Polish diplomats from the Embassy in Minsk and representatives of the Polish diaspora laid flowers and lit candles on the grave of Ferdynand Ruszczyc on the 85th death anniversary of the painter.
One of the leading representatives of the Young Poland movement at the turn of the 20th century, Ruszczyc (1870–1936) was born and died in the village of Bogdanów (then Russian Empire, now Belarus), not far from Minsk.
A student of the famous Russian landscape painters Ivan Shishkin and Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ruszczyc contributed to the development of the Warsaw School of Fine Arts, where he taught briefly. He also taught landscape painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków.
In 1908, with Józef Mehoffer, Ruszczyc organized an exhibition of Polish painting in Vienna.
He eventually settled in Vilna (Vilnius), where he devoted himself to teaching and organizing cultural events. He also worked as a graphic designer, poster designer, illustrator and costume designer for theatre.
The ruins of his family manor in Bogdanów have been preserved, as well as the family graveyard, which has been attracting increasing numbers of visitors along with rising interest in the painter, also in Belarus. Plans are to renovate in the near future the old wooden staircase which leads to his tomb.
Source: IAR