Background

Gierymski was born in Warsaw, Poland, on January 30, 1850. He was the younger brother of Maksymilian Gierymski, a prominent Polish painter, specializing mainly in watercolours.

Education

Aleksander Gierymski finished his studies at the Secondary State School №3 in Warsaw in 1867. The same year he began his education at the Warsaw School of Drawing (present-day Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw). In 1868, he went to Munich for further studies, where he trained at the Academy of Fine Arts under George Hiltensperger, Alexander Strähuber, and Hermann Anschütz. In 1869, together with his brother, Maksymilian, he attended the private studio of Franz Adam. From 1870 to 1872 he perfected his compositional techniques under Karl Piloty. In 1872 Aleksander Gierymski graduated from the Academy with a gold medal.

Career

Gierymski began his artistic career, working as an illustrator for Warsaw-based magazines (including Kłosy and Tygodnik Ilustrowany) as well as for German and Austrian journals. In 1871, he went to Italy (Venice, Verona) together with his elder brother. There he was greatly influenced by Italian Renaissance paintings.

From 1873 to 1879, Aleksander Gierymski lived generally in Rome, but he also visited his hometown from time to time. During his stay in Warsaw, he met Stanisław Witkiewicz and Antoni Sygietyński. They worked together for Wędrowiec (Eng. Wanderer) weekly. This magazine published many of his illustrations, mainly urban landscapes. From the end of 1884, he stayed almost exclusively abroad. He went to Vienna for treatment (he had been suffering from neurosis, which at the end of his life, developed the characteristics of mental illness) and spent some time in the resorts by the North Sea (Blankenberg, Heist am See). From the spring of 1885, Aleksander Gierymski resided in Italy (Padua, Venice, Florence and Rome).

During the periods of 1888-1890 and 1895-1897, the artist lived in Munich, and traveled to the Bavarian Alps and the Tyrol region (Schleissheim, Kufstein, Rattenberg) to participate in courses on outdoor painting. In the autumn of 1890, Gierymski went to Paris after being commissioned by Ignacy Korwin-Milewski to paint an evening view of the Opera Square. In Paris he had an opportunity to see a wide range of Impressionist paintings for the first time. They definitely had an impact on his further experiments in the fields of light and colour.

At the end of 1893, Gierymski visited Kraków. At that time, he became friends with Włodzimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer and created his most important paintings during this period. However, his increasing feeling of loneliness and estrangement from the Polish artistic environment made him leave Poland in 1894. His last years Aleksander Gierymski spent in constant journeys. From the autumn of 1897, he went mainly to Italian cities (Venice, Palermo, Amalfi and Verona). During this period, he also made trips to Paris in 1898-1899 and 1900. Tragically, the last years of his life Gierymski spent in a mental hospital.

Achievements

• Gierymski was a distinguished painter of themes from Polish history. In spite of being a brother of a prominent Polish painter, Maksymilian Gierymski, Aleksander Gierymski managed to relieve himself of the burden and reputation of being the "younger brother", feeling free to develop his own artistic talents. He was the creator of the well-known night views of Munich and Paris that are presently at the Warsaw National Museum. Nowadays, his works belong equally to the highlights of Polish painting and the Munich School of Painters.

Works

More photos

• painting

  • Opera paryska w nocy

  • The Sea

  • Austeria rzymska

  • Wieczór nad Sekwaną

  • Ksiądz pijący wino

  • Sjesta włoska

  • Piazza del Popolo w Rzymie

  • Peasant coffin

  • Jewish woman selling oranges

  • Feast of trumpets I

  • Plac Wittelsbachów w Monachium

  • The Game of Morra

  • Boy Carrying a Sheaf

  • Altany

  • Begonie

  • Paź florencki

  • Przystań na Solcu

  • Brama na Starym Mieście

  • Scene from Paris

  • Paris street

  • Jesień

  • Uliczka

  • Studium chłopa do obrazu Trumna chłopska

  • Pałac włoski

  • Gothic monuments

  • Rome. Isola Tiberina

  • Angel of the Lord (preliminary sketches)

  • Pejzaż z rzeką

  • The Merchant of Venice

  • Studie der Piazza del Popolo in Rom (study)

  • Rozmowa

Membership

In 1882 Aleksander Gierymski became a member of the Towarzystwo Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych (Zachęta Society of Fine Arts).

• Zachęta Society of Fine Arts , Poland

  1882

Connections

Brother:

Maksymilian Gierymski

References

• 57 Color Paintings of Aleksander Gierymski
• Aleksander Gierymski (1903) (English and Polish Edition)