The Great Painters
Stanisław Wyspiański
- "fourth" polish bard
Stanisław Wyspiański
(1869-1907)
The greatest individuality of Young Poland. With its versatility it resembled Renaissance masters. A revolutionary playwright, a novelty in painting, a restorer of decorative arts - but also a reformer of the whole patriotic tradition. His life had a dimension of an ancient tragedy. With a brush and a pen he fought for the Polish soul. Even today, Stanisław Wyspiański's painting and poetic work is a challenge, still serving as a national examination of conscience.
UNIVERSAL ARTIST
EXPERT IN ANCIENT CULTURE
PLAYWRIGHT AND POET
ART VISIONARY
SITE WINDOW MASTER
Stanisław Wyspiański
1869
(January 15) Stanislaw Wyspianski was born in Krakow, the first-born son of Franciszek (a sculptor, he had several artistic successes, as well as underground help to the January insurgents) and Maria née Rogowska (musically and poetically talented).
1876
His childhood passed in Długosz's House on Kanonicza Street, in the immediate vicinity of the Castle and the Cathedral, among the sculptures in his father's studio - unfortunately not entirely happy. In 1875 his younger brother Tadeusz died, and a year later the mother of then 7-year-old Stanislaw died, which was a blow to him. The material troubles turned his father's work (educated and talented) into a craft - he "cured" frustration with alcohol.
1890
A depressed widower, unable to provide his son with care, so Stanisław Wyspiański settled in the house (at 1 Kopernika Street - now the Wyspiański Hotel) of his godmother (mother's sister), the famous aunt Stankiewiczowa. Her husband, Kazimierz Stankiewicz, occupied for years in prison an assassination attempt on a tsarist agent. Noble, cordial and surrounded by nimbus of the heroic past, Uncle Stankiewicz took over the role of father and took care of Stanisław Wyspiański's education. The young Wyspianski attended the classical St. Anne's Gymnasium, where he made long term friendships with the Tsar: Lucjan Rydel (1870-1918), Józef Mehoffer (1869-1946) and Stanisław Estreicher (1869-1939).
1887-1891
studied at the School of Fine Arts and Jagiellonian University
1889
He worked on Matejko's polychrome in St. Mary's Church, which became a life adventure for Stanisław Wyspiański - he quickly advanced to the role of right hand Jana Matejki and architect Tadeusz Stryjeński (1849-1943), he spent six months on scaffolding
1891-1894
he studied painting in Paris; he prepared stained-glass projects for the Lviv Cathedral
1895
he realised his first monumental project - he made a polychromy in the Franciscan church. He also dealt with the project of renovation of medieval stained-glass windows, which survived the fire of the Dominican Fathers' monastery in Krakow. Together with his widowed aunt Stankiewiczowa, he lived in a tenement house of the Grabowski family at 10 Poselska Street, in a flat overlooking the dome of St. Peter and Paul's Church. The artist's first-born daughter, Helena, was also born this year.
1898
Stanisław Wyspiański received an award for Franciscan stained-glass windows (he designed: "God the Father - Become", "Four Elements", "Blessed Salome" and "Stigmatization of St. Francis"), there was also a stage premiere of "Warszawianka", which was very popular
1900
married Teodora Teofilia Pytko on 18 September (a boy with whom he already had two children together)
1901
The premiere of "Wedding" staged on March 16th in the Municipal Theatre - the play became an artistic sensation, a social scandal and a real "cult spectacle". He lived with his family at 157 Krowoderska Street, where he arranged his "sapphire studio".
1904
On June 9th, the Zwierzyniec Horse - Lajkonik scouted (and has been scouting to this day) in an outfit designed by Stanisław Wyspiański.
1905
received an award from the Academy of Arts and Sciences for his series of landscapes and was elected president of "Art".
1906
The state of his health deteriorated rapidly (the artist suffered from incurable syphilis for many years) - to protect his family, he bought a farm in Węgrzce near Kraków, where he moved in the autumn. He worked all the time: he received guests lying down, dictated his last poems to his aunt Stankiewiczowa, tried to draw with coal attached to a hand stiffened with a board.
