Henryk Siemiradzki
Encyclopedia
Henryk Siemiradzki was a Polish
19th century painter active in the period of foreign Partitions of Poland
, and best remembered for his monumental Academic art
. He was particularly known for his depictions of scenes from the ancient Graeco-Roman world and the New Testament
, owned by national galleries of Poland, Russia and Ukraine.
noble szlachta
family of a military physician, Hipolit Siemiradzki, and Michalina (nee
Prószyńska) in the village of Bilhorod (Białogród), or Novobelgorod (now Pechenegi, sources vary) near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
under the Russian Empire
. His parents were close friends with Adam Mickiewicz
's family. Henryk Siemiradzki studied at Kharkiv Gymnasium
where he first learned painting under the local school teacher, D.I. Besperchy, former student of Karl Briullov
. He entered the Physics-Mathematics School of Kharkov University and studied natural sciences there with great interest, but also continued to paint.
After graduating from the University with the degree of Kandidat
he abandoned his scientific career and moved to Saint Petersburg
to study painting at the Imperial Academy of Arts
in the years 1864–1870. Upon his graduation he was awarded a gold medal. In 1870–1871 he studied under Karl von Piloty
in Munich
on a grant from the Academy. In 1872 he moved to Rome
and with time, built a studio there on via Gaeta Avenue, while spending summers at his estate in Strzałkowo near Częstochowa
in Poland
.
In 1873 he received the title of Academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts
for his painting Christ and a Sinner, based on a verse from Tolstoy
. In 1878 he received the French National Order of the Legion of Honour and a Gold Medal of the Paris World's fair
for the painting Flower vase. In 1876–1879 Siemiradzki worked on frescoes for the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Moscow)
among his other large-scale projects. In 1879 he offered one of his best-known works, the enormous Pochodnie Nerona (Nero
's torches), painted around 1876, to the newly-formed Polish National Museum
. The artwork is on display at the Siemiradzki Room of the Sukiennice Museum
in the Kraków Old Town, the most popular branch of the museum today. Around 1893 Siemiradzki worked on two large paintings for the State Historical Museum
(Moscow) and in 1894 produced his monumental curtain for the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków
.
He died in Strzałkowo in 1902. He was buried originally in Warsaw
, but later his remains were moved to the national Pantheone on Skałka in Kraków
.
Many of his paintings depict scenes from antiquity, often the sunlit pastoral scenes or compositions presenting the lives of early Christians. He also painted biblical and historical scenes, landscapes, and portraits. His best known works also include the painted curtain for the Lwów Theatre aside from the one at the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków.
, are on display at the national museums of Poland, Russia and Ukraine.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
19th century painter active in the period of foreign Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
, and best remembered for his monumental Academic art
Academic art
Academic art is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, which practiced under the movements of Neoclassicism and Romanticism,...
. He was particularly known for his depictions of scenes from the ancient Graeco-Roman world and the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, owned by national galleries of Poland, Russia and Ukraine.
Siemiradzki's artistic career
Siemiradzki was born to a PolishPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
noble szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
family of a military physician, Hipolit Siemiradzki, and Michalina (nee
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Prószyńska) in the village of Bilhorod (Białogród), or Novobelgorod (now Pechenegi, sources vary) near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
under the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. His parents were close friends with Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
's family. Henryk Siemiradzki studied at Kharkiv Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
where he first learned painting under the local school teacher, D.I. Besperchy, former student of Karl Briullov
Karl Briullov
Karl Pavlovich Bryullov , also transliterated Briullov or Briuloff and referred to by his friends as "The Great Karl", was a Russian painter...
. He entered the Physics-Mathematics School of Kharkov University and studied natural sciences there with great interest, but also continued to paint.
After graduating from the University with the degree of Kandidat
Kandidat
The Candidate of Sciences degree is a first post-graduate scientific degree in some former Eastern Bloc countries, such as Russia and Ukraine, which is awarded for original research that constitutes a significant contribution to a scientific field. The degree was first introduced in the USSR on...
he abandoned his scientific career and moved to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
to study painting at the Imperial Academy of Arts
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, was founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, completed 25 years later in 1789...
in the years 1864–1870. Upon his graduation he was awarded a gold medal. In 1870–1871 he studied under Karl von Piloty
Karl von Piloty
Karl Theodor von Piloty was a German painter.Von Piloty was born in Munich. His father, Ferdinand Piloty , enjoyed a great reputation as a lithographer. In 1840, Karl was admitted as a student of the Munich Academy, under the artists Karl Schorn and Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
on a grant from the Academy. In 1872 he moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and with time, built a studio there on via Gaeta Avenue, while spending summers at his estate in Strzałkowo near Częstochowa
Czestochowa
Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
In 1873 he received the title of Academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, was founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, completed 25 years later in 1789...
for his painting Christ and a Sinner, based on a verse from Tolstoy
Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy , was a Russian poet, novelist and playwright, considered to be the most important nineteenth-century Russian historical dramatist...
. In 1878 he received the French National Order of the Legion of Honour and a Gold Medal of the Paris World's fair
World's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
for the painting Flower vase. In 1876–1879 Siemiradzki worked on frescoes for the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Moscow)
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Moscow)
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is a Church in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few blocks south-west of the Kremlin...
among his other large-scale projects. In 1879 he offered one of his best-known works, the enormous Pochodnie Nerona (Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
's torches), painted around 1876, to the newly-formed Polish National Museum
National Museum, Kraków
The National Museum in Kraków , established in 1879, is the main branch of Poland's National Museum, which has many permanent collections around the country.-History:...
. The artwork is on display at the Siemiradzki Room of the Sukiennice Museum
Sukiennice Museum
Sukiennice Museum, a.k.a. Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art at Sukiennice, is a division of the National Museum, Kraków, Poland. The Gallery is housed on the upper floor of the Sukiennice in the center of the Main Market Square in Old Town Kraków.-History of the collection:The Gallery holds the...
in the Kraków Old Town, the most popular branch of the museum today. Around 1893 Siemiradzki worked on two large paintings for the State Historical Museum
State Historical Museum
The State Historical Museum of Russia is a museum of Russian history wedged between Red Square and Manege Square in Moscow. Its exhibitions range from relics of the prehistoric tribes inhabiting present-day Russia, through priceless artworks acquired by members of the Romanov dynasty...
(Moscow) and in 1894 produced his monumental curtain for the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
.
He died in Strzałkowo in 1902. He was buried originally in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, but later his remains were moved to the national Pantheone on Skałka in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
.
Many of his paintings depict scenes from antiquity, often the sunlit pastoral scenes or compositions presenting the lives of early Christians. He also painted biblical and historical scenes, landscapes, and portraits. His best known works also include the painted curtain for the Lwów Theatre aside from the one at the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków.
Siemiradzki's monumental paintings
Henryk Siemiradzki's large-scale canvasses, influenced by the French Académie des Beaux-ArtsAcadémie des beaux-arts
The Académie des Beaux-Arts is a French learned society. It is one of the five academies of the Institut de France.It was created in 1795 as the merger of the:* Académie de peinture et de sculpture...
, are on display at the national museums of Poland, Russia and Ukraine.