantic period in partitioned Poland. He is famous for monumental painti ...

and

Henryk Siemiradzki Henryk Hektor Siemiradzki (24 October 1843 – 23 August 1902) was a Russian-born Polish painter based in Rome, best remembered for his monumental academic art. He was particularly known for his depictions of scenes from the ancient Greek-Roman w ...

. In 1875, he moved to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

and set up a painting workshop in the laundry at the Hotel Europejski. In 1884, he married Maria Pietrzkiewicz. The pair had a son, Stanisław Ignacy. The son's godmother was the internationally famous actress Helena Modjeska, whom the elder Witkiewicz in 1876 had nearly accompanied to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In 1884–1887, Witkiewicz worked as the artistic director of "Wędrowiec" weekly, for which he wrote a series of articles concerning the values of a work of art and the role of art critics (published in book form under the title "Painting and criticism among us", ''Sztuka i krytyka u nas'', in 1891 and 1899). In 1887, he held the same position in "Kłosy" magazine. In 1886, he visited

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...

for the first time. He developed a fascination with the mountains, the

Podhale Podhale (literally "below the mountain pastures") is Poland's southernmost region, sometimes referred to as the "Polish Highlands". The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the Carpathian mountains. It is the most famous ...

highlanders and their vernacular traditions. His ambition became to create a Polish national style through extraction of all-Polish forms from the architectural and decorative art of the highlanders. He formulated the Zakopane Style (''styl zakopiański'') (also known as Witkiewicz Style (''styl witkiewiczowski'')) in architecture,See picture in Polish article on ''styl zakopiański'' in which he designed homes and interiors for well-off, artistically inclined Poles. He was strongly associated with Zakopane and promoted it in the art community. Witkiewicz had strong views against formal education: ''"school is completely at odds with the psychological make-up of human beings"''. He applied this principle in his son's upbringing and was disappointed when the 20-year-old Witkacy chose to enroll at the

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. In 1908, suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

, the elder Witkiewicz left his family in Zakopane and relocated to

Lovran Lovran ( it, Laurana, german: Lauran) is a village and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia. It is situated in eastern Istria, on the western coast of the Kvarner Bay with a population of 4,101 in the municipality and 3,336 in th ...

, a fashionable resort in what was then

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, which today is in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. He died there in 1915. His first monographic art exhibition was staged in Zachęta Fine Arts Society in 1927. His son,

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (; 24 February 188518 September 1939), commonly known as Witkacy, was a Polish writer, painter, philosopher, theorist, playwright, novelist, and photographer active before World War I and during the interwar period. ...

, became a famous painter, playwright, novelist and philosopher, also known (from the conflation of his surname and middle name) by the pseudonym "Witkacy."

Selected publications

* "Policja a sztuka" The police and art"(1902), * "Chrześcijaństwo i katechizm. O nauce religii w szkołach galicyjskich" Christianity and the catechism. About the teaching of religion in Galician schools"(1904), * "Wallenrodyzm czy znikczemnienie" Wallenrod-ism or becoming ignoble"(published in "Kultura Polski" 1917, a fragment of the work "Studium o duszy polskiej po 1863 roku" A study of the Polish soul after 1863" * "Przełom" Turning point" * "Życie, etyka i rewolucja" Life, ethics and revolution" * "Na przełęczy. Wrażenia i obrazy z Tatr" On the mountain pass. Impressions and images from the Tatra mountains"(1891, first published in " Tygodnik Illustrowany" 1889–1890), * "Po latach" Years later"(1905), * "Z Tatr" From the Tatra mountains"(1907), * Monographs: "Juliusz Kossak" (1900), "Aleksander Gierymski" (1903), "Matejko" (1908).

Selected paintings

File:Witkiewicz Baltic in Palanga.jpg, ''On the Baltic at

Palanga Palanga (; bat-smg, Palonga; pl, Połąga; german: Polangen) is a seaside resort town in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Palanga is the busiest summer resort in Lithuania and has sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long ...

'',

National Museum, Warsaw The National Museum in Warsaw ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie), popularly abbreviated as 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 ( Eg ...

File:Owce we mgle.jpg, ''Sheep in the Mist'' File:20 witkiewicz.jpg, ''Siberian

Troika Troika or troyka (from Russian тройка, meaning 'a set of three') may refer to: Cultural tradition * Troika (driving), a traditional Russian harness driving combination, a cultural icon of Russia * Troika (dance), a Russian folk dance Pol ...

'' File:Czarny Staw kurniawa.jpg, ''Black Pond'', National Museum, Kraków

References

External links

* *
Stanisław Witkiewicz
at Culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Witkiewicz, Stanislaw 1851 births 1915 deaths People from Kelmė District Municipality People from Kovno Governorate 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists Polish male writers 19th-century Polish architects People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent Polish male painters Tuberculosis deaths in Croatia People from Zakopane 20th-century Polish architects

Life

Selected publications

Selected paintings

See also

References

External links