The Great Painters
Józef Chełmoński
- eminent painter of nature

Józef Chełmoński (1849-1914)
LEADING REPRESENTATIVE OF POLISH REALISM
ILLUSTRATOR
MOODY LANDSCAPE ARTIST
POETRY OF IMAGES
ANIMALIST
Józef Chełmoński
1849
1867-1872
he started learning in the Warsaw Drawing Class and in Wojciech Gerson's private studio
1872-1874
Study in Munich under H. Anschütz and A. Strähuber. There, Józef Chełmoński became involved with the Polish Munich community, especially with Stanisław Witkiewicz, Józef Brandt, Maximilian Gierymski and Adam Chmielowski.
1874
he stayed in Ukraine, from where he returned to Warsaw, where with Witkiewicz and Chmielowski shared the studio, rented in the building of the Europejski Hotel
1875
Józef Chełmoński went to Paris, where he gained critical and public acclaim, showing the Salons pictures of the life of the Polish countryside and famous performances of rushing horse-drawn carriages. The canvases were willingly bought by collectors from Europe and America.
1878
On 18 June Józef Chełmoński married Maria from Korwin-Szymanowski; after the wedding they went to Vienna, Munich, Venice and Paris
1879
the artist became a father. In total, the spouses had seven children: Maria, Zofia, Jadwiga, Wanda, Anna, Józef and Tadeusz. Unfortunately, three children died (Józef, Anna and Tadeusz).
1884-1892
the artist worked with the Parisian "Le Monde Illustré" as a cartoonist-illustrator
![Jozef_Chelmonski-]i_Partridges_in_the_snow Józef Chełmoński](https://zagrajwsztuke.pl/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Jozef_Chelmonski-i_Partridges_in_the_snow.png)
1887
Józef Chełmoński returned to Warsaw with his whole family
1889
the purchase of the manor house in Kuklówka, to which the painter had already travelled frequently before to paint

1896
the painting "Tempest" exhibited in Krakow brought the artist the Probus Barczewski Academy of Skills award
1889
Józef Chełmoński was awarded the Grand Prix at the Universal Exhibition in Paris
1894
He won a gold medal at the Glaspalast exhibition in Munich and at the General Art Exhibition in San Francisco. In the same year the painter's marriage broke up: 3 older daughters: Jadwiga, Maria and Zofia stayed with their father, and the youngest Wanda, wife Maria took them to Warsaw
1897
Józef Chełmoński was appointed Honorary President of the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka", which brings together the most outstanding Polish artists
1914
Józef Chełmoński was appointed Honorary President of the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka", which brings together the most outstanding Polish artists
Interesting facts:
Clothing
From memory
The artist was famous for his almost photographic memory. During his stay in Paris, his canvases depicting lively scenes from the borderland fairs were of great interest. He painted all the paintings from memory...
Soldiers
In "Episode from the uprising 1863" Józef Chełmoński showed the presence of women in the insurgent unit. Soldiers during the January Uprising were not isolated cases. Unfortunately, their importance was often marginalised, suggesting more "female" activities. And even accused of "looking for a husband" in the ward. All the more so, the motive, captured by Józef Chełmoński, is unprecedented. Not only did he show the women in the insurgents' ward, but he even showed them as fully-fledged heroines.

About the art of Józef Chełmoński:
The centre of Józef Chełmoński's interest was invariably nature, especially animals. He was a master of depicting energetic sledges in the vast scenery of the Ukrainian steppes. He was an excellent observer of animals and showed them in their natural environment against a background of realistic landscapes.
"Starry Night" This is one of the first works by Józef Chełmoński devoid of human presence. The night landscape, full of poetic mood, in which the only "hero" is nature asleep.
Józef Chełmoński was famous for his extraordinary sense of observation and talent for perceiving the most subtle phenomena occurring in nature. He showed nature with almost religious and mystical praise.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Józef Chełmoński's paintings were widely appreciated by critics and the public. His works were sometimes even juxtaposed with the paintings of the master Jana Matejko.
Stanisław Witkiewicz highly valued paintings by Józef Chełmoński. Even considering them to be model examples of realism in painting which "gave the illusion of reality, produced its illusion and gave an impression". The painting "Czwórka" is certainly one of the greatest achievements of naturalism in Polish painting.
Józef Chełmoński in the Museums:


Poland:
- Bytom: Muzeum Górnośląskie. Można tam podziwiać m. in.:
- „Sanna” bez daty
- Katowice: Silesian Museum. You can admire there, among others..:
- „Powrót z balu” namalowany w 1879
- Kraków: Muzeum Narodowe – Galeria Sztuki Polskiej w Sukiennicach. Można tam podziwiać m. in.:
- „Żurawie” namalowany w 1870
- „Odlot żurawi” namalowany w 1871
- „Na folwarku” namalowany w 1875
- „Czwórka” namalowany w 1881
- „Na jarmarku” namalowany w 1883
- „Droga w lesie” namalowany w 1887
- „Żebrak warszawski” namalowany w 1888
- „Świt” namalowany w 1892
- „Burza” namalowany w 1896
- „Owczarek” namalowany w 1897
- „Dniestr nocą” namalowany w 1906
- „Studium ptaków” bez daty
- „Wóz z koniem” bez daty
- Łódź: Muzeum Sztuki. Można tam podziwiać m. in.:
- „Powitanie słońca – Żurawie” namalowany w 1910
- Poznań: National Museum. You can admire there, among others..:
- „Zjazd na polowanie” namalowany w 1874
- „Orka” namalowany w 1896
- „Dymy – Jesień” namalowany w 1897
- „Pogoda – Jastrząb” namalowany w 1899
- Warsaw: National Museum. You can admire there, among others..:
- „Rozpłata robocizny” lub „Sobota na folwarku” namalowany w 1869
- „Przed deszczem” namalowany w 1872
- „Sprawa u wójta” namalowany w 1873
- „Babie lato” namalowany w 1875
- „Noc na Ukrainie zimą” namalowany w 1877
- „Przed karczmą” namalowany w 1877
- „Jarmark na konie w Bałcie” namalowany w 1879
- „Dropie” namalowany w 1886
- „Droga” namalowany w 1889
- „Kuropatwy na śniegu” namalowany w 1891
- „Bociany” namalowany w 1900
- „Autoportret” namalowany w 1902
- „Krzyż w zadymce” namalowany w 1907
- „Kaczeńce – Wiosna” namalowany w 1907
- „Kurhan” namalowany w 1912
- „Końskie wywczasy” bez daty
- „Kozacy” bez daty
- „Epizod z powstania” bez daty
- „Koń w zaprzęgu w saniach” bez daty
- „Studium pejzażowe” bez daty
- Wrocław: Muzeum Śląskie. Można tam podziwiać m. in.:
- „Portret Jana Górskiego” namalowany w 1897
Józef Chełmoński (1849-1914)
- LEADING REPRESENTATIVE OF POLISH REALISM 100%
- MOODY LANDSCAPE ARTIST 100%
- ANIMALIST: 100%
- ILLUSTRATOR 100%
- POETRY OF IMAGES 100%
