Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda (born ''Krystyna Zachwatowicz''; 16 May 1930) is a Polish

scenographer A scenographer or scenic designer, also production designer, is a person who develops the appearance of a stage design, a TV or movie set, a gaming environment, a trade fair exhibition design or a museum experience exhibition design. The term ori ...

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...

and actress. She is a daughter of architect and restorer Jan Zachwatowicz and Maria Chodźko ''h.'' Kościesza, and wife of 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 ...

. Member of the

Polish Film Academy The Polish Film Academy (Polish: ''Polska Akademia Filmowa'') is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. History The academy was founded in 2003 on the initiative of the I ...

. She is a co-founder (with Andrzej Wajda) of the Manggha Centre of Japanese Art and Technology in

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 ...

Biography

Zachwatowicz was born on 16 May 1930 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 ...

, Poland. She graduated from the History of Art Faculty of the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

in Kraków (1952) and Scenography faculty of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków (1958). In 1958, she made her own debut as a scenographer in Marin Držić's ''Rzymska kurtyzana'' on the stage of Teatr Zagłębia in Sosnowiec. In 1960, she moved to Sosnowiec, where she was associated with student's theatre of the

Silesian University of Technology The Silesian University of Technology (Polish language, Polish name: Politechnika Śląska; ) is a university located in the Polish province of Silesia, with most of its facilities in the city of Gliwice. It was founded in 1945 by Polish profes ...

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

. There, she designed a scenography to

Witold Gombrowicz Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalism, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937, ...

's '' The Marriage'' () directed by Jerzy Jarocki. Zachwatowicz cooperated with Jarocki also in other theatre productions: Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz's ''The Mother'' (1964, 1972; ) and ''The Shoemakers'' (1971; ) at The Old Theatre in

. In The Old Theatre, she made set designs to several performances directed by Konrad Swinarski, i.e.: Zygmunt Krasiński's '' The Un-Divine Comedy'' (1965; ),

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' (1970) and to plays directed by

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 ...

's ''November Night'' (1974; ),

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...

's ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal '' The Russian Messenger'' in twelve monthly installments during 1866.

'' (1984), and William Shakespeare's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

IV'' (1989). From 1958 to the 1970s, Zachwatowicz was an actress of Kraków's

Piwnica pod Baranami The Piwnica pod Baranami () is a Polish literary cabaret located in Kraków, Poland. For over thirty years, in the People's Republic of Poland, Piwnica pod Baranami served as the most renowned political cabaret in the country, until the end of (an ...

, where she created a legendary portrait of "the first naive" (). She cooperated with other theatres in Poland such as: The Groteska Puppet, Mask and Actor Theatre and The Ludowy Theatre in Kraków; with Dramatyczny Theatre and Polish Theatre in

, and in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

with Polish Theatre.

Awards

* 1994: Silver Medal ''Cracoviae Marenti'' for contribution in

, for founding Manggha (with Andrzej Wajda and Karolina Lanckorońska). * 1995: Golden Laurel of ''

Przekrój ''Przekrój'' (; ''Cross-section'') was the oldest Polish weekly newsmagazine in operation, established in 1945 in Kraków. After temporary closure in 2013, it was bought by photographer Tomasz Niewiadomski and subsequently relaunched in December ...

'' "for the second Japan" (with Andrzej Wajda). * 1999: Knight's Cross of The Order of Polonia Restituta. * 2003: Polish Film Awards nominee (with Magdalena Biedrzycka) in category of

Costume Design Costume design is the process of selecting or creating clothing for a performers. A costume may be designed from scratch or may be designed by combining existing garments. "Costume" may also refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a ...

for '' The Revenge''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zachwatowicz, Krystyna 1930 births Polish costume designers Living people Actresses from Warsaw Polish film actresses Polish stage actresses Polish television actresses Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Andrzej Wajda