Wojciech Weiss
1875 - 1950

Wojciech Weiss began his artistic education while attending the Galician Conservatory of the Music Society in Kraków, where he concurrently took painting and drawing lessons. He then continued his studies at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków from 1890 to 1895. Florian Cynk, Izydor Jabłonski, Władysław Łuszczkiewicz, Józef Unierzyski and Jan Matejko were his teachers during these years, and from 1895 to 1899 he received further training from Julian Fałat and Leon Wyczółkowski. In 1896, he made an artistic voyage around Europe, visiting Wrocław, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Budapest, and Vienna. In 1897, the artist went to Paris, where he visited museums and was greatly impressed by the works of Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet. During 1899-1900, he stayed again in Paris, and in 1901 and 1902, he traveled to Italy, where he continued his studies of art (the nude human model). In the following years he often revisited both of these countries.

Beginning in 1907, Weiss was an assistant professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, and was promoted to full professorship in 1910. He was appointed rector three times, the first time in 1918. He became a member of the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka" in 1897, and in 1908 was appointed chairman. In 1906, he joined the Vienna Secession. In 1898, he started collaborating with the magazine "Life" and soon befriended its new editor, the writer and ideologist of Young Poland, Stanisław Przybyszewski. Thanks to him, Weiss was introduced to the work of Edvard Munch and became interested in the issues of existentialism as well as psychology.

Wojciech Weiss painted portraits, nudes, figural scenes and landscapes. At the beginning of his artistic career and until 1905, he created murky and dreary, expressive, symbolistic compositions. Later, during the so-called white period (1906-1912) the artist ceased to be bothered by existential matters, and painted serene compositions that were full of feeling and displayed his enchantment with the beauty of nature. These works were filled with light and kept within a limited scale of colors. The mature period of his artistic creation is represented by numerous figural compositions, scenes of family life, nudes, portraits and landscapes dominated by Postimpressionist coloration and an Arcadian vision of the world.

Apart from painting, Weiss, under the influence of Edvard Munch, Felicien Rops and Francisco de Goya, employed a number of graphic techniques, including etching, wood engraving, aquatint and monotype. He occasionally sculpted as well.

-- Anna Król

Works in the collection: