Michał Kulesza
Encyclopedia
The Romantic
painter Michał Kulesza (26 November 1799 – 6 November 1863) was among the first lithographers
in the area of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, ruled by Russia for almost all of his life. His frequent theme, sites linked to the Grand Duchy's history, reflected the growing Lithuanian and Polish ethnic activism in the area. He lived and worked in today's southern Lithuania
, south-eastern Belarus
, and north-eastern Poland
, and traveled around in search of new subjects for his oil painting
s and lithographs. A leading landscape painter of his period, Kulesza created images that are now among the sparse visual records of the region in the first half of the 19th century.
. Two encyclopedic sources give the year of his birth as 1799, a few authors list 1800 without the month or day. He lived and worked in a multi-ethnic area, he himself used the Polish spelling, Kulesza, of his last name and called himself a "Polish painter" when he published his work in France. It is not known how many languages, and how often, he spoke. He attended the notable Cistercian grade school in Troškūnai
, his artistic training started in preparatory middle-and-high school (gymnasium
) back in his birth place when he took classes with the neoclassicist
painter Jonas Damelis
. He then continued at the Imperial University of Vilnius, where Jan Rustem
began to teach lithography
in 1819, from which he received a PhD in art in 1829.
He joined the anti-Russian organization Philomaths
while in college and was arrested in that connection in 1823, like his younger fellow student and future writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
, who later helped publicize Kulesza's paintings, but unlike his other subsequently famous fellow student and co-conspirator Adam Mickiewicz
, who was deported to Siberia.
Once on the job market, Kulesza spent about a decade as a freelance artist and private tutor in painting, and worked for the lithographic shop opened by Józef Oziębłowski in Vilnius in 1835, which became a hub for several talented artists. He traveled in the Crimea and, according to one source, stayed at a residence for artists in Minsk
for a time in the 1830s.
He left Vilnius to take a teaching position at Kražiai
in 1837. While plans were being drawn up to close the venerable school, he was transferred to teach painting at a high school in Hrodna
two years later. In 1844 he took a position at the Institute for Noble Maidens
recently opened in Białystok where he remained for the rest of his life.
), watercolor, and drawing. Among the urban and rural landscapes, including the images of the Neman
flowing toward the horizon that critics extolled, a frequent theme in Kulesza's Romantic paintings were sites linked to the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which reflected the growing Lithuanian and Polish ethnic activism in the area. Several of his other paintings depict the interiors of churches, he made portraits, and also painted stage sets for Count Pusłowski's private theater at his palace in Kosava. His paintings were often made into lithographs for sale or publication. They decorated noble and middle-class homes in his lifetime, some have since found their way to museums around the region.
Along with Vincentas Dmachauskas
, Kulesza was a leading landscape painter of his place and time. The part of Europe where he lived and worked is now split among three independent countries, he is currently described as a Lithuanian, Polish, or Belarusian artist in sync with the place of publication of the text making the statement. His paintings have been given most coverage and their themes treated as nationally relevant in Lithuania (where his name is rendered as Mykolas Kuleša) in modern times, their regional and documentary pertinence has mostly been addressed in Poland and Belarus. In all of those countries, his art is now part of their shared heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Kulesza would travel in the vicinity of the places where he lived and farther away in search of new subjects for his Romantic paintings, which are now among the sparse images of the region in the early 19th century. He contributed to the celebrated series of pictures of Vilnius conceived by Jan Kazimierz Wilczyński
that started coming out in 1845 and published his own lithographic portfolios in Paris in 1850 and 1852.
, lithographed later, is one of the oldest north European Eastern Orthodox churches, built in Kalozha
(formerly Kolozha) in Hrodna
, now in Belarus. At the time, an art critic admired its harmony and saw the composition and color execution of the river vanishing in foggy distance as a vehicle of a deep sadness, an expression of the inertia, "dull heaviness," that permeated the provinces. The potential documentary value of the painting increased when the Neman River undercut the bank near the church in 1853, and its southern wall collapsed, but the picture pays scanty attention to architectural detail. In a modern interpretation, its focus is on the broader significance of what it depicts. The attractive darker outline of the church soaring on the steep embankment stands out against the sky, the fastidious composition of the landscape is enlivened with people in the picture's front plane, who underscore the human relevance of the pleasant location and the majestic glory of the historical temple.
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
painter Michał Kulesza (26 November 1799 – 6 November 1863) was among the first lithographers
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
in the area of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, ruled by Russia for almost all of his life. His frequent theme, sites linked to the Grand Duchy's history, reflected the growing Lithuanian and Polish ethnic activism in the area. He lived and worked in today's southern Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, south-eastern Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, and north-eastern 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...
, and traveled around in search of new subjects for his oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
s and lithographs. A leading landscape painter of his period, Kulesza created images that are now among the sparse visual records of the region in the first half of the 19th century.
Biography
Michał Kulesza was born in Vilnius, then the capital of Russia's Vilna GovernorateVilna Governorate
The Vilna Governorate or Government of Vilna was a governorate of the Russian Empire created after the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795...
. Two encyclopedic sources give the year of his birth as 1799, a few authors list 1800 without the month or day. He lived and worked in a multi-ethnic area, he himself used the Polish spelling, Kulesza, of his last name and called himself a "Polish painter" when he published his work in France. It is not known how many languages, and how often, he spoke. He attended the notable Cistercian grade school in Troškūnai
Troškunai
Troškūnai is the second smallest city in Lithuania. It is located west form Anykščiai. The birthplace of Lithuanian lexicographer and writer Konstantinas Sirvydas is nearby the city. The city was established in 1696 by Władysław Sokołowski, who brought there Bernardines, founded a church and a...
, his artistic training started in preparatory middle-and-high school (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...
) back in his birth place when he took classes with the neoclassicist
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
painter Jonas Damelis
Jonas Damelis
Jonas Damelis, Jan Krzysztof Damel was a neoclassicist artist associated with the School of Art at Vilnius University....
. He then continued at the Imperial University of Vilnius, where Jan Rustem
Jan Rustem
Jan Rustem was a painter of Armenian, Turkish or Greek ethnicity who lived and worked in the territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Primarily a portrait painter, he was commissioned to execute portraits of notable personalities of his epoch...
began to teach lithography
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
in 1819, from which he received a PhD in art in 1829.
He joined the anti-Russian organization Philomaths
Philomaths
The Philomaths, or Philomath Society , was a secret student organization that existed from 1817 to 1823 at the Imperial University of Vilnius.-History:...
while in college and was arrested in that connection in 1823, like his younger fellow student and future writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski was a Polish writer, historian and journalist who produced more than 200 novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews He is best known for his epic series on the history of Poland, comprising twenty-nine novels in seventy-nine parts.As a novelist writing about...
, who later helped publicize Kulesza's paintings, but unlike his other subsequently famous fellow student and co-conspirator 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...
, who was deported to Siberia.
Once on the job market, Kulesza spent about a decade as a freelance artist and private tutor in painting, and worked for the lithographic shop opened by Józef Oziębłowski in Vilnius in 1835, which became a hub for several talented artists. He traveled in the Crimea and, according to one source, stayed at a residence for artists in Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
for a time in the 1830s.
Kražiai
Kražiai is a town in Lithuania, located in the Kelmė district municipality, between Varniai and Raseiniai , on the Kražantė river. The old town of Kražiai is an archeological and urban monument....
in 1837. While plans were being drawn up to close the venerable school, he was transferred to teach painting at a high school in Hrodna
Hrodna
Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...
two years later. In 1844 he took a position at the Institute for Noble Maidens
Institute for Noble Maidens
Institute for Noble Maidens was a type of educational institution, finishing school in late Imperial Russia. It was devised by Ivan Betskoy as a girl-only institution for girls of noble origin. The first and most famous of these was the Smolny Institute in St.Petersburg.-Institutes for Noble...
recently opened in Białystok where he remained for the rest of his life.
Paintings and lithographs
Kulesza's main techniques were oil painting (some temperaTempera
Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium . Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the 1st centuries AD still exist...
), watercolor, and drawing. Among the urban and rural landscapes, including the images of the Neman
Neman
Neman may refer to:*Neman River, a major river in Eastern Europe*FC Neman Grodno, a soccer club in Belarus*FC Neman Masty, a soccer club in Belarus*Neman Stadium, a stadium in Belarus*Neman R-10, a Soviet aircraft of the 1930s...
flowing toward the horizon that critics extolled, a frequent theme in Kulesza's Romantic paintings were sites linked to the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which reflected the growing Lithuanian and Polish ethnic activism in the area. Several of his other paintings depict the interiors of churches, he made portraits, and also painted stage sets for Count Pusłowski's private theater at his palace in Kosava. His paintings were often made into lithographs for sale or publication. They decorated noble and middle-class homes in his lifetime, some have since found their way to museums around the region.
Along with Vincentas Dmachauskas
Vincentas Dmachauskas
Vincentas Dmachauskas was a Lithuanian painter.-References:*Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia...
, Kulesza was a leading landscape painter of his place and time. The part of Europe where he lived and worked is now split among three independent countries, he is currently described as a Lithuanian, Polish, or Belarusian artist in sync with the place of publication of the text making the statement. His paintings have been given most coverage and their themes treated as nationally relevant in Lithuania (where his name is rendered as Mykolas Kuleša) in modern times, their regional and documentary pertinence has mostly been addressed in Poland and Belarus. In all of those countries, his art is now part of their shared heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Kulesza would travel in the vicinity of the places where he lived and farther away in search of new subjects for his Romantic paintings, which are now among the sparse images of the region in the early 19th century. He contributed to the celebrated series of pictures of Vilnius conceived by Jan Kazimierz Wilczyński
Jan Kazimierz Wilczynski
Jan Kazimierz Wilczyński was a Polish medical doctor, collector and publisher. He was known for publishing the "Vilna Album" .-Biography :...
that started coming out in 1845 and published his own lithographic portfolios in Paris in 1850 and 1852.
"Sts. Boris and Gleb's Church in Kalozha, Hrodna"
The subject of the 1840s temperaTempera
Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium . Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the 1st centuries AD still exist...
, lithographed later, is one of the oldest north European Eastern Orthodox churches, built in Kalozha
Kolozha
The oldest extant structure in Hrodna is the Kolozha church of Sts. Boris and Gleb . It is the only surviving monument of ancient Black Ruthenian architecture, distinguished from other Orthodox churches by prolific use of polychrome faceted stones of blue, green or red tint which could be arranged...
(formerly Kolozha) in Hrodna
Hrodna
Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...
, now in Belarus. At the time, an art critic admired its harmony and saw the composition and color execution of the river vanishing in foggy distance as a vehicle of a deep sadness, an expression of the inertia, "dull heaviness," that permeated the provinces. The potential documentary value of the painting increased when the Neman River undercut the bank near the church in 1853, and its southern wall collapsed, but the picture pays scanty attention to architectural detail. In a modern interpretation, its focus is on the broader significance of what it depicts. The attractive darker outline of the church soaring on the steep embankment stands out against the sky, the fastidious composition of the landscape is enlivened with people in the picture's front plane, who underscore the human relevance of the pleasant location and the majestic glory of the historical temple.