Pius WELOÑSKI (1849-1931), Prometheus,1880

woodcut, 12 x 18 cm in light passe - partout, signed.on plate l.d. "P.Weloński"

Pius Weloński (born 1849 in Kumelany near Suwałki, died October 21, 1931 in Warsaw) - Polish sculptor, painter.In 1868-1872 he studied at the Drawing School in Warsaw. His teachers included: Konstanty Hegel (sculpture) and Rafał Hadziewicz (painting). He also received apprenticeships in the studios of Faustyn Cengler and Andrzej Pruszyński. In 1872-1878 he studied at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg (thanks to a scholarship from the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts). He graduated from the academy decorated with a gold medal. In 1878-1883 he stayed in Italy. Later he went to France and then to Germany.In 1897 he returned to Warsaw. At that time he received a studio in the Warsaw Castle after Boleslaw Syrewicz. In 1901 he opened a casting factory. From 1904 to 1915 he was professor and director of the Drawing School in Warsaw (he taught modeling), and from 1906 he was honorary director of the Warsaw Museum of Fine Arts. He was also a correspondent member of the Cracow Academy of Skills, an honorary professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, and from 1924 director of the private Wojciech Gerson School of Fine Arts in Warsaw.