Leon Chwistek, ON ARENA

20,3 x 26,0cm - ink, pen, pencil, paper

Signed p.d.: L. Chwistek

On the reverse, pencil sketch depicting a female nude and possibly a snake (The Temptation of Eve); p.d. (in ink): 37. In addition, on the so-called "backing" a sticker of an auction house in Warsaw; next to it a sticker of a Warsaw framing workshop.



Leon Chwistek was not only a versatile artist, but also a philosopher, mathematician and art theorist. For him, movement and dynamics were not just a painting subject, but a key philosophical and formal problem, challenging the traditional way of depicting and contributing to the development of the theory of the Multiplicity of Reality and Strephism.

The works on display are based on the idea of zonism, in which the visual field is divided into contrasting zones. The operation of these zones is meant to reflect the dynamic and complex nature of reality as described by Chwistek in his theory of four types of reality.

The most important feature of zonism is the principle of contrast and division. Chwistek assumed that a painting should not be formally homogeneous, but should consist of parts painted in different styles, corresponding to different realities. For example, one zone could be geometric and expressive (equivalent to Physical Reality or Vision), another blurred and impressionistic (Reality of Sensory Impressions). The zones were supposed to differ not only in form, but also in color, creating dynamic juxtapositions. Chwistek often used pure, saturated colors to increase the visual tension between areas.

Unlike Formism, which focused on the analytical distribution of movement, Zonism sought to capture the more holistic, psychological aspects of phenomena, such as tempo and rhythm. Chwistek believed that each zone should suggest a different tempo or emotional intensity. Rapidly changing, contrasting zones could symbolize dynamism and haste, while areas with gentle transitions could symbolize calmness or contemplation.

Instead of a single perspective, Chwistek used multiple perspectives, where each zone could be viewed from a different point of view, to reflect the dynamic nature of perception in the modern world.

Leon Chwistek - prominent mathematician and philosopher, painter and art theorist; from 1922 lecturer of mathematics at Jagiellonian University (habilitated 1928), from 1930 professor of mathematical logic at Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv. For a while, in late 1903 and early 1904, he studied under Jozef Mehoffer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow; in 1910, in Vienna, he independently studied Venetian painting, and in 1913-1914, while in Paris, he studied drawing, at the same time learning about the work of the Cubists. During World War I, he served in the Legions. He was a co-founder and leading theoretician of the Polish Expressionist (Formist) avant-garde group formed in 1917 and participated in its exhibitions. He published a number of articles, expounding on his artistic theories (including "Multiple Realities in Art," 1918; "Multiple Realities," 1921). In 1922 he formulated the principles of so-called "zonism," his own "mathematical" theory of painting, according to which the composition of a painting should be built "according to the quality of shapes, colors, pace of events, etc." creating zones of related forms and colors that are distinct, but passing one into the other. He was also involved in portraiture, among other things, in 1926-1930 he painted images of many prominent figures from the Cracow community. In 1941 the artist left Lviv for Russia; he taught at the University of Tiflis, and in 1943 found himself in Moscow, where he was active in the Union of Polish Patriots.
Individual exhibitions of the artist's works were held in 1927 in Cracow and in 1934 in Lviv, and after the war in 1971 in Cracow. A monumental monograph on the artist by Prof. Karol Estreicher was published at that time ("Leon Chwistek, Biografia artysty", (1884-1944), Krakow 1971).