Renowned for works such as “Jewess with Oranges” (“Pomarańczarka”), “The Peasants’ Coffin” (“Trumna chłopska”), and “Sander Gatherers” (“Piaskarze”), Gierymski’s innovative style and focus on everyday urban life helped lay the groundwork for modern Polish art.
Gierymski was born in Warsaw on January 30, 1850, and initially studied at the local School of Drawing (now the Academy of Fine Arts). He later attended the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, winning a gold medal for his graduation piece, “The Merchant of Venice.” His older brother, Maksymilian, was also a painter, though Aleksander often felt overshadowed by him.
Warsaw’s chronicler and European influences
Critics admire Gierymski’s unvarnished depictions of Warsaw, especially his portrayals of the city’s Jewish poor—then a rarely documented segment of society. Yet despite painting many of his most famous works in Poland, the artist spent extensive periods abroad, including in Munich, Rome, and Paris. Biographers say Gierymski was driven by a relentless search for new experiences and fresh artistic impulses, bringing him into alignment with cutting-edge European trends.
Although he began experimenting with light and shadow in his Italian works—such as “A Roman Inn” and “In the Arbor”—it was only when he visited Paris in 1890 that he fully encountered impressionism. By that time, he had already produced several important Warsaw-period paintings, including “Brickyard on the Vistula” (known as “Powiśle”), “Holy Day of the Trumpets,” and “Sander Gatherers.” Art historians note Gierymski’s distinctive, journalistic eye, visible in both his paintings and his work as an illustrator.
A complex legacy
During his lifetime, Gierymski struggled for recognition, overshadowed by contemporary luminaries like Jan Matejko, whose grand historical canvases dominated Polish art. Critics such as Antoni Sygietyński and Stanisław Witkiewicz, however, heralded the Gierymski brothers as trailblazers who would be appreciated by future generations. Gierymski’s final years were spent in Italy, where he created late masterpieces such as “Interior of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice” and “Piazza delle Erbe in Verona.”
Weakened by health issues and feeling misunderstood by many in his homeland, Gierymski died in a Roman psychiatric hospital in early March 1901. He is now widely regarded as one of the most influential Polish painters of the 19th century, praised for his uncompromising vision and bold embrace of modern artistic currents.
(jh)
Source: PAP