Kossaks

The exhibition “Kossaks – What a Success, What Popularity, a Rain of Honors and Distinctions” prepared by the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola presents, or rather announces, the rich artistic achievements of this extraordinarily talented family. Since 1869, a small Krakow manor, known as “Kossakówka,” has been the home of a family with diverse talents in painting and literature. The painters include Juliusz, the progenitor of the artistic dynasty; his childless brother Leon, a participant in the uprisings and a Siberian exile, who dabbled in watercolor painting; Juliusz’s son and continuator of his art, Wojciech; Wojciech’s son, Jerzy; and finally, Juliusz’s second grandson, Stefan’s son, Karol.

The writing talent of the ladies revealed itself only in the third generation, among both daughters of Wojciech – the poet Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska and Magdalena Starzewska-Niewidowska, who wrote under the pseudonym Magdalena Samozwaniec, as well as Tadeusz’s daughter, Wojciech’s twin brother – the novelist Zofia Kossak-Szczucka-Szatkowska.

The exhibition “Kossaks – What a Success, What Popularity, a Rain of Honors and Distinctions” engages in a discourse on the artistic phenomenon of the Kossak family, whose work has been a source of continuous emotions and discussions for over 150 years, as well as an object of longing for a vast number of collectors.

Among the exhibited works are the perfect watercolors of Juliusz Kossak, a leading continuator of the romantic tradition in Polish painting; these include portraits of riders and their horses, battle and historical scenes, portrayals of horse studs against the backdrop of vast landscapes of the borderlands, as well as daring illustrations of Polish literature, including Henryk Sienkiewicz’s novel “With Fire and Sword.”

Equally important is the presentation of works by Wojciech Kossak, the heir to the ideas of history combined with romantic tradition, illustrator of the Napoleonic epic, Polish uprisings, the Kościuszko Insurrection, and the legions; in independent Poland, he became the court painter of the Polish army. Wojciech Kossak was also a co-author of the panoramas that have been fashionable since the last decades of the 19th century, among which the particularly impressive Panorama of Racławice stands out, while the so-called “Small Racławice Panorama” by Wojciech Kossak and Jan Styka can be regarded as a true masterpiece.

Jerzy, an epigone of the Kossak painting dynasty and a successor of the name and painting tradition, faced the pressure of Wojciech and his strong individuality in his work. He continued the themes related to Napoleon and the November Uprising, but he focused most on the legionary battles, as well as countless pursuits of Uhlans and skirmishes. Following the example of his grandfather and father, he also explored folk themes, reproducing lively Krakow and Highland weddings, as well as hunting scenes and American cowboys.

A significantly more modest artistic path was taken by Karol Kossak, who was fascinated by the Hutsul region and the landscape of the Eastern Carpathians, creating watercolor illustrations of scenes from the lives of the local highlanders.

The exhibition prepared by the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola showcases the chef d’oeuvre of the Kossaks – Juliusz, Wojciech, Jerzy, and Karol – and also addresses the impact of this extraordinary family’s work on the vast masses of their art’s audience. This is highlighted by an unprecedented display of heliogravures made after the paintings of Juliusz Kossak and a collection of postcards featuring reproductions of the works of Juliusz, Wojciech, Jerzy, and Karol Kossak.

Curator of the exhibition: Dr. Stefania Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska

Coordination on behalf of the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola: Monika Kuraś, Anna Szlązak