Artur Markowicz (1872 – 1934)
was a Jewish
realist painter and graphic artist born in
Podgórze district of
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 159 ...
(Cracow), Poland. He is best known for his numerous pastels of street scenes in the historic Jewish town of
Kazimierz – now one of the largest central districts of Kraków.
His works can be found at the
National Museum in Gdańsk,
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 159 ...
,
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 official ...
, and in other state museums in Poland and Israel.
Biography
He was born to a family of merchants and began his higher education with technical studies, but soon abandoned them, studying instead with professors
Leopold Loeffler,
Florian Cynk
Florian Stanisław Cynk (3 May 1838 – 10 October 1912) was a Polish painter, notably of religious subjects, and a prominent art teacher. He also worked as an illustrator.
Biography
He was born in Kraków and began his studies at the Jan Mate ...
and
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 oil ...
at the Kraków
Academy of Fine Arts in 1886–1895. From 1896 until 1903 he lived in Germany and studied art at the
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...
with
Franz Stuck. Then he went to Paris, finishing at the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...
with
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ra ...
. He also exhibited his paintings at the
Salons of 1900, 1901, 1903 and 1904.
Markowicz returned to Kraków in 1904 and set up a studio in the historic district of
Kazimierz. He traveled to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
in 1907–1908 where the
Bezalel Academy
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design ( he, בצלאל, אקדמיה לאמנות ועיצוב) is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's ol ...
had just opened, then to other parts of Europe until 1914. He was also a member of the "
Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts" and the "Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts". After 1930, he was the honorary President of the "Jewish Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts".
His Jewish scenes and character-studies show a unique originality of his style influenced by
symbolism
Symbolism or symbolist may refer to:
Arts
* Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism
** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries
** Russian sym ...
with elements of
expressionism. Markowicz died in Kraków in 1934 at the age of 62, and is buried at the local
New Jewish Cemetery.
Selected paintings
File:Artur Markowicz W salonie - Portret żony 1924.jpg, Portrait of His Wife
Artur Markowicz Brugge ulica w sloncu 1920.jpg, Ray of Sunlight
in the Streets of Brugge
File:Artur Markowicz Poswiecenie nowiu ksiezyca 1933.jpg, Blessing of the New Moon
Artur Markowicz Chess players 1926.jpg, Chess Players
References
Further reading
* Renata Piatkowska, Magdalena Tarnowska; ''Artur Markowicz, 1872-1934: wystawa monograficzna'',
Jewish Historical Institute
The Jewish Historical Institute ( pl, Żydowski Instytut Historyczny or ''ŻIH''; yi, ייִדישער היסטאָרישער אינסטיטוט), also known as the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute, is a public cultural and researc ...
, 1994
External links
ArtNet: More works by Markowicz.More works by Markowicz at Central Jewish Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markowicz, Artur
1872 births
1934 deaths
Polish painters of Jewish descent
20th-century Polish painters
20th-century Polish male artists
Artists from Kraków
Genre painters
Polish male painters
Painters from Austria-Hungary