Konrad Krzyżanowski (15 February 1872 – 25 May 1922) was a Polish illustrator and painter, primarily of portraits, who was considered to be an early exponent of

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

Biography

He was born in

Kremenchuk Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...

. He grew up in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and took his first art lessons at the Kyiv Drawing School with Mykola Murashko.Biographical notes
@ Pinakoteka. This was followed by studies at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov, the founder of the Imperial Moscow University, under the name ''Academy of th ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. He was not there long, however, when his distaste for the school's teaching methods developed into a conflict with the Rector and he was expelled.Brief biography
@ Culture.pl In 1897, Krzyżanowski moved to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, where he took private lessons from

Simon Hollósy Simon Hollósy (2 February 1857 – 8 May 1918) was a Hungarian painter. He was considered one of the greatest Hungarian representatives of 19th-century Naturalism and Realism. Hollósy was not highly productive as an artist and was more im ...

. Three years later, he settled in Warsaw and, together with Kazimierz Stabrowski, established a painting school, which he ran for four years. From 1904 to 1909, he taught 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 ...

, where he often took his students to paint en

plein aire ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...

in Lithuania and Finland. He also did illustrations for ', a literary and artistic journal that was published from 1901 to 1907. In 1906, Krzyżanowski married the artist , a student at the Academy. After her graduation in 1909, he resigned his position there. From 1912 to 1914 the couple lived in London and Paris, where Michalina studied with

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with '' Les Nabis'', symbolism, ...

at the

Académie Ranson The Académie Ranson was a private art school founded in 1908 in Paris by the French painter Paul Ranson (1862–1909). History The Académie Ranson was founded in 1908 by Paul Ranson (1862–1909), who himself studied at the Académie Jul ...

.Brief biography of Piotruszewska
@ Agra Art In 1914, they returned to Warsaw but, following the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, went to live with Michalina's relatives in

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

. From 1917 to 1918, they lived in Kyiv, where Krzyżanowski taught at the "Polish School of Fine Arts". After the creation of the

Polish Second Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I. ...

, they returned to Warsaw and Krzyżanowski re-established his private art school. Among his best-known students were

Tadeusz Pruszkowski Tadeusz Pruszkowski (15 April 1888 – 30 June 1942) was a Polish painter and art teacher, known primarily for his portraits. Biography He began his artistic studies in 1904 at the , under Konrad Krzyżanowski.

, Ludwik Konarzewski and

Krystyna Wróblewska Krystyna Wróblewska (1904 – 1994),Małgorzata Kozłowska, Życie dłutem wyżłobione. Twórczość Krystyny Wróblewskiej (1904-1994).' Wyd. Neriton publishing, Warsaw 2007. was a Polish painter, graphic artist, book designer and member of t ...

. Krzyżanowski died in Warsaw on 25 May 1922.

Selected paintings

File:Dziewczynka i fortepian.jpg, ''Girl at the Piano'', 1907 File:Krzyżanowski, Konrad (1872-1922) - Clouds in Finland - National Museum Kraków.jpg, ''Clouds in Finland'', 1908 File:Krzyżanowski By the light of candle.jpg, ''By Candlelight'', 1914,

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, ...

File:Krzyżanowski Janina Wilczyńska.jpg, ''Janina Wilczyńska'', 1912,

File:Krzyżanowski - Portret żony z pieskiem.jpg, ''Wife with a dog'',

National Museum in Wrocław The National Museum in Wrocław (), established 28 March 1947 and officially inaugurated on 11 July 1948, is one of Poland's main branches of the National Museum of Poland, National Museum system. It holds one of the largest collections of contemp ...

References

External links

More works by Krzyżanowski
@ Pinakoteka {{DEFAULTSORT:Krzyzanowski, Konrad 1872 births 1922 deaths Expressionist painters 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists Polish landscape painters Academic staff of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw People from Kremenchuk Polish portrait painters Polish male painters Artists from the Russian Empire

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links