material: oil on canvas
dimensions: 68 × 103 cm
description: Władysław Ciesielski emigrated to France after the fall of the January Uprising. He studied in Paris at the Académie des Beaux-Arts under Isidore Alexandre Pils and in the studio of Henry Lehman. The artist was friends with Jacek Malczewski and Kazimierz Alchimowicz. In 1882, he opened his own photographic studio called “Gopło,” which was the hub of the intellectual and artistic activity of the Polish community in Paris. Ciesielski specialized in miniature painting. He executed portraits, historical scenes and moody landscapes, rendered in the style of the Barbizon School and the works of Gustave Courbet. A Solitary Walk at Fontainebleau donated to the collection of the National Museum by the artist himself, was painted from nature, and perhaps also based on a photograph. The composition, rendered in dark, rich greens and without staffage, has been painted with great freedom. Paints have been applied thickly, with a spatula. This slightly gloomy landscape shows the dark interior of the forest, into which leads a path meandering between rocks. The sky stretches above the crows of trees, and the rays of sunshine, filtering through the clouds, enhance the contrasts of light and shadow. A simple motif, devoid of the picturesque, was painted based on a close observation of nature, which plays the central role in this representation and acts as a vehicle for conveying mood. Aleksandra Krypczyk
exposition: The Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art in Sukiennice,
The Cloth Hall, 1, Main Market Square
key: Realism, polish impressionism, beginnings of symbolism >>>
dimensions: 68 × 103 cm
description: Władysław Ciesielski emigrated to France after the fall of the January Uprising. He studied in Paris at the Académie des Beaux-Arts under Isidore Alexandre Pils and in the studio of Henry Lehman. The artist was friends with Jacek Malczewski and Kazimierz Alchimowicz. In 1882, he opened his own photographic studio called “Gopło,” which was the hub of the intellectual and artistic activity of the Polish community in Paris. Ciesielski specialized in miniature painting. He executed portraits, historical scenes and moody landscapes, rendered in the style of the Barbizon School and the works of Gustave Courbet. A Solitary Walk at Fontainebleau donated to the collection of the National Museum by the artist himself, was painted from nature, and perhaps also based on a photograph. The composition, rendered in dark, rich greens and without staffage, has been painted with great freedom. Paints have been applied thickly, with a spatula. This slightly gloomy landscape shows the dark interior of the forest, into which leads a path meandering between rocks. The sky stretches above the crows of trees, and the rays of sunshine, filtering through the clouds, enhance the contrasts of light and shadow. A simple motif, devoid of the picturesque, was painted based on a close observation of nature, which plays the central role in this representation and acts as a vehicle for conveying mood. Aleksandra Krypczyk
exposition: The Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art in Sukiennice,
The Cloth Hall, 1, Main Market Square
key: Realism, polish impressionism, beginnings of symbolism >>>