oil, cardboard; in st. p-p: 32.5 x 21 cm; framed: 52 x 39.5 cm
Signed p. d.: E Waniek
Provenance: private collection Lodz
Painter, graphic artist, stage designer and educator. In 1926, he began his studies at the Cracow
Academy of Fine Arts under the direction of Władysław Jarocki, Ignacy
Pieńkowski and Teodor Axentowicz. He created nudes, portraits, landscapes inspired by
travels, genre and symbolic scenes, as well as drawings and prints. He was involved in
stage design, including for the Little Spectator Theater. In the 1930s, he realized polychromes and interior decorations
interior decorations, and his painting betrayed avant-garde influences - simplified
forms and deformations of perspective. His work is situated in the current of
Cubist realism. He was associated with the Formists and the 1st Cracow Group, in which he
participated in the exhibition in Krzemieniec (1934). In time, he left the group due to
due to the growing politicalization of the environment. During World War II, he fought in the
Home Army under the pseudonym "Baśka," and his tragic experiences - the
the extermination of Jews, deportations and crimes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army - he transferred to canvas. After the war, he was
a respected educator: he taught at the School of Art Industry in Sosnowiec,
High School of Fine Arts and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, where he
he received the title of honorary professor. Member of the Association of Polish Artists.
He has participated in numerous national and international exhibitions. His last exhibition
individual exhibition was held in 2002, and in 2007/2008 he presented his works at the
"My Cracow" exhibition at the Wyspianski Pavilion. He has been awarded, among others, the Cross
Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, Gold Medal - Meritorious to Culture Gloria
Artis and the Cracoviae Merenti medal. Honored with an entry in the Books of Meritorious
People of the Krakow Land and Deeds for the Restoration of Krakow, honorary
citizen of Ustrzyki Dolne, patron of the local public library.
His works are in the collections of the National Museum in Krakow, Warsaw and
Poznan, the Museum of Art in Lodz and the National Library in Warsaw.
Painter, graphic artist, stage designer, and educator. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow under Władysław Jarocki, Ignacy Pieńkowski, and Teodor Axentowicz. Associated with the Formists and the First Kraków Group, he created nudes, portraits, landscapes, and symbolic compositions, as well as stage designs, polychromes, and interior decorations. His painting, marked by simplified forms and perspective distortions, is situated within Cubist realism.
During World War II he fought in the Home Army under the pseudonym "Baśka," and his works reflected wartime tragedy. After the war he taught in Sosnowiec and Krakow, eventually receiving the title of Honorary Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts. He participated in numerous exhibitions in Poland and abroad, including his last solo show in 2002 and the exhibition "My Cracow" in 2007/2008.
He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis, and the Cracoviae Merenti medal. His works are held in the National Museums in Krakow, Warsaw, and Poznań, the Museum of Art in Łódź, and the National Library in Warsaw.
