Olga Boznańska: życie poświęcone sztuce

Olga Boznańska była wybitną polską malarką przełomu XIX i XX wieku. W specjalnym gościnnym blogu, kurator dr Piotr Kopszak z Muzeum Narodowego w Warszawie przybliża jej życie i twórczość.

Olga Boznańska (1865-1940) urodziła się w Krakowie, a później działała w Monachium i Paryżu.

Jej ojciec, Adam Nowina-Boznański, pochodził z polskiej rodziny szlacheckiej, która pielęgnowała tradycyjne wartości. Jednak w duchu XIX-wiecznego pozytywizmu został maszynistą na kolei, a nie właścicielem ziemskim. Jej matka, Eugénie Mondan, pochodziła z Valence i była nauczycielką w szkole klasztornej Premonstratensów w Imbramowicach koło Krakowa.

Olga otrzymała pierwsze lekcje rysunku od swojej matki. Jej nauczycielami w Krakowie byli Kazimierz Pochwalski, akademicki portrecista dworu wiedeńskiego oraz realista Antoni Piotrowski, rysownik-korespondent wojny serbsko-bułgarskiej.

W latach 1884-85 Boznańska uczęszczała na Wyższe Kursy Żeńskie Adriana Baranieckiego w Muzeum Techniki i Przemysłu w Krakowie. Następnie wyjechała do Monachium, aby kontynuować edukację artystyczną w pracowniach Carla Kricheldorfa i Wilhelmy Dürr (w jej czasach monachijska Akademia Sztuk Pięknych nie przyjmowała kobiet).

Olga znalazła się w samym środku wielkiej artystycznej stolicy - Monachium, wciąż korzystającej z mecenatu Ludwika II Bawarskiego.

Miała bliskie kontakty zarówno z uznaną polską szkołą monachijską (zwłaszcza Józefem Brandtem i Alfredem Wieruszem-Kowalskim) a także z młodymi polskimi i niemieckimi artystami jak Wacław Szymanowski, Samuel Hirszenberg, Hedwig Weiss i wielu innych). Brandt był jej mentorem i wprowadził ją w tajniki świata sztuki, z który wkrótce potem malarka czerpała korzyści.

Olga szybko zdała sobie sprawę z tego, jak ważne jest występowanie na międzynarodowych wystawach, na które później wysyłała wiele prac. Co ważniejsze, Monachium ukształtowało ją jako artystkę i uświadomiło, że jeśli ma odnieść sukces, musi całkowicie poświęcić się sztuce i znaleźć własny artystyczny idiom.

Although she had been exhibiting since 1886, it was not until she painted her portrait of Paul Nauen in 1893 that she received real recognition.

The following year, it brought her a gold medal at the International Exhibition in Vienna. Boznańska was under the influence of German realism although her paintings from that period show an interest in Impressionist technique and slightly less obvious symbolism.

In the Orangery (In the Greenhouse) is one of the most important works from Boznańska's Munich period when she often portrayed her friends and other young people.

The introduction of adolescence as the main subject of her art was closely linked with the rise of the Symbolism movement in poetry. Boznańska's painting refers unequivocally to one of the most talked about collections of poems from that time, Maurice Materlinck's Les serres chaudes.

In the Orangery can be interpreted as the symbol of a protective and at the same time oppressive system of upbringing. Boznańska was experimenting with merging the academic precepts she received from her teachers with Impressionist effects.

In Munich, she started working as a teacher, and in 1895, she replaced Theodor Hummel in his private school. The next year, she was offered a position of professor at the Art Academy in Kraków which she rejected. She was already a recognised artist and no longer an aspiring art student.

The Berlin magazine Bazar nominated her as one of the twelve best European women artists. Having visited Paris and kept in touch with her French family, she decided to settle there permanently in 1898.

She was also very much interested in the Old Masters. The Alte Pinakothek Museum was one of her favourite places in Munich, and Diego Velázquez was her favourite painter, whose technique she tried to absorb. Portrait of a Boy in His Gymnasium Uniform (seen above) shows this influence as well as that of Whistler, who at that time was an elected member of the Munich Academy.

Boznańska's aesthetic was influenced by artistic ideas current around 1900 and espoused by Whistler in his famous 'Ten O'Clock' lecture. Colour and form were the key elements painters could use to create artworks analogous to musical compositions. The influence of Whistler and Japonism can clearly be seen in Olga's Japanese Girl from 1889.

Boznańska was acquiring a following as a gifted portrait painter with a personal and inimitable style.

Her portraits were compared to old frescoes or antique tapestries. Her exceptional ability to create psychological likenesses of her models as well as a firm resolve not to flatter the sitter won her recognition in Paris. Two of her portraits were purchased by the French state, which was exceptional.

Art historian Jan Cavanaugh has highlighted Boznańska's subtle colourism and sensitivity to expression, and wrote the following about Portrait of Anna Sariusz-Zaleska:

'Though the grey of the landscape painter's eyes almost blends with the pale flesh tone of the face, her gaze is intense and penetrating. The concentration of psychic force in her face is emphasized further by the isolation of the head against the dark background…'

Jan Cavanaugh, 'Out Looking' in Early Modern Polish Art, 1890-1918, University of California Press, 2000

Boznańska's uncompromising attitude towards sitters sometimes put her in trouble with her clients, unhappy about the prolonged sessions (she always took her time when it came to painting), but it also won her the admiration of connoisseurs, intellectuals and other artists.

Boznańska painted many insightful portraits of the European intelligentsia from the beginning of the 20th century. Among her models were: Henryk Sienkiewicz, Émile Verhaeren, Artur Rubinstein to name a few.

Indifferent to new trends in art, Olga withdrew more and more into her studio. It became one of the places to visit in Paris for Poles and Americans, who often became her students. Boznańska was one of key figures in Polish artistic circles in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s.

Her art found official recognition just before her death – in 1937 Boznańska was awarded the Grand Prix at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne and, in 1938, she enjoyed success at the Venice Biennale.