Contemporary Polish artists and their paintings. Contemporary artists of Poland

In Polish painting there are many paintings on historical themes, incl. about Russia and Russians. Below is a selection of the most interesting ones. These pictures are worth seeing, friends. They quite vividly reveal the national mentality and attitude of the Poles to their past. And to your beloved eastern neighbor, in particular.

Artist in Polish - artysta malarz. Artist-painter, in short. However, the Poles had many talented craftsmen, far from being painters. For example, Jan Matejko and his "romantic nationalism" of the 19th century, the battle painter Wojciech Kossak and others. Some of the paintings are anti-Russian in meaning. But let's not forget that over the past 300 years, in almost all wars, Russians and Poles were on opposite sides of the barricades.

Jan Matejko. "Stanchik". 1862 g.
1514, another war between Poland and Muscovy. The Russians conquered Smolensk, and, inspired by the first success, invaded Belarus. But there they were defeated in the battle of Orsha. In the palace of the Polish king - a ball to mark the victory. True, Smolensk, following the war, remains in the hands of Muscovy. Everyone is dancing (in the background), and the court jester by name Stanchik sits and thinks about the future of Poland. Smolensk was given away, so soon we will merge everything.

An interesting detail: the ball is a European entertainment. 1514, and they have a ball. In Russia, the first balls at the court will be in 200 years, under Peter.

Jan Matejko. "Stefan Bathory near Pskov". 1872 g.
Jester Stanchik was right. Muscovites started from Smolensk, then they wanted more. The picture shows the Livonian War, which Ivan the Terrible began to capture the Baltic states. The siege of Pskov by the army of the Polish king Stefan Batory. After several months of the siege, the ambassadors of Ivan the Terrible asked for peace: in the picture they are crawling on their knees in front of Stefan. There are questions about the plot (in fact, there was no such meeting of Batory with the ambassadors near Pskov), but peace was soon concluded, yes. And indeed it is extremely unfortunate for Russia, like the Livonian War itself.

An interesting detail. To the left of Stefan is a man in red, this is Chancellor Jan Zamoyski. Stephen Bathory's classmate University of Padua in Italy. In Russia, the first tsarist person who will go to study in the West will be Peter (as a carpenter, to Holland). By the way, even before Stefan Batory, Nicolaus Copernicus, the first Polish scientist with a worldwide reputation, went to Padua to study. The Russian analogue of Copernicus (Lomonosov) will appear in 250 years.

Tsar False Dmitry I, portrait of an unknown artist. Beginning 17th century
This painting is also known as "Portrait of the Vishnevets Castle" (castle of the family of Marina Mnishek - wife of False Dmitry). During the Time of Troubles, the Poles managed to plant their impostor tsar in the Kremlin. In the painting, Grigory Otrepiev, aka False Dmitry I, is depicted as a Russian tsar (written in Latin as Demetrius IMPERATOR), on the table is a crown and a knight's helmet.

False Dmitry I and his Polish wife are 1605-1606. And here you go: the Polish gentry had already learned Latin, built castles and considered themselves a part of European chivalry. Russian nobles will put on European dress, begin to learn languages \u200b\u200band claim that they are also Europe - in 5-7 generations.

False Dmitry, however, did not sit on the throne for long. He was overthrown as a result of a popular riot in Moscow. It is interesting to compare the pompous Polish portrait of the impostor with the depiction of False Peace in Russian painting of the 19th century.

Karl Wenig. "The last minutes of the life of False Dmitry I." 1879 g.

The artist Karl Bogdanovich Wenig hardly thought that in the 21st century his painting would become an inexhaustible source of parodies of Russia's domestic and foreign policy :)

When False Dmitry I was overthrown, the Poles undertook a direct intervention and captured Moscow. They also captured Vasily Shuisky (the king who was after False Dmitry) together with his brothers, and all were taken to Warsaw. There, the former king, who had previously fought with the Poles, was forced to publicly swear in the belt to King Sigismund III and kiss his hands.

Jan Matejko. "Tsar Shuisky in the Diet in Warsaw". 1892 g.
Royal Castle in Warsaw, 1611. Vasily Shuisky bows to Sigismund, touching the ground with his hand. On the left, apparently, his brother Ivan, who (according to Polish sources) generally lay at his feet and beat himself with his head on the floor. Deputies of the Sejm (Polish Parliament) sit in the background with a deep sense of satisfaction. Flags are flying, the bright sun is shining. Triumph!

This event was named in Poland "Hołd Ruski" (Russian oath) and has a cult character in the circles of Polish nationalists. Below is a creatiff from one of them. Written: "10/29/2011 - 400 years of the Russian oath. Once they bowed to us".

In fact, the artist Jan Matejko painted this picture in 1892 to cheer up his compatriots. Like, there were times - and we had our own state, and the king, and the diet, and the kings were put on their knees.

It is noteworthy that the king in Poland was not at all the same as the king in Russia. Poland did not know autocracy. It was the republic of the gentry. Diet chose king and controlled him. Taxes, war, peace - all with the consent of the Diet. Moreover, if the king behaved undemocratic, the proud gentry had the right to rokoche... He's kipish. Those. the right to oppose the king, both peaceful (the "war of the inkwells" and discussion in blogs) and non-peaceful.

Vaclav Pavlishak. "Cossack gift". 1885 g.
The Zaporozhets caught a noble prisoner and presented him to the gentry, taking off his cap in front of them. No wonder, some of the Cossacks were in the Polish service (for money). They were used as mercenaries in addition to the Polish army. Including repeatedly - in wars against Russia. As for the prisoner, this is, apparently, a Crimean Tatar. It's a bummer, of course. The main business of the Crimean Khanate was the slave trade. And then you yourself get captured ...

Thanks to the gentry, democracy and liberty in Poland have centuries-old traditions (unlike some other countries). But the truth is, there was one nuance. All liberties were for a narrow circle. They did not concern the peasants. Peasants in Poland from the 15th century were converted to serfdom. And they were in such a sad state for 300 years. chlopi (claps) as well bydlo (cattle). The word "cattle" later from Poland through Ukraine got into the Russian language.

Josef Helmonski. "Issuance of payment (Saturday at the farm)". 1869 g.
Folwark is a Polish corvee. Pan forced the Khlopovs to work for themselves free of charge or through forced hiring (for example, having previously driven them off the ground and left them without funds). The picture shows a farm on payday. A group of peasants in the center received a penny and are terrified - how to feed the children for these pennies? The two flaps on the left, on the other hand, are fun. Already got drunk.

It is interesting that the house of the gentleman with such a rip off is still poor, the roof completely collapsed. This is a subtle hint from the artist - the gentry was famous for its squandering. They squeezed bread out of the farms, drove them abroad, spent money on all sorts of garbage. War, drinking and show-off - that was the mentality of the gentry. Dear crew, a sable coat with gold buttons, and to the ball, dance the polonaise :)

Alexander Kotsis. "In the tire". OK. 1870 g.
While the gentry danced at the balls, the clapper could only go to the shinok (tavern). It was a popular business. For example, Lenin's great-grandfather Moshe Blank from the city of Starokonstantinov in Volyn was a shinkar. In 1795, according to the third partition of Poland, Volhynia, together with Moshe Blank and his tavern, went to Russia.

However, in the triad of "war, booze and show-off" among the Polish elite in the 17th century. there have been problems with the war. No, Poles have never been cowards in war. The problem was organization. War is the convocation of a general militia of the gentry ( political collapse), and this is through the diet. And money for the war is also a diet. Such decisions were not easy to carry out, which weakened the fighting capacity of Poland. When in 1648 the whole of Ukraine was engulfed by the Khmelnytsky uprising, the Poles were initially able to deploy a modest army of only 40 thousand people. A wagon train of 100,000 carts with junk and 5,000 women of easy virtue drove behind her. We went to war as to a wedding. And they were utterly defeated by the Cossacks.

The decline of Poland began with the Khmelnytsky uprising. The neighbors began to bite off a piece of it here and there. And as a result, at the end of the 18th century, it was completely divided. Moreover, the diet was bribed and he himself voted for it!

Jan Matejko. "Reitan - Poland's Decline". 1866 g.
The Diet in 1773 decides to agree with the partition of Poland. Shlyakhtich Tadeusz Reitan, the last patriot of Poland, in despair tries to prevent this: to go to bed at the exit, not allowing the deputies to disperse after the meeting. Many deputies are ashamed, they have just sold their country. On the wall is a portrait of Catherine II (their sponsor), outside the door are Russian grenadiers, upstairs in the box is the Russian ambassador Repnin with two ladies. That's really the decline of Poland!

The Polish people, of course, did not accept the decline of Poland. There were several major uprisings, suppressed by the powers - participants in the partition. 100,000 Polish volunteers took part in the campaign of Napoleon's "Great Army" against Moscow in 1812, hoping to gain independence.

Wojciech Kossak. "Hussar of the Great Army". 1907 g.
The picture shows a Pole from Napoleon's army. The artist himself served as a lancer in the army, so he drew the cavalry skillfully.

Yet Wojciech Kossak. "Spring 1813". 1903 g.
The snow has melted ... And there are remnants of the gallant cavalrymen.

Another interesting fact: the Poles fought for Napoleon not only in Russia, but also in Spain, and crushed with guerrilla (Spanish resistance to the French). To earn independence for themselves, the Poles deprived it of the Spaniards.

Yanuariy Sukhodolsky. "Storming the walls of Zaragoza". 1845 g.
In 1808, Zaragoza rebelled against the French occupation. She was besieged for 9 months. Everyone fought, women, children. 50 thousand people died . The picture shows Poles rushing into the city.

Yanuariy Sukhodolsky. "Battle of San Domingo". 1845 g.
This is not Spain. This is Napoleon's punitive expedition to the island of Haiti (then - the colony of San Domingo). There, local blacks rebelled against the French, and the Poles came to pacify the blacks with the French.

Wojciech Kossak. "November night". 1898 g.
This is an anti-Russian uprising of 1830-31. It began in November 1830 with a rebel attack on the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw (the seat of the governor of Poland). The painting shows a battle between rebels and Russian cuirassiers on the night of November 29-30, 1830.

The rebels took the palace, but the governor fled. The uprising was suppressed in 1831 by the troops of Field Marshal Ivan Paskevich, who received the title of "Prince Ivan of Warsaw" for this. Paskevich was, perhaps, the first Ukrainian in the Russian army who rose to the rank of Marshal.

Wojciech Kossak. "Emilia Plater at the Battle of Siauliai". 1904 g.

This is again the uprising of 1830-31. In the center of the picture is Countess Emilia Plater, something like the Polish Joan of Arc. The Countess commanded a detachment of rebels, personally participated in the battles. During one of the campaigns, she fell ill and died at the age of 25. A legendary figure in Poland (as well as among Belarusian nationalists).

Wojciech Kossak. "Circassians in Krakowskie Przedmiescie". 1912 g.
This is the anti-Russian uprising of 1863. It is also called the January Uprising. Krakowskie Przedmiescie is an avenue in Warsaw. Russian troops rush into the city. The artist portrayed the latter in the form of a horde of Circassians rushing through the city with an Orthodox banner. True, the Circassians are Muslims, but that doesn't matter. The Circassians are firing into the air with all types of weapons, waving whips, passers-by scatter.

A strong thing ... By the way, originally the picture was called "The Dagestan Wedding on Tverskaya" (just kidding).

"The Russian army plunders the Polish estate during the January Uprising". Unknown Polish artist of the 19th century
The author tried to portray the Russian soldiers and officers as repulsive as possible. A horde of savages is raging in a cultural European home, the child has been thrown out of the carriage, pictures are stabbed with bayonets.

Arthur Grothger. "Way to Siberia". 1867 g.
Participants in the 1863 uprising were driven to Siberia.

Alexander Sokhachevsky. "Farewell to Europe". 1894 g.
Polish rebels in 1863 on their way to Siberia. We got to the obelisk on the border of Europe and Asia. The artist himself was a participant in the uprising, received 20 years in hard labor (he is somewhere in the picture, by the way, near the obelisk).

One of the strongest fragments.

Alexander Sokhachevsky. "Pani Gudzinskaya". 1894 g.
This is a real character, a participant in the uprising, who was exiled to the saltworks near Irkutsk (like the author of the picture). She has a husband and 2 children in Warsaw. She worked as a laundress at the salt pans, washed all day in an ice-hole, in the Angara. She died in hard labor in 1866.

Jacek Malczewski. "Death on the Stage". 1891 g.
More horrors of the tsarist gulag.

Jacek Marchelsky "Vigil in Siberia". 1892 g.
Vigil is a night vigil for Catholics before Easter or Christmas. Polish exiles in Siberia are faithful to their native Catholic faith. By the way, the exiles at the table look pretty decent - well-fed, in suits, white shirts.

Stanislav Maslovsky. "Spring 1905." 1906 g.
This is already the revolution of 1905-1907. It covered Poland too. In the picture, the Cossacks, who played the role of the tsarist OMON, are leading the arrested person. The contrast between the convoy and the prisoner: four foreheads on horses are leading one little man.

Wojciech Kossak. "Pogrom". 1907 g.
The 1905 revolution was accompanied by a wave of Jewish pogroms, incl. in Poland. The picture shows a Russian Cossack in uniform and with a weapon against the background of the pogrom. Houses are burning, corpses are lying on the pavement. However, the Cossack in this case is NOT a representative of the forces of law and order. He himself is a pogromist. This is exactly what the artist Wojciech Kossak wanted to say. Here, they say, she is the Russian army: bandits and murderers.

The soldiers and the tsarist police were indeed participants in a number of pogroms, for example, in Bialystok (1906). However, there were enough pogromists among the local population as well. It was just that they did not appear on Kossak's painting ... And the revolution of 1905 did not bring freedom to Poland. I had to wait until 1918.

Wojciech Kossak. "Ulan convoys Russian prisoners." 1916 g.
This is the first world war. On horseback - a volunteer from the so-called. Polish legion of the Austrian army. Approximately 25,000 Polish nationalists went to serve the Austrians and fought on their side on the Eastern Front. These legionnaires later formed the backbone of the officer corps of independent Poland.

In November 1918, after the surrender of Germany and Austria, Poland's independence was finally restored. And immediately a series of wars over borders began in the East. First, the Polish-Ukrainian war of 1918-19, in which the Poles utterly defeated the Ukrainian nationalists. Then the Soviet-Polish war of 1920, in which the Poles defeated the Red Army too. The war was with varying success, but the turning point came when Tukhachevsky's troops reached Warsaw ("Miracle on the Vistula"). This war, which in Poland is called polish-Bolshevik, left a considerable mark on local art.

Wojciech Kossak. "Soviet enemy".
Again a horde of savages, one with a bottle instead of a checker. Pay attention to the figure of the killed civilian on the left (over which the girl is crying). Figure one to one from the painting "Pogrom".

Jerzy Kossak. "Miracle on the Vistula on September 15, 1920". 1930
Jerzy Kossak is the son of Wojciech Kossak. The painting is dedicated to the counter-offensive of the Polish army near Warsaw in August 1920. The Soviet troops were surrounded, the Polish capital was saved. The painting depicts an unstoppable attack by the Poles, supported from the air by aviation and Jesus Christ.

Jerzy Kossak. "The Pursuit of the Escaping Commissioner". 1934 g.
A commissar in a red shirt ticks from the Polish lancers.

The revived Poland (Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as it is called) lasted only 21 years. It all ended in 1939.

Jerzy Kossak. "Battle of Kutno". 1939 g.
With checkers on tanks: lancers against the Wehrmacht. This is from the series "one rifle for five", the Polish version. Tanks of an incomprehensible model, hatches on the side, where the cavalrymen throw their pikes ...

Jerzy Kossak. "Battle of Kutno". 1943 g.
Some incomprehensible moments in the first version of the picture forced the artist to rewrite it a few years later.

After 1945 Poland entered the Soviet bloc and socialist realism began there. Something like this:

Julius Studnitsky. "Stakhanovka Gertrude Vysotskaya". 1950 g.
The box on the left says Centrala rybna. Chief Fish!

Not everything was really so much fun ..

Felix Kai-Krzhevinsky. "Polish prisoners on the way to Siberia". 1940 g.

Felix Kai-Krzhevinsky. "The Hungry Steppe. Kazakhstan". 1945 g.
Deported Poles in Central Asia. In the picture, presumably the artist's sister Elisabeth Krzhevinskaya.

Jerzy Zielinski. "A smile, or 30 years, or ha ha ha", 1974
The famous painting in the style of pop art. The sewn-up lips symbolize censorship and the communist dictatorship in what was then Poland. At the same time, three crosses are 30 in Roman numerals, just in 1974 it was thirty years of the arrival of the Soviet army in Poland (1944), which also brought new power. And finally, if you read in Russian, it's simple: Ha Ha Ha :)

One of the most popular Polish artists of the 20th century, Zdzislaw Beksinski, almost never gave a title to his work. Including because of this, his post-apocalyptic canvases are perceived as a kind of integral world. A world of horror, despair, or whatever else you see in these pictures. The dark corridors of life attract viewers' attention, therefore Beksiński was favored by popularity throughout his creative life, mainly in Western Europe, Japan and the USA. However, this did not save him from dying at the hands of crazy teenagers.

Beksiński tried himself in many genres: sculpture, photography, graphic art, and turned to painting in the 1960s. The first paintings were painted in the spirit of abstract art, later surrealistic motives began to dominate. The author himself believed that he had to achieve such a level of skill so that the viewer was born with the conviction that he was photographing dreams. This explains the maximum detail, saturation of the picture with semantic elements. By the way, the Pole had no artistic education.

Until the mid-1980s, the most famous period in his work lasted - the so-called "fantastic". The phantasmagoric works of this time were dominated by infernal landscapes, nightmarish figures, and ominous supernatural architecture. At the same time, the artist argued that most of his works are funny and should not cause internal rejection.

All canvases Beksinsky wrote exclusively to the sounds of classical music (because he could not stand the silence) on his own canvases. In the 90s, he got acquainted with digital technologies and concentrated his attention on this direction.

Beksiński lived with his wife Zofia and son Tomasz in Warsaw. In the last years of the XX century, a series of misfortunes overtook him. His wife died of cancer, and a year later Tomasz, a recognized translator, popular music journalist and gothic rock fan, committed suicide. He was a big fan of The Legendary Pink Dots, and after he killed himself, all the covers of the Polish editions of the albums of this group were digitally designed by Beksinski in memory of Tomasz.

On February 22, 2005, Beksiński, at the age of 75, was found dead at the door of his own apartment. There were 17 stab wounds on his body. This atrocity was committed by the 19-year-old son of the artist's housekeeper and his friend, after Zdzislav refused to lend them money.

Art has always attracted public attention. He was criticized, scolded, discussed, admired. Contemporary art, as many critics say, is chaos. Now everyone creates whatever they want: paints the floor, displays a piece of fabric on a wooden stick, scatters stones around an art gallery, or simply copies the works of famous masters. Looking at all this, it is impossible to predict the reaction of the public and the success of this or that creation. And today we would like to present to our readers five Polish artists whose works, in one way or another, are admired by the whole world.

Alexandra Valishevska (Aleksandra Waliszewska)

Renowned Polish artist specializing in easel and wall painting. She was born in Warsaw in 1976. She graduated from the Academy of Arts, received a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and reached the final of the prestigious international competition Henkel Art. Award.

In artistic circles, Alexandra is often criticized for her eccentricity, and the mystical atmosphere present in her works resembles the work of famous Italian artists, who, as Alexandra herself admitted, inspired her herself.

You can look at the artist's work in the Warsaw Lego Gallery, it is here that there is a permanent exhibition of Alexandra's works. Or at the Museum of Modern Art and art galleries in other Polish cities, which from time to time organize exhibitions dedicated to the artist's work.

Olga Osadzinska (OlgaOsadziń ska)

A well-known schedule whose works are snapped up by modern corporations and brands.

It all started with the fact that Olga simply loved to draw beautiful and original pictures in her notebook. It was this very common hobby that brought the girl to educational institutions in Berlin and New York, where Olga studied graphics and art.

Now the artist is collaborating with the famous sports brand Reebok, for which she creates unusual and original graffiti.

Philip Pangovski (FilipPą gowski)

Graphic designer who founded the famous heart emoji for one of Japan's reputable fashion companies.

Philip was born into a family of artists and therefore was surrounded by people of art from childhood, graduated from the Warsaw Academy of Arts and went to New York to study and seek inspiration.

Now the graphic artist's works are presented at Paris Fashion Week, while prestigious fashion houses are buying up his ideas and transferring original patterns to their dresses, suits and accessories.

Robert Kuta (Robert Kuta)

Another famous fashion artist that the whole of Poland is proud of.

It is impossible to look away from his works. Original delicate patterns are presented in the collections of world famous fashion brands: Local Hermes, Dream Nation, SI-MI. Robert also supports the domestic fashion house Gosi Baczyńskiej.

Graduated from the Krakow Academy of Arts. He currently lives in Warsaw and has his own showroom for the production of designer T-shirts.

David Ruski (Dawid ryski)

A renowned Polish artist who also creates fashion trends and unique patterns for clothing.

Unlike his colleagues, David is more specialized in landscapes, which affects his creativity and fashion trends.

Now the artist and his wife have created the brand “ PinataUnique» and are engaged in the creation of original T-shirts, as well as cotton bags for children and adults with funny and unique pictures.

It should be noted that the fashion for original T-shirts and accessories has grown significantly lately. And modern Poles are completely crazy about all this. Perhaps that is why Polish students of the Academy of Arts are so rapidly moving into the world of fashion and opening their showrooms.

And you can admire their work not only on another T-shirt, but also in the Museum of Modern Art and art galleries throughout Poland.

In order to understand well everything that the artists reflected in the paintings, you need to learn one thing, the most important thing: there were no Poland and Russia. There was one state in the entire planet in which a great war was fought between the troops of the Government of this State (White Guard, White Deed, White Order) and the rebellious Cossacks who were in the service of this Government. That is, subsequently, the Red Army, which replenished its troops with the slave Negroes who had come from nowhere.

01.
Jan Matejko. "Stanchik". 1862 g.
1514, another war between Poland and Muscovy. The Russians conquered Smolensk, and, inspired by the first success, invaded Belarus. But there they were defeated in the battle of Orsha. In the palace of the Polish king - a ball to mark the victory. True, Smolensk, following the war, remains in the hands of Muscovy. Everyone is dancing (in the background), and the court jester by name Stanchik sits and thinks about the future of Poland. Smolensk was given away, so soon we will merge everything.

An important point. The war begins in 1853. Therefore, all the events presented in the paintings are automatically transferred to the second half of the 19th or the beginning of the 20th century.
And we return fictional characters and chronology free of charge to those who composed it all. For memory .

An interesting detail: the ball is a European entertainment. 1514, and they have a ball. In Russia, the first balls at the court will be in 200 years, under Peter.

The detail about the ball is really interesting .. Firstly, the Polish gentry is the White Guard. Government troops. Legal. They have a riot in the Army. I doubt that in such circumstances they will be up to balls. At least in the form of unbridled fun as we are imagined. Hence, it is more likely that we are talking about the Reds. There were balls and dressing up they loved just maniacally. I can't say who is in the picture. But I would not be surprised if the artist portrayed the leader of the rioters, Elston. This was definitely not a matter of balls, and a person insignificant for the plot of the picture would hardly be of interest to anyone ..

02.
Jan Matejko. "Stefan Bathory near Pskov". 1872 g.
Jester Stanchik was right. Muscovites started from Smolensk, then they wanted more. The picture shows the Livonian War, which Ivan the Terrible began to capture the Baltic states. The siege of Pskov by the army of the Polish king Stefan Batory. After several months of the siege, the ambassadors of Ivan the Terrible asked for peace: in the picture they are crawling on their knees in front of Stefan. There are questions about the plot (in fact, there was no such meeting of Batory with the ambassadors near Pskov), but peace was soon concluded, yes. And indeed it is extremely unfortunate for Russia, like the Livonian War itself.

Let's forget about Ivan the Terrible and Peter 1 once and for all ... there weren't any. Absolutely. Better about what's going on in the picture. As I see it. The picture shows the defeated traitors. What kind of clowns are beating their foreheads against the ground, I will not say, apparently, someone is very sorry for their skin, they think to save it. More interesting are the figures of the warriors. On the right, a soldier standing with a dull look (there is also an interesting Cossack face nearby), and a figure in black. By the way, I have a feeling that this character was smeared with black. This stain is too knocked out of the whole picture, the contours are drawn clumsy. With hands it is generally unclear what. And the figure in the picture is important. I would say the key. It is on this little man that the views and attention of all other characters are directed. Someone tries to look at him with interest from behind those standing closer, two Cossacks whisper sarcastically, another deliberately turned away, the winged warrior standing behind him has contempt on his face. (By the way, to note that winged angels and warriors are not symbolism and allegory. Wings are military ammunition, we just have no idea how it worked and in what cases it was applied. Before us is a whole winged army on a historical canvas. The author wrote that , which he knew well, being a participant in those military events). Look further. The Cossack next to the man in black has a flurry of emotions on his face. It seems that, contrary to the Charter and Discipline, he will now pounce on the traitor. In general, the whole view says one thing: "Hold me, guys! I am not responsible for myself." An older Cossack has pain and a reproach on his face a little behind .. In general, take a good look at everyone yourself. Almost every character is concentrated by the artist on this particular man in black. Even the fact that Stefan and Jan Zamoyski (the names are very arbitrary) deliberately avoid looking directly at this man in black, once again emphasizes the fact that everything that happens in the picture is focused on this character. Stefan allegedly looks at the companion of this person, although his gaze is rather absent. It's interesting with Jan Zamoyskiy. First, he is a figure in the foreground and separate from the rest. Important. Secondly, his outward resemblance to the man in black is striking. A traitorous brother? Judging by his left hand, convulsively grasping at something, and looking at "nowhere", this Yang is more than indifferent to what is happening, but tries to restrain himself. In general, I will not further increase the amount of text with my conjectures, I will pay attention to just one more detail. What's being returned to Stefan on a gold tray? Agree that for the "gifts" from the "supplicants for peace" it looks rather pathetic. But if this is an important item that was seized and now returned, then everything looks quite real. I wonder WHAT IS THIS? ...

03.
Tsar False Dmitry I, portrait of an unknown artist. Beginning 17th century
This painting is also known as "Portrait of the Vishnevets Castle" (castle of the family of Marina Mnishek - wife of False Dmitry). During the Time of Troubles, the Poles managed to plant their impostor tsar in the Kremlin. In the painting, Grigory Otrepiev, aka False Dmitry I, is depicted as a Russian tsar (written in Latin as Demetrius IMPERATOR), on the table is a crown and a knight's helmet.

04.
Karl Wenig. "The last minutes of the life of False Dmitry I." 1879 g.

I have nothing special to say here, except that the hero of the picture very much reminded Felix Yusupov Jr.

The artist Karl Bogdanovich Wenig hardly thought that in the 21st century his painting would become an inexhaustible source of parodies of Russia's domestic and foreign policy :)

05.
Jan Matejko. "Tsar Shuisky in the Diet in Warsaw". 1892 g.
Royal Castle in Warsaw, 1611. Vasily Shuisky bows to Sigismund, touching the ground with his hand. On the left, apparently, his brother Ivan, who (according to Polish sources) generally lay at his feet and beat himself with his head on the floor. Deputies of the Sejm (Polish Parliament) sit in the background with a deep sense of satisfaction. Flags are flying, the bright sun is shining. Triumph!

Here, in my opinion, events resonate with the painting "Stefan Batory near Pskov". Consider carefully .

06.
Vaclav Pavlishak. "Cossack gift". 1885 g.
The Zaporozhets caught a noble prisoner and presented him to the gentry, taking off his cap in front of them. No wonder, some of the Cossacks were in the Polish service (for money). They were used as mercenaries in addition to the Polish army. Including repeatedly - in wars against Russia. As for the prisoner, this is, apparently, a Crimean Tatar. It's a bummer, of course. The main business of the Crimean Khanate was the slave trade. And then you yourself get captured ...

07.
Josef Helmonski. "Issuance of payment (Saturday at the farm)". 1869 g.
Folwark is a Polish corvee. Pan forced the Khlopovs to work for themselves free of charge or through forced hiring (for example, having previously driven them off the ground and left them without funds). The picture shows a farm on payday. A group of peasants in the center received a penny and are terrified - how to feed the children for these pennies? The two flaps on the left, on the other hand, are fun. Already got drunk.

08.
Alexander Kotsis. "In the tire". OK. 1870 g.
While the gentry danced at the balls, the clapper could only go to the shinok (tavern). It was a popular business. For example, Lenin's great-grandfather Moshe Blank from the city of Starokonstantinov in Volyn was a shinkar. In 1795, according to the third partition of Poland, Volhynia, together with Moshe Blank and his tavern, went to Russia.

09.
Jan Matejko. "Reitan - Poland's Decline". 1866 g.
The Diet in 1773 decides to agree with the partition of Poland. Shlyakhtich Tadeusz Reitan, the last patriot of Poland, in despair tries to prevent this: to go to bed at the exit, not allowing the deputies to disperse after the meeting. Many deputies are ashamed, they have just sold their country. On the wall is a portrait of Catherine II (their sponsor), outside the door are Russian grenadiers, upstairs in the box is the Russian ambassador Repnin with two ladies. That's really the decline of Poland!

An interesting picture. What is really going on here?

10.
Wojciech Kossak. "Hussar of the Great Army". 1907 g.
The picture shows a Pole from Napoleon's army. The artist himself served as a lancer in the army, so he drew the cavalry skillfully.

Napoleons are from the company of Grozny, Peter and Catherine. Forgot. Before us are the troops of the Government. About "drew competently" I completely agree. .

11.
Yet Wojciech Kossak. "Spring 1813". 1903 g.
The snow has melted ... And there are remnants of the gallant cavalrymen.

Kossak conveyed reality. 100%. Look at the corpses. On the right are not just legs sticking out, but the legs of the black ones. There were more than enough blacks in the troops of Elston-Sumarokov. And to write off the fact that these are just corpses turned black will not work. In the left corner are the legs of another corpse. And they are white. From one battle we lay under the same snow.

12.
Yanuariy Sukhodolsky. "Storming the walls of Zaragoza". 1845 g.
In 1808, Zaragoza rebelled against the French occupation. She was besieged for 9 months. Everyone fought, women, children. 50 thousand people died . The picture shows Poles rushing into the city.

Let's correct it a little: the invaders are the Elston bandits-invaders. Indeed, everyone fought against them. Both women and children.

13.
Yanuariy Sukhodolsky. "Battle of San Domingo". 1845 g.
This is not Spain. This is Napoleon's punitive expedition to the island of Haiti (then - the colony of San Domingo). There, local blacks rebelled against the French, and the Poles came to pacify the blacks with the French.

Again, all the same: the troops of the White Government and the Elston negro thugs. And here in the literal sense. A funny uniform for the "local uprising Haitians" turned out)

14.
Wojciech Kossak. "November night". 1898 g.
This is an anti-Russian uprising of 1830-31. It began in November 1830 with a rebel attack on the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw (the seat of the governor of Poland). The painting shows a battle between rebels and Russian cuirassiers on the night of November 29-30, 1830.

Everything is as it is. The rebels seize one of the residences of the White Government .

15.
Wojciech Kossak. "Emilia Plater at the Battle of Siauliai". 1904 g.

A very interesting girl. From an ancient knightly aristocratic family. Even taking into account the early death, she did so much to liberate the Motherland from the invaders that to this day there are legends about her, and Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia claim that this woman belongs to their land. And after all, no one lies and does not make mistakes. Because there were no such separate states at that time at all, and even in plans. Everyone, including women, defended one great homeland.

16.
Wojciech Kossak. "Circassians in Krakowskie Przedmiescie". 1912 g.
This is the anti-Russian uprising of 1863. It is also called the January Uprising. Krakowskie Przedmiescie is an avenue in Warsaw. Russian troops rush into the city. The artist portrayed the latter in the form of a horde of Circassians rushing through the city with an Orthodox banner. True, the Circassians are Muslims, but that doesn't matter. The Circassians are firing into the air with all types of weapons, waving whips, passers-by scatter.

A strong thing ... By the way, originally the picture was called "The Dagestan Wedding on Tverskaya" (just kidding).

The artist portrayed very well who the rebels were and what they were in the case. Cossacks. I would not speak about Orthodoxy and Islam in relation to the Cossacks of that time. They did not have religion in our understanding. Their obsession is indicative. A child lying on the pavement, which is about to be walked with hooves, speaks volumes.

17.
"The Russian army plunders the Polish estate during the January Uprising". Unknown Polish artist of the 19th century
The author tried to portray the Russian soldiers and officers as repulsive as possible. A horde of savages is raging in a cultural European home, the child has been thrown out of the carriage, pictures are stabbed with bayonets.

A very vivid example of what the Elston troops were doing. With the proviso that they just broke into the house and all the horror is yet to come ..

18.
Arthur Grothger. "Way to Siberia". 1867 g.
Participants in the 1863 uprising were driven to Siberia.

19.
Alexander Sokhachevsky. "Farewell to Europe". 1894 g.
Polish rebels in 1863 on their way to Siberia. We got to the obelisk on the border of Europe and Asia. The artist himself was a participant in the uprising, received 20 years in hard labor (he is somewhere in the picture, by the way, near the obelisk).

One of the strongest fragments.

20.
Alexander Sokhachevsky. "Pani Gudzinskaya". 1894 g.
This is a real character, a participant in the uprising, who was exiled to the saltworks near Irkutsk (like the author of the picture). She has a husband and 2 children in Warsaw. She worked as a laundress at the salt pans, washed all day in an ice-hole, in the Angara. She died in hard labor in 1866.

21.
Jacek Malczewski. "Death on the Stage". 1891 g.
More horrors of the tsarist gulag.

22.
Jacek Marchelsky "Vigil in Siberia". 1892 g.
Vigil is a night vigil for Catholics before Easter or Christmas. Polish exiles in Siberia are faithful to their native Catholic faith. By the way, the exiles at the table look pretty decent - well-fed, in suits, white shirts.

23.
Stanislav Maslovsky. "Spring 1905." 1906 g.
This is already the revolution of 1905-1907. It covered Poland too. In the picture, the Cossacks, who played the role of the tsarist OMON, are leading the arrested person. The contrast between the convoy and the prisoner: four foreheads on horses are leading one little man.

24.
Wojciech Kossak. "Pogrom". 1907 g.
The 1905 revolution was accompanied by a wave of Jewish pogroms, incl. in Poland. The picture shows a Russian Cossack in uniform and with a weapon against the background of the pogrom. Houses are burning, corpses are lying on the pavement. However, the Cossack in this case is NOT a representative of the forces of law and order. He himself is a pogromist. This is exactly what the artist Wojciech Kossak wanted to say. Here, they say, she is the Russian army: bandits and murderers.

Everything is so, only pogroms all over the earth were not Jewish. They killed and robbed White People. All the same rebel Cossacks with their horde of black slaves .

25.
Wojciech Kossak. "Ulan convoys Russian prisoners." 1916 g.
This is the first world war. On horseback - a volunteer from the so-called. Polish legion of the Austrian army. Approximately 25,000 Polish nationalists went to serve the Austrians and fought on their side on the Eastern Front. These legionnaires later formed the backbone of the officer corps of independent Poland.

Note for ourselves that one is leading three prisoners! Remember the picture above with another escort, when there are several escorts for one prisoner. So the difference in the qualitative composition of both armies is obvious. White and Red. By the way, the face of the first prisoner in the picture is simply scary .

26.
Wojciech Kossak. "Soviet enemy".
Again a horde of savages, one with a bottle instead of a checker. Pay attention to the figure of the killed civilian on the left (over which the girl is crying). Figure one to one from the painting "Pogrom".

Just without words. The Red Soviet Army as it is.

27.
Jerzy Kossak. "Miracle on the Vistula on September 15, 1920". 1930
Jerzy Kossak is the son of Wojciech Kossak. The painting is dedicated to the counter-offensive of the Polish army near Warsaw in August 1920. The Soviet troops were surrounded, the Polish capital was saved. The painting depicts an unstoppable attack by the Poles, supported from the air by aviation and Jesus Christ.

This picture is just something stunning in its informational content. And this is already the 20th century. Even taking into account the fact that it was "ruled" and blurred what people are not supposed to see, a lot is visible! Let's start with the fact that there is no Christ here and there is no close. Neither real nor symbolic. A warrior girl is depicted in the sky above the advancing troops. The same one that now rises on the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg. The leader of the angelic army, whose appearance did not bode well for the enemy. Look closely by enlarging the image. There were no planes there. Remember the winged troops from the painting about Stephen and combine both paintings within the same military-historical events. What kind of weapons, vehicles and other gadgets were used, as we now call it, one can only guess.
And this picture was also altered. We compare the options.

28.
Jerzy Kossak. "The Pursuit of the Escaping Commissioner". 1934 g.
A commissar in a red shirt ticks from the Polish lancers.

The revived Poland (Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as it is called) lasted only 21 years. It all ended in 1939.

29.
Jerzy Kossak. "Battle of Kutno". 1939 g.
With checkers on tanks: lancers against the Wehrmacht. This is from the series "one rifle for five", the Polish version. Tanks of an incomprehensible model, hatches on the side, where the cavalrymen throw their pikes ...

Very interesting job. What amazing, previously unseen tanks are a separate conversation and more for men who are versed in these things. I was interested that these tanks are attacking light warriors .. and a very interesting approaching unit on the right. Are not the wings again looming on the heads of the riders? And what is characteristic, the soldiers have already got out of the tank closest to them and in every possible way demonstrate further non-resistance.

30.
Jerzy Kossak. "Battle of Kutno". 1943 g.
Some incomprehensible moments in the first version of the picture forced the artist to rewrite it a few years later.

In my opinion, this painting does not belong to Jerzy Kossak! First, there is no signature, unlike all of his works. Secondly, the artist is unlikely to remake his creation to please those who do not understand something. This is a later "politically correct" alteration. There were enough people in the Union of Artists. There was someone to work with.

After 1945 Poland entered the Soviet bloc and socialist realism began there. Something like this:

31.
Julius Studnitsky. "Stakhanovka Gertrude Vysotskaya". 1950 g.
The box on the left says Centrala rybna. Chief Fish!

Not everything was really so much fun ..

32.
Felix Kai-Krzhevinsky. "Polish prisoners on the way to Siberia". 1940 g.

33.
Felix Kai-Krzhevinsky. "The Hungry Steppe. Kazakhstan". 1945 g.
Deported Poles in Central Asia. In the picture, presumably the artist's sister Elisabeth Krzhevinskaya.

34.
Jerzy Zielinski. "A smile, or 30 years, or ha ha ha", 1974
The famous painting in the style of pop art. The sewn-up lips symbolize censorship and the communist dictatorship in what was then Poland. At the same time, three crosses are 30 in Roman numerals, just in 1974 it was thirty years of the arrival of the Soviet army in Poland (1944), which also brought new power. And finally, if you read in Russian, it's simple: Ha Ha Ha :)

Original taken from uglich_jj in History of Russia in the paintings of Polish artists ...

Let's hope that the photos of these people are not fake. .

Poland is famous for its large number of galleries and centers of contemporary art. In almost every city you can find an art get-together that develops modern art genres. Polish School "Rozmovlyai" acquaints students and readers of the site with the most prominent Polish artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Alina Shapochnikov (Alina Szapocznikow)

Alina Shapochnikov is a famous Polish sculptor who lived in 1926-1973. In the 60s. in Paris, artificial materials (plastic, polyester) began to be actively used in sculpture, which inspired the artist to creative experiments in which she succeeded. Alina started casting her own body in colored synthetic resins, which gave an unusual light effect. Quite a personal character is the series of works performed in the last years of her life: Tumerus (1969-1971) and Herbarium (1972), which are casts of the body of her son.

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One of the most famous works is the sculpture Portret zwielokrotniony (1967). The work is a bust of a woman, which depicts the faces of four women of different races. The sculpture is a cast of the artist's body - the face is cast in resin, and the bust is in bronze. The colors used in this work give the sculpture an especially deep meaning and contribute to philosophical reflection.

Mirosław Balka

Born in 1958. Sculptor, author of art actions, installations and video. He made his debut as a sculpture, where art was integrated into a non-artistic situation, creating an art object in the interior of an abandoned house. (Pamiątka I Komunii Św., 1985). In the subsequent period, he created metaphorical sculptures, monuments made of jute, artificial stone and sculptural compositions made of concrete (Zła nowina, 1986; Kominek, 1986, Św. Wojciech, 1987). At the end of the eighties, the sculptor's language of expression changed - human figures gave way to anthropometric compositions.

The sculptor often uses his own body and studio as an initial reference point, so his work may include personal or self-referential substances such as ash, felt, hair, and soaps. The materials used by Miroslav Balka surprise with their simplicity - these are everyday objects and things, but this does not interfere with creative provocation, as the artist actualizes the theme of the past.

Tadeusz Kantor

Tadeusz Kantor is one of the most prominent Polish artists of the 20th century. Artist, illustrator, art theorist, production designer and director, theater reformer, author of famous performances (Umarła klasa, Wielopole, Wielopole, Niech sczezną artyści, Dziś są moje urodziny, Nigdy tu już nie powrócę), videos, happenings , founder of the art community "Grupa Krakowska".

The work of Tadeusz Kantor is considered one of the most interesting phenomena in post-war Europe. From 1933 until the end of his life, Kantor was associated with Krakow. Once he wrote: "By my artistic existence I confirm that I belong to a given era, to a given people, to a given place. I am thinking of Krakow, to which I belong."

The artist's work influenced such famous cultural and artistic figures as Anselm Kiefer, Christian Boltansky, Anthony Tapies, Robert Wilson. Tadeusz Kantor's works have been exhibited in such prestigious places as the Pompidou Center in Paris, the Pitti Palace in Florence, the Casa Mila in Barcelona, \u200b\u200band the Museum of Fine Arts in Prague.

Tadeusz Kantor died in Krakow, to which he always returned from numerous travels around the world, and was buried in the Rakovice cemetery in his mother's grave.

Jerzy Nowosielski

Jerzy Nowoselski is not only one of the most interesting Polish contemporary artists, illustrator, set designer, author of many theoretical works on icons and painting, but also an outstanding thinker and Orthodox theologian. Decorating the walls of many temples and churches, Jerzy Nowoselski is one of the very few, if not the only contemporary artist who left behind such monumental works.

The artist was born into a Ukrainian-German family, this biculturalism had a huge impact on his future life, work, national identity and religious views.

A bold spatial imagination allowed the artist to create unique works using Polish folklore. These include decorations (frescoes, stained glass, mosaics) in the temples of the Eastern and Western rite. One of the latest examples of the artist's work is the architectural and decorative ensemble, made in collaboration with the architect Bogdan Kotarba, in the town of Byaly Bur in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (1992-1997).

Magdalena Abakanowicz

Magdalena Abakanovich (June 20, 1930 - April 20, 2017) is a Polish sculptor and artist. A feature of her work is the use of textiles in sculpture. She is considered to be one of the most famous Polish artists. Magdalena Abakanovich was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, and was a visiting professor at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1984.

The artist's most notable works are a series of human figures, in which the viewer sees monotonous statues. Magdalena Abakanovich's works actualize the topic of loss of identity in a dominant group. The artist alludes to the period of the communist regime in Poland. "Art does not solve problems, but it helps us to realize their existence," says Magdalena.

This is a brief overview of the work of only a few prominent Polish artists. Each of them has become an integral part of European culture, which can be discussed in the classroom at the Polish School "Rozmovlyai". In Polish, of course.

Great foreign artists

Formation of a multicultural personality