Friday, November 29, 2013

Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish Polymath

Stanisław Wyspiański (1869-1907) was born in Kraków (then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire) and died there 38 years later of the effects of syphilis. According to this Wikipedia biographical entry, he was given great honors at his funeral and this respect continues in Poland, as confirmed by this page on the National Museum site.

Wyspiański mostly worked in pastels, but used other media at times. Besides art, he also wrote poetry and plays, doing all this at as fast a pace as he could manage in his last years, knowing he was doomed to an early death.

Gallery

Self-Portrait - 1894
Self-Portrait - 1907
The 1907 drawing was done not long before Wyspiański died.

Jozef Mehoffer - 1898
Mehoffer was another artist with Kraków roots.

Dagny (Juel) Przybyszewska - 1898 or 1899
Juel led a short, wild life, as can be read here.

Eliza Parenska - 1902
Elizy Pareńskiej - 1905
I assume this is the same woman, painted three years apart.

Motherhood - 1902
Motherhood - 1905
Here he elaborates on an earlier drawing.

Władysława Ordon-Sosnowska - 1903
Władysława Ordon-Sosnowska - alternative colors - 1903
Most of the images I found in Google Images have colors as in the first image. But the lower image seems more natural. I suppose numbers prevail, but thought I'd present both points of view.

Caritas - 1904
Cartoon for a proposed stained glass window (never executed).

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