Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
WawelcathedralinKraków.Duringthecourseofhisnear-three-yearresidenceinLwów,
Gottliebmaythushaveencounteredanumberofindividualswhoservedtoinfluencehis
political-nationalattitude.Littleisknown,however,abouthiscontactswithJewishsoci-
etyinLwów.MojżeszWaldmanwroteaboutGottlieb)syearsinLwów:“Helivedamong
akindcircleoffriends.[ł]Thankstofavourablecircumstances,hecametoknowthelo-
calintelligentsiaandeducatedpeople[ł],andbecameawelcomeguestattheirsalons”
.12
TheobituaryinDerIsraelit,quotedabove,indicatesGottlieb)scontactswithSzomer
Israel.Italsostatesthatinthesummerof1868hevisitedthelocalheadquartersofthe
association,andpresenteditwithaphotographofhispaintingCJewsinasynagogue)
.13
InalettertoHenrykGottliebonthesubjectofthepaintingCKazimierztheGreatand
Esterka)paintedin1879,Gottliebaskedhimforassistanceintheformofcontactswith
thecommunitycouncilandShomerIsrael,towhomhewantedtoproposethepurchase
ofthecanvas.14ProbablythroughthemediationofLoewenstein,GoldmanandHenryk
Gottlieb,theartistmadecontactwithhisfuturepatronsIgnazKurandainViennaand
EmilBeresinKraków.
Thenextstageofhisartisticeducationwasatwo-yearcourseofstudiesfromOctober
1871intheAcademyofFineArts(AkademiederSchönenKünste)inVienna,under
KarlMeyerandKarlvonBlaas.Theturning-pointinhislifewashisdiscoveryofthe
historicalcompositionsofJanMatejko,includingCRejtan)
,intheImperialcollections
intheBelvedere,andhispaintingsexhibitedattheWeltausstellung(WorldExhibition)
1873Wien-CTheUnionofLublin)
,CBatorynearPskov)
,CThesermonofPiotrSkarga)
andCCopernicus)
.ThemoralandpatrioticquestionsraisedinMatejko)swork,centring
ontheoppositionoftheindividualtothecollapseofthenation,emphasisedbydramatic
action,expressivelinesanddissonanttones,musthavehadagreateffectofGottlieb,who
wassearchingforhisownnationalandculturalidentity.
WhenMatejkoassumedthepostofdirectoroftheSchoolofFineArtsinKraków,
intheacademicyear1873/1874heattractedtohimselfagroupofstudentsfascinated
byhiswork,amongthemGottlieb.
AtthispointGottliebbeganwritinginPolish,studyingPolishhistoryandiconogra-
phy,andin1874hedepictedhimselfinthecostumeofaPolishnobleman(ill.28),which
servedasanexpressionofhisacceptableofthePolishsocietyinwhichhewishedtolive
andact.Theartistrecalled,“Surroundedatschoolbymiraclesofart,Iwasanxiousto
create.Igrew,andmyartgrewwithme;Ifeltthattheprejudicesofcenturieshadcol-
lapsed,thewallsoftheghettowerecrumbling.Iwasfreeł”
.15
Gottlieb)searliestworksatartschool,fromtheacademicyear1873-1874,aredraw-
ingsandpaintingsderivingfromPolishhistory,repeatingthecompositionalformulaeof
Matejko)spaintings(includingCKingZygmuntAugustandGiżanka)),aswellasportraits,
inwhichtheartistgraduallydevelopedhispersonalconventionfordepictingindividu-
12M.Waldman:MaurycyGottlieb,Kraków1932,p.11.ApartfromthesalonofBernardGoldman,
mentionmustalsobemadeofthatconductedbyMikołajStanisławEpstein,likeGoldmanassociated
inpre-UprisingWarsawwiththecircleofHenrykToeplitz,who,onhisreturnfromexileinSiberia,
settledinLwówin1873.Thissalonwasfrequentedby,amongothers,Polishliteraryfiguresincluding
KornelUjejski,SewerynGoszczyński,WładysławBełzaandAgatonGiller,thelatteramemberofthe
revolutionaryauthorityinWarsaw.
13KMoritzGottlieb’,op.cit.
14M.Waldman,op.cit.,pp.82–83.
15ThisstatementisquotedbyT.ZlocistiinhisarticleKSztukażydowska’(KJewishart’),Rocznik
Żydowski,(JewishAnnual),1902.
marekantokolskiandmaurycygottlieb
53
