Zygmunt Ajdukiewicz (22 January 1861 – 29 April 1917) was a Polish realist

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

of the late 19th century specializing in portraits,

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

and historical painting. Ajdukiewicz, was born and raised in Galicia, settled in the imperial capital upon the completion of his studies, but maintained a close connection with his homeland. While in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, he illustrated the epic novel ''The Deluge'' (''Potop'') by Polish Nobel Prize-winning novelist

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish epic writer. He is remembered for his historical novels, such as The Trilogy, the Trilogy series and especially ...

Biography

Ajdukiewicz was born in Witkowice near

Tarnobrzeg Tarnobrzeg is a city in south-eastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), on the east bank of the river Vistula, with 49,419 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Polish: ''Województwo podkarpackie'') since ...

in Austrian Galicia. He studied painting at the

Kraków Academy of Fine Arts The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków (, usually abbreviated to ''ASP''), is a public institution of higher education located in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It is the oldest Polish fine art academy, established in 1818 and granted f ...

originally. From 1880 to 1882, he studied at the Academy of Vienna and, from 1883 at the

Munich Academy The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (, 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, Germany. In the second half of the 19th centur ...

under Johann Herterich, associated with the Munich School of naturalism. He settled permanently in Vienna in 1885 as popular painter of the Austrian court where he was also referred to as Zygismund or Sigismund von Ajdukiewicz. In 1893 he went to Paris. Back in Vienna, he worked on a long series of original artwork for the 24-volume encyclopedia initiated and sponsored by Prince Rudolf as evidence of his imperial achievements (''Kronprinzenwerk''). It was a major publishing project printed in German and Hungarian between 1886 and 1902 under the title '' Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in Word and Picture''. Subsequent volumes were published long after Rudolf's death which took place in January 1889. Ajdukiewicz painted panels for the encyclopedia depicting various nationalities, ethnic groups and minorities represented in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. He also produced a series of 12 paintings about the life of

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

published in 1892 as an art-album by F. Bondy. He made a life-size standing portrait of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as a hunter (1913).

Recognition

Ajdukiewicz exhibited in Kraków, Warsaw, Lwów, Vienna, Berlin, Munich and Prague. His paintings received top awards at international art exhibitions including Gold Medal in Vienna and Gold Medal Second Class in Berlin in 1891, as well as the 1898 Gold Medal Second Class in Vienna and Silver Medal at the 1894 competition in Lwów (Lemberg). His works can be found in numerous museums and national art galleries across Poland such as the

National Museum in 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 ( Egyptian, Greek, Roman), counting about 11,000 pieces, an ...

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 ...

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 ...

, state collections at the royal

Wawel The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established o ...

and, Museum of Upper Silesia in

Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian language, Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. It is one ...

, but also at the Viennese

Historical Museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

. Ajdukiewicz was the first cousin of Polish

fin de siècle "''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom '' turn of the century'' and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without co ...

painter

Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz (18529 January 1916) was a Polish realist painter from around the turn-of-the-century, best known for his battle-scenes, portraits, landscapes and paintings of horses. He was educated in Kraków in the Austrian sector of the ...

who was nine years older than him. He died in

in 1917.

Notes and references

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ajdukiewicz, Zygmunt 1861 births 1917 deaths People from Stalowa Wola County Artists from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists Austrian people of Polish descent Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts alumni Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni Polish male painters Painters from Austria-Hungary

Biography

Recognition

See also

Notes and references