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AugustynPaprotny,whoseartisticcareersbecameseriouslyunderminedaftertheir
returnfromItalyandEnglandimmediatelyafterthewarduetotheirassociations
withAnders’Army.MikołajPortushadtofindoccupationinregimecinematog-
raphy,whereasIgnacyPaprotny,havingabandonedpainting,settledforthework
ofadirectoratalocalexhibitioncentre(BWA).StanisławWestwalowicz,whodid
notwanttogiveuppainting,afterfutileattemptsatgettingateachingpositionin
Cracow’sAcademyofFineArts,workedasasecondaryschoolteacherinPionki,
PilznoandTarnów.
TheexhibitionKJesteśmy”(weare)organizedinZachętain1991canbeper-
ceivedassymptomaticofareturnofemigrationarttoPoland,thatis,ofsomeherit-
age,worksofartandespeciallynames.However,itdidnotinitiateanactualinterest
amongtheacademicenvironmentsinPolandwhichwouldbesufficientenoughto
startamorein-depthinvestigationintothePolishartofthesecondhalfofthe20th
century.YetthereisnodenyingthefactthatafterthefalloftheBerlinWall,compared
tothetimesofcommunistPoland,researchersandhistoriansoftheyoungergenera-
tionhadgreateropportunitiestouncoverPolishartcreatedoutsidethecountry’sbor-
ders.Theresultsofthatsituationcanbeespeciallyseeninmonographicstudiesde-
votedtothecreativepursuitsofthoseartistswhoareappreciatedinthecountriesthey
settledinafterthewarandusuallynotknownintheirhomeland31.Thebasisforthe
presentresearchliesinpreviouslyinaccessible,non-traditionalsourcematerialswhich
Igainedaccesstowhileexploringprivateandarchivecollectionslocatedabroad.An
additional,especiallyimportantsourceisthatofthememoriesofandreviewswith
theveryartistswhostillliveandcreateintheartisticenvironmentsoftheirnew
homelands,suchasRyszardDemel,JanOsęki-Nowicki[GianniNovischi]andJanina
Baranowska.Aninvaluablematerialforthisstudytranspiredfrommyworkingmeet-
ingsandconversationswiththepainterGemmaRiccardi,afriendofGinoSeverini,
NinoFranchinoandJózefJarema,whichIwasfortunatetocarryoutwithherinthe
RomanstudioofGinoSeveriniatViaMargutta51(occupieduntilJuly2012byRic-
cardi).ThisRomanartistsofPolishrootswasthelastwitnessandactiveparticipant
ofthepost-warbohemianartisticenvironmentinthecapitalofItaly.Thankstoher
help,Iwasabletolearnaboutpreviouslyunknownfactsfromtheartisticactivitiesof
PolishartistslivinginRomeattheturnofthe1940sand1950s,andtolookattheir
artisticoutputfromtheaccurateperspective.RightaftertheSecondWorldWar,the
artisticstudiosandgalleriesatViaMarguttaandViadelBabuino,CircoloArtistico
Internazionale,ArtClubandtheRomanartisticandliteraryclubAged’Orbecame
thecentresformeetingsbetweenPolishartistsandstudents(wholaterleftforGreat
BritainwithGeneralAndersin1946)andthemastersofItalianandEuropeanart.
31
See:Bibliography.ThemostimportantmonographicstudiesonPolishartonemigrationpublished
after1989arelistedthere.
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