As an exhibition of Józef Chełmoński’s work breaks records in Warsaw, we look at why the 19th century artist has reignited passions for art in Poland.
ADVERTISEMENTWho is he? Józef Chełmoński, a Polish painter who lived from 1849 to 1914.
And why are we talking about him? Outside of Poland, Chełmoński isn’t a well-known artist by any stretch. In Poland, however, he’s currently the focus of renewed focus on his realist work.
What’s that based on? This week, the Warsaw National Museum, one of Poland’s biggest museums, announced that their Józef Chełmoński exhibition had broken attendance records. Over the weekend, queues snaked down the street outside the museum as the exhibition’s four-month run recorded a footfall of more than 170,000 people.
That’s a lot of people! Exactly. It smashes the museum’s previous record made by the 143,000 people who attended its 2023 exhibition of Pablo Picasso.
Picasso? I’ve heard of him at least… That’s pretty much why we’re talking about Chełmoński. Belonging to the Realism artistic movement that flourished in the late 19th century, Chełmoński has far less international renown than artists like French modernist Édouard Manet. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know about him!
What should I know about him? Chełmoński was born in the village of Boczki in 1849. Under 100km from Warsaw, the village was in a Russian controlled area. He experienced life entirely during the era of Partitioned Poland, dying before Poland gained its independent statehood following the First World War.
How did that timeframe inform his historical importance? Although throughout his life, Chełmoński travelled throughout Europe, including Germany, Ukraine, Austria, France and Italy, the subject of his art most frequently returned to the humble realities of rustic Polish life. From a studio in Warsaw in 1874, Chełmoński created some of the key works in what’s considered the birth of Polish realism.
Was he beloved in Poland at the time? Not exactly, it was only when he moved to Paris in 1875 that his portrayals of Polish ruralism were appreciated. Through his fame in Paris, he was able to move back to Poland in 1887 where he bought a farm and became a national icon. It was in these years that he produced some of his most famous works, such as ‘Storks’ in 1900.
Why is Polish ruralism still popping off? For many Poles, Chełmoński realistic idylls harks back to a simpler time, before the Second World War, the Soviet era and the strife of modernism. Speaking to TVP World, Warsaw National Museum curator Wojciech Głowacki said: “He painted landscapes, animals… This resonates with our need to be close to nature. There’s also a nostalgia in his work, he shows us a world that no longer exists. Furthermore, he was a very keen observer and it is these observational skills that allow us to travel back in time.”
Was this the theme of the exhibition? With a huge array of works by Chełmoński, the exhibition in Warsaw is one of the most comprehensive looks ever at the artist. In their own words, he was “a chronicler of everyday village life, an artist fascinated by horses, their beauty, character, the lively dynamics of movement, and finally as a sensitive observer of nature, who also notices the spiritual, religious and mystical dimension of its existence.”
How can I see his work then? The Józef Chełmoński exhibition ended over the weekend in Warsaw, but it has plans to travel across Poland. First it’s set for a time in Poznan before heading to Kraków. So it’s time to look up flights/trains and get yourself down to see the finest in Polish realist art.
