Young Poland

Description

Young Poland (Polish: Młoda Polska [ˈmwɔ.da ˈpɔl.ska] ⓘ) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Poland promoted trends of decadence, neo-romanticism, symbolism, Impressionism.

Many of the exhibitions were held at the Palace of Art, also known as "Secession" (Secesja), the headquarters of the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts, in Kraków Old Town. Read more ↗

Key Artists

Stanisław Wyspiański
Polymath painter, playwright, and designer celebrated as the 'Fourth Polish Bard' and the central creative genius of Young Poland, synthesizing Art Nouveau lines with Polish mythology and national identity.
Jacek Malczewski
Preeminent Symbolist painter of Young Poland who merged allegorical chimeras, fauns, and angels with the historical tragedy of Polish martyrdom and Siberian exile.
Wojciech Weiss
Leading painter of the expressive and coloristic phases of Young Poland whose emotionally charged landscapes and symbolic compositions captured the decadent, psychological spirit of the era.
Józef Mehoffer
Master decorative painter and stained-glass designer of Young Poland who won international acclaim for his monumental stained-glass windows for Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Fribourg, Switzerland.
Leon Wyczółkowski
Renowned painter and printmaker who introduced Impressionist light effects into Polish art before evolving towards poignant, realistic depictions of Polish peasants and landscapes.
Olga Boznańska
Internationally celebrated portrait painter associated with Young Poland whose atmospheric, psychologically penetrating oil portraits were rendered with delicate, muted color harmonies.

Famous Artworks

Melancholia
Melancholia
Jacek Malczewski · 1894
National Museum, Poznań, Poland - Oil on canvas
Credit: Jacek Malczewski (Wikimedia Commons)
Planty Park with a View of Wawel Castle
Planty Park with a View of Wawel Castle
Stanisław Wyspiański · 1894
National Museum, Kraków, Poland - Pastel on paper
Credit: Stanisław Wyspiański (Wikimedia Commons)
Kiss on the Grass
Wojciech Weiss · 1899
National Museum, Poznań, Poland - Oil on canvas
Girl with Chrysanthemums
Girl with Chrysanthemums
Olga Boznańska · 1894
National Museum, Kraków, Poland - Oil on cardboard
Credit: Olga Boznańska (Wikimedia Commons)
Stained Glass Windows for St. Francis of Assisi Church
Stanisław Wyspiański · 1904
Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Kraków, Poland - Polychrome stained glass
Vicious Circle
Vicious Circle
Jacek Malczewski · 1897
National Museum, Poznań, Poland - Oil on canvas
Credit: Jacek Malczewski (Wikimedia Commons)

Fun Facts

The headquarters of the Young Poland movement in Kraków was the Palace of Art, colloquially called 'Secesja' (Secession), where artists hosted groundbreaking multidisciplinary exhibitions connecting Polish folk motifs with European Art Nouveau.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org
Stanisław Wyspiański was allergic to oil paint fumes, which forced him to abandon traditional oil painting early in his career and become one of Europe's greatest virtuosos of soft pastel on paper.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org

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