Jan Białostocki (Polish: ; August 14, 1921 – December 25, 1988) was a Polish historian who was born in

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

, Russia and died 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 ...

. He is considered to be one of the most renowned

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

s of the 20th century.

Life and work

During the German

Occupation of Poland (1939–45) Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment * Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, t ...

, Białostocki studied at the so-called "Secret University of Warsaw"

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

under Wladyslaw Tatarkiewicz,

Tadeusz Kotarbiński Tadeusz Marian Kotarbiński (; 31 March 1886 – 3 October 1981) was a Polish philosopher, logician and ethicist. A pupil of Kazimierz Twardowski, he was one of the most representative figures of the Lwów–Warsaw School, and a member of th ...

and

Michał Walicki Michał Marian Walicki (8 August 1904 in St. Petersburg – 22 August 1966 in Warsaw) was a Polish art historian and professor at the Warsaw University of Technology and School of Fine Arts (later Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw). Life and work Fr ...

. From September 1944 to May 1945 he was a prisoner in several German

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

s. After

World War II 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 ...

he worked for about ten years as an assistant at the

National Museum, Warsaw The National Museum in Warsaw (, 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 (Art of ancient Egypt, Egyptian, Art in ancient Greece, Greek, ...

and from 1956 on, he directed the museum's art gallery. From 1945 on, he also worked at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

, first as an assistant at the Department of Medieval Art, then as a lecturer. In 1962 he was appointed professor of art history. Since 1964 Białostocki was a member of the

Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art The Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art (CIHA) is an international committee that endeavors to improve art historical research. It was founded in Vienna in 1873 in order to develop the historical and methodological study of artistic activiti ...

, since 1973 a member of the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. He lectured at numerous academic institutions and museums in many European countries, the USA and Mexico, for instance, at

(1958),

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

(1965–1966),

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

(1972), the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

(1972), the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

(1973), the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

(1978) and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(1984–1985). He also participated in the Twentieth International Congress for the History of Art in New York City. In 1980 he was awarded the first ever

Aby Warburg Prize The Aby Warburg Prize (German ''Aby Warburg-Preis''; formerly ''Aby M. Warburg-Preis'') is a science prize of the city of Hamburg. It was established in 1979. Since 1980, it is donated by the senate of the city for excellence in the humanities an ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. Białostocki's research interests were exceptionally broad and included the art of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

and the Dutch seventeenth century,

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

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 ...

, the history of art doctrines, and methodological questions of the history of art. According to Józef Grabski, he "tried to instill in his students a need for a broad perspective when looking at a particular work of art. He was, in a way, an intellectual son of Erwin Panofsky. Prof. Białostocki directed the attention of his students to the wide context of every work of art: social, psychological, archival, but also historical, economics, as well as purely artistic. ..He tried to show us the art historical research not only as pure history of art, but in connection with other humanist disciplines." He has published more than 600 publications in several languages mainly on art from the Renaissance to the 18th century. Białostocki was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

in 1971.

Select publications

* ''Poussin i teoria klasycyzmu'' (1953) * ''Pojęcie manieryzmu i problem odrębności sztuki polskiej w końcu XVI i w początku XVII wieku'' (1953) * ''Cyrkiel i „Melancholia”. O teorii sztuki Abrechta Dürera'' (1954) * ''Malarstwo europejskie w zbiorach polskich'' (1955) * ''Badania ikonograficzne nad Rembrandtem'' (1957) * ''Metoda ikonologiczna w badaniach nad sztuką'' (1957) * ''Pięć wieków myśli o sztuce'' (1959) * "Dürer, Albrecht". In ''Encyclopedia of World Art'' (1961) * ''Styl i modus w sztukach plastycznych'' (1961) * ''Teoria i twórczość. O tradycji i inwencji w teorii sztuki i ikonografii'' (1961) * ''Le "Baroque": style, epoque, attitude'' (1962) * ''Sztuka cenniejsza niż złoto. Opowieść o sztuce europejskiej naszej ery'' (1963) * "Iconography and Iconology". In ''Encyclopedia of World Art'' (1963) * ''Encompassing Themes and Archetypal Images'' (1965) * ''Der Manierismus zwischen Triumph und Dämmerung'' (1965) * ''Późny gotyk: rozwój pojęcia i terminu'' (1965) * ''Stil und Ikonographie. Studien zur Kunstwissenschaft'' (1966) * ''Kompozycja emblematyczna epitafiów śląskich XVI wieku'' (1968) * ''Symbolika drzwi w sepulkralnej sztuce baroku'' (1968) * ''Rembrandt's "Eques Polonus"'' (1969) * ''Erwin Panofsky (1892-1968)'' (1970) * ''Two Types of International Mannerism: Italian and Northern'' (1970) * ''William Hogarth'' (1972) * ''Spätmittelalter und beginnende Neuzeit'' (1972) * ''The Art of the Renaissance in Eastern Europe'' (1976) * ''Vom heroischen Grabmal zum Bauernbegräbnis'' (1977) * ''Refleksje i syntezy ze świata sztuki'' (1978) * ''Die Eigenart der Kunst Venedigs'' (1980) * ''Historia sztuki wśród nauk humanistycznych'' (1980) * ''Zeichnungen alter Meister aus polnischen Sammlungen'' (1981) * ''Symbole i obrazy w świecie sztuki'' (1982) * ''Dürer und die Humanisten'' (1983) * ''Dürer and his Critics, 1500-1971'' (1986) * "Die Todessymbolik der Tür". In ''Festschrift zum 70. Geburtstag von Erik Forssman'' (1987) * ''The Message of Images. Studies in the History of Art'' (1988) * ''Sztuka XV wieku. Od Parlerów do Dürera'' (2010)

External links

Dictionary of Art Historians: Białostocki, Jan

* [http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/artdok/2771/1/Poprzecka_A_reminiscence_about_Jan_Bialostocki_1991.pdf Maria Poprzęcka, "A reminiscence about Jan Białostocki (1921-1988)", ''Polish Art Studies'', 12 (1991), pp.251-253]
Institute for Art Historical Research: About the author, Jan Białostocki

Encyclopaedia Universalis: BIAŁOSTOCKI JAN (1921-1988)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bialostocki, Jan Polish art historians Writers from Saratov 1921 births 1988 deaths Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Herder Prize recipients Rembrandt scholars Soviet emigrants to Poland

Life and work

Select publications

Further reading

External links

References