Aleksander Gierymski, WIDOK MORSKI, ca. 1897

20.5 x 28.0cm - oil, canvas On the back two paper stickers:

- (ink, pencil): N 20th | Alexandre Gierymski | Etude. Marina | R. | 102 | inventare, on the left a circular stamp of the Russian Consulate in Rome (green ink). Such stamps are found on paintings exported from Rome to Warsaw and the Russian partition;

- (print, ink): Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Krol. Pol. | III | No 1971 | Name of author Aleksande[r] | Gierymski | Type of work oil | Title Sea view | Dimension - | Price or its value - | Ownership of W. Kuczborski | Address ...... | Warsaw d. 3/26 Aug 902



Exhibited painting:

- Posthumous exhibition of the works of the late Aleksander Gierymski. In the building of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in the Kingdom of Poland, exhibition catalog, Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Warsaw 1902, cat. no. 126 or 127.



Compare:

- Aleksander Gierymski 1850-1901 [E. Micke-Broniarek with the collaboration of K. Znojewska-Prokop, A. Lewandowska, A. Rudzińska, K. Pijanowska], National Museum in Warsaw, Warsaw 2014, cat. no. I/160, p. 262 and III/44, p. 465.

A sticker preserved on the back of the painting with the seal of the Russian embassy in Rome proves that Sea View comes from the legacy of Aleksander Gierymski, which was preserved after the artist's death in his Roman studio. It was taken care of by Antoni Madeyski, a sculptor and friend of the artist residing in Rome, who, after the inheritance proceedings were completed, sent the painting along with other works to Warsaw in June 1902 to the address of Maria and Stanislaw Kuczborski, the artist's nephews. The number 20, which appears on the sticker, refers to the inventory that Madejski was required to present to embassy officials. Under this number, the document lists twelve sketches, two of which are listed under the title Marina. Unfortunately, the lack of a broader description with dimensions makes it impossible to clearly identify each of the landscapes. For the same reason, it is difficult to determine under which catalog item (126 or 127) Sea View was presented at the artist's posthumous exhibition, held in Warsaw's Zachęta Gallery in 1902.

The paintings preserved in the artist's Roman studio after his death were mainly from his final period. Taking this fact into account, as well as analyzing the color tonality of the work, it can be assumed that the landscape was painted on the Bay of Naples, around 1897. The key to the painting of Aleksander Gierymski, a precursor of Polish Impressionism, is his fascination with light. Throughout his life, as Ewa Micke-Broniarek wrote, the artist experimented in the field of painting matter, wanting to bring out the brilliance of light and the variation of color tones that depended on it (Aleksander Gierymski 1850-1901..., op. cit., p. 26). An example of such studies is Sea View. The painting was created outdoors, during overcast weather (perhaps the result of volcanic activity) and windy weather, as evidenced by the grains of sand embedded in the paint layer. This seemingly sunless aura, when the heavy clouds merge with the tones of the restless sea, became an opportunity for the artist to show his painterly genius, depicting the play of color and light in the clash of two elements.

Aleksander Gierymski (Warsaw 1850 - Rome 1901), younger brother of the painter Maksymilian, was one of the most outstanding Polish painters of the 19th century, independently shaping his own painterly vision and, on the path of strenuous search, reaching from realism to results close to impressionism. He began his education under Rafał Hadziewicz at the Warsaw Drawing Class, and from 1868 studied at the Munich Academy under Hermann Anchütz and Karl Pilloty, winning the prize for best composition (Scene from "The Merchant of Venice") at his graduation in 1872. From 1873 to 1879 he stayed in Rome, from where he briefly came to Warsaw in 1875, where his paintings were highly acclaimed. He settled in Warsaw for a longer period in 1879-1889, painting genre paintings (Feast of Trumpets, Orangerie). At that time he became associated with a group of artists gathered around the magazine "Wanderer", with which he worked as a cartoonist. From 1884 he frequently changed his places of residence; he stayed mostly abroad and only briefly came to Warsaw (1886 and 187) and Cracow (1893-1894). He stayed longer in Munich (1888-1890 and 1898-1899), Paris (1890-1893 and 1898-1899)
and in Italy (1897-1898 and 1899-1901), making longer stays in Venice, Palermo, Amalfi and Rome. He participated in numerous exhibitions - in Munich, Paris Vienna, Berlin, as well as in Cracow and Warsaw. He painted realistic genre paintings (Feast of Trumpets, Sandmen), compositions stylized on old Venetian painting (Italian Siesta), scenes from the Rococo period (In the gazebo), landscapes, city views, interiors, nocturnes. He was fascinated by the problem of light and the changing play of colors caused by it; in sunlight, shadow and by the artificial glow of city lanterns. The artist's works are mostly in museum collections (including Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw, Torun, Kielce, Gdansk, Katowice, Lviv). Only a small number of them adorn private collections.