Art in Poland refers to all forms of

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and texti ...

in or associated with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Nineteenth century

Polish art has often reflected European trends while maintaining its unique character. The

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 ...

school of

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...

developed by

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...

produced monumental portrayals of significant events and customs throughout Polish history. He is referred to as the most famous

Polish painter Note: Names that cannot be confirmed in Wikipedia database nor through given sources are subject to removal. If you would like to add a new name please consider writing about the artist first. ''This is an alphabetical listing of Polish painters ...

or even as the "national painter" of Poland.

Stanisław Witkiewicz Stanisław Witkiewicz (; 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 the Samogitian village of Pašiaušė (), ...

was an ardent supporter of

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *American Realism *Classical Realism *Liter ...

in Polish art, its main representative being Jozef Chełmoński. The Młoda Polska (

Young Poland Young Poland ( ) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Poland promoted tre ...

) movement witnessed the birth of modern Polish art and engaged in a great deal of formal experimentation led by

Jacek Malczewski Jacek Malczewski (; 15 July 1854 – 8 October 1929) was a Polish symbolist painter who was one of the central figures of the patriotic Young Poland movement. His works combined the predominant style of his time with historical motifs of Pol ...

(

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

Stanisław Wyspiański Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter, poet, and interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created symbolic national dramas accordant with the artisti ...

Józef Mehoffer Józef Mehoffer (19 March 1869 – 8 July 1946) was a Polish painter and decorative artist, one of the leading artists of the Young Poland movement and one of the most revered Polish artists of his time. Life Mehoffer was born in Ropczyce ...

, and a group of Polish

Impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subjec ...

Twentieth century

Artists of the twentieth-century Avant-Garde represented various schools and life. The art of

Tadeusz Makowski Tadeusz Makowski (29 January 1882, Oświęcim - 1 November 1932, Paris) was a Polish painter who worked in France and was associated with the School of Paris. Biography From 1902 to 1906, he studied classical philology at the Jagiellonian Univ ...

was influenced by

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

; while

Władysław Strzemiński Władysław Strzemiński (Polish pronunciation: ; ; 21 November 1893 – 26 December 1952) was a Polish painter, art theoretician, pedagogue, and soldier. He is regarded as a pioneer of Constructivist avant-garde of the 1920s and 1930s and the ...

and

Henryk Stażewski Henryk Stażewski (pronounced: ; 9 January 1894 – 10 June 1988) was a Polish painter, visual artist and writer. Stażewski has been described as the "father of the Polish avant-garde" and is considered a pivotal figure in the history of Cons ...

worked within the Constructivist idiom. Distinguished contemporary artists include

Roman Opałka Roman Opałka (Polish: ; 27 August 1931 – 6 August 2011) was a French-born Polish painter, whose works are mostly associated with conceptual art. Opałka was born on 27 August 1939 in Abbeville-Saint-Lucien, France, to Polish parents. The ...

Leon Tarasewicz Leon Tarasewicz (born 14 March 1957 in Waliły) is a Polish painter of Belarusian origin, professor of fine arts, academic teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Biography Tarasewicz was born into a working-class family. A graduate of th ...

Jerzy Nowosielski Jerzy Nowosielski (Polish: ; born 7 January 1923 – died 21 February 2011) was a Polish painter, graphic artist, scenographer, illustrator and Eastern Orthodox theologian. He is regarded among the greatest contemporary Polish icon painters ...

Wojciech Siudmak Wojciech Kazimierz "Wojtek" Siudmak (pronounced: ; born 10 October 1942 in Wieluń) is a Polish painter and sculptor currently living in France. He was a student at Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In 1966, he moved to France where he studied at t ...

Mirosław Bałka Miroslaw Balka (born 16 December 1958) is a Polish contemporary sculptor and video artist. Life and career Miroslaw Balka is a sculptor also active in the field of experimental video and drawing, born in Warsaw, Poland. In 1985 he graduated fr ...

, and

Katarzyna Kozyra Katarzyna Kozyra (born 1963) is a Polish video artist. She studied German studies at the Warsaw University, University of Warsaw (1985–1988). In 1993, she also graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw where she studied sculpture and Hoc ...

and Zbigniew Wąsiel in the younger generation.

Tamara de Lempicka Tamara Łempicka (; 16 June 1894 – 18 March 1980), known outside Poland as Tamara de Lempicka, was a Polish painter who spent her working life in France and the United States. She is best known for her polished Art Deco portraits of aristocr ...

was a Polish artist creating

Art Déco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s, ...

paintings.

Józef Czajkowski Józef Czajkowski; 21 January 1872, in Warsaw – 27 July 1947, in Warsaw) was a Polish architect, furniture designer, and painter of international renown. Czajkowski's arts in all forms sought to distill and improve upon that which was best a ...

was an artist of many forms, including painting, architecture, and furniture design. The most celebrated Polish sculptors include

Xawery Dunikowski Xawery Dunikowski (; 24 December 1875 – 26 January 1964) was a Polish sculptor and artist, notable for surviving Auschwitz concentration camp, and best known for his Neo-Romantic sculptures and Auschwitz-inspired art. Biography Dunikowski wa ...

Katarzyna Kobro Katarzyna Kobro (26 January 1898 – 21 February 1951) was a Polish avant-garde sculptor and a prominent representative of the Constructivist movement in Poland. A pioneer of innovative multi-dimensional abstract sculpture, she rejected A ...

Alina Szapocznikow Alina Szapocznikow (; May 16, 1926 – March 2, 1973) was a Polish artist and Holocaust survivor. Recognized as one of the most important Polish sculptors of the post-war era, Szapocznikow utilized diverse and experimental mediums to investigate an ...

and

Magdalena Abakanowicz Magdalena Abakanowicz (; 20 June 1930 – 20 April 2017) was a Polish sculpture, sculptor and fiber artist. Known for her use of textiles as a sculptural medium and for outdoor installations, Abakanowicz has been considered among the most influen ...

. Since the inter-war years, Polish art and documentary photography has enjoyed worldwide recognition. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in Poland only few famous artists like painters Andrzej Wróblewski, Bronisław Linke and film director

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "P ...

(recipient of an

Honorary Oscar The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards (previously called the Special Award, which was first presented at the 1st Academy Awards in 1929) – is given annually by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Mo ...

) commemorated the war's victims of the Nazi

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to the gas chambers of the ...

and

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

Kapists Kapists or KPists (Polish: ''Kapiści'', from KP, the Polish acronym for the Paris Committee), also known as the Colourists, were a group of Poland, Polish painters of the 1930s who dominated the Polish artistic landscape of the epoch. Contrary to ...

(

Jan Cybis Jan Cybis (16 February 1897 – 13 December 1972) was a prominent Polish painter and art teacher. Biography Cybis was born in Fröbel (now Wróblin, Opole Voivodeship, Poland) and studied at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, s ...

Jan Szancenbach Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

Artur Nacht-Samborski Artur is a cognate to the common male given name Arthur meaning "bear-like", or “of honour”. It is believed to possibly be descended from the Roman surname Artorius or the Celtic bear-goddess Artio or more probably from the Celtic word ''a ...

Hanna Rudzka-Cybisowa Hanna Rudzka-Cybisowa (1897-1988) was a Polish artist and teacher. Biography Rudzka-Cybisowa was born on 27 June 1897 in Mława, Poland. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw where she was taught by Miłosz Kotarbiński. In 1923 R ...

), Grupa Krakowska (

Tadeusz Kantor Tadeusz Kantor (6 April 1915 – 8 December 1990) was a Polish painter, assemblage and Happenings artist, set designer and theatre director. Kantor is renowned for his revolutionary theatrical performances in Poland and abroad. Laureate of ...

Maria Jarema Maria Jarema (24 November 1908 – 1 November 1958) was a Polish painter, sculptor, scenographer and actress. Life and career She was born on 24 November 1908 in Staryi Sambir (Polish: ) in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (currently Ukrai ...

), individuals like Piotr Potworowski,

Władysław Hasior Władysław Hasior (; 14 May 1928 – 14 July 1999) was a Polish sculptor, painter and theatre set designer. He was one of the leading Polish contemporary sculptors connected with the Podhale region. Biography Władysław Hasior was born in Now ...

, Ludwik Konarzewski (junior),

Stefan Knapp Stefan Knapp (11 July 1921 – 12 October 1996) was a Polish painter and sculptor, who worked in Great Britain. He developed and patented a technique of painting with enamel paint on steel, facilitating decorating public architectural struc ...

Jerzy Duda-Gracz Jerzy Duda-Gracz (March 20, 1941 in Częstochowa – November 5, 2004 in Łagów, Świebodzin County, Łagów) was a Polish people, Polish painter. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków in 1968. His work was exhibited in over 187 ...

Zdzisław Beksiński Zdzisław Beksiński (; 24 February 192921 February 2005) was a Polish painter, photographer, and sculptor specializing in the field of dystopian surrealism. Beksiński made his paintings and drawings in what he called either a Baroque or a Go ...

were some important Polish post-war painters. In the sixties the Polish Poster School was formed, with Henryk Tomaszewski and Waldemar Świerzy at its head.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

, 2002–2007
AN OVERVIEW OF POLISH CULTURE.
Access date 13 Dec 2007.

Contemporary art since 1989

Some of the most important representatives of contemporary art are

Wilhelm Sasnal Wilhelm Sasnal (born December 29, 1972) is a Polish painter, photographer, poster artist, illustrator and filmmaker. Sasnal graduated in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków in 1999. He is considered one of the most prominent and i ...

, Rafał Bujnowski, Józef Robakowski,

Paweł Althamer Paweł Althamer (born 12 May 1967, Warsaw) is a Polish contemporary sculptor, performer, collaborative artist and creator of installations, and video art. Life and work In the years 1988-1993, he studied sculpture at the Warsaw Academy of Fine ...

, Artur Żmijewski,

, Leszek Knaflewski, Robert Kuśmirowski,

Zuzanna Janin Zuzanna Janin, (born 1961) is a Polish visual artist and former teen actor. Janin lives and works in Warsaw and London. Janin has created sculpture, video, installation, photography and performatives. She used the names Zuzanna Baranowska (1990 ...

Krzysztof Wodiczko Krzysztof Wodiczko (born April 16, 1943) is a Polish people, Polish artist known for his large-scale presentation slide, slide and video projections on architectural facades and monuments. He has realized more than 80 such public projections in A ...

, Paulina Ołowska,

Joanna Rajkowska Joanna Rajkowska (born 1968) is a Polish contemporary artist who came onto the Polish art scene in the 1990s. Her most famous work is called "Greetings from Jerusalem Avenue", a artificial palm tree installed on Warsaw's Jerusalem Avenue. The ...

, Gruppa Azorro. Independent galleries, mainly in Warsaw, Krakow, and Poznań, play an important role. In many cities museums of modern art are being built, gathering not only national but also international collections (Krakow, Wrocław, and Toruń). In

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, work is underway to build the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, which operates a temporary building, creating an international collection of contemporary art. It is open to the public since 2013.

Gallery

References

{{Art of Europe

Western art

Nineteenth century

Twentieth century

Contemporary art since 1989

Gallery

See also

References