 | Znak
Krakow 2011
ISBN: 978-83-240-1598-6
165x235
512 pp
paperback |
| Krystyna Czerni
A Bat in the Temple
Jerzy Nowosielski was one of the most original painters in Poland in the second half of the twentieth century, and he lived in immensely interesting and tempestuous times. This rich biography shows his life story—and the story of his works—in many different ways. Nowosielski was, as he said himself, a man of three cultures and national traditions: Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian, and with this went triple religious rites: Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox. But these traditions didn’t cause inner conflicts, instead working together to create something new. While a deeply religious man, Nowosielski was very far from any type of religious dogmatism, and as an eminent expert in theology, he was inclined toward free thinking, close to heresy, but full of uncommon, extraordinary ideas, and his painting followed on from these ideas—it was very decidedly influenced by his religious experiences. He was, after all, fond of painting icons and both Orthodox and Catholic wall-paintings. Most interestingly, this painter-theologian was part of the avant-garde in Krakow in his youth, belonging to the circle of innovative artists who ushered into Poland such movements as cubism, surrealism, tachisme, and other forms of abstract art. Under Stalinism, fidelity to the principles of the avant-garde demanded quite a bit of courage and non-conformism. Nowosielski was never among the artists who made political pronouncements, but he simply could not submit to the rules of socialist realism. When in the end he became a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, he made a very powerful impact on his students; he was less concerned about instructing them in painting technique, and more eager to try to help them develop spiritually and shape their perception of the world.
Krystyna Czerni’s book, full of unique material, is not only a fascinating, moving personal history of a distinguished painter. It is also the account of an extraordinarily interesting group of artists and the ways of life and creative activity they had to develop during the difficult times of the German occupation and, later, of the communist regime in Poland. Czerni allows her readers to understand the problems of the whole artistic milieu in Poland in the second half of the twentieth century.
- Jerzy Jarzębski
Jerzy Nowosielski (1923-2011) was one of the most original painters in Poland in the second half of the twentieth century, and is also recognized as one of the most outstanding contemporary icon painters.
Translated by Jennifer Croft
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