Xawery Dunikowski. Works in the Wawel collection
April 16-May 30, 2004
Another proposal of the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola is an exhibition of sculptures by Xawery Dunikowski.
This outstanding artist, belonging to the pantheon of Polish sculptors, was born in 1875 in Cracow.
The time of his studies, as well as his later teaching activities, were connected with both the Podawel Castle and Warsaw. Dunikowski spent many years of creative work in Paris. During the war years he was a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp. After liberation, he worked on new works, but also devoted much to training his successors. He died in 1964.
Xawery Dunikowski was associated with Krakow not only by virtue of his birth, but also by virtue of his artistic activity and active participation in the cultural life of the city.
Already in the interwar period, the artist donated many of his sculptures to the collection at Wawel Castle, and despite the quantitative damage suffered during the war, an excellent collection of the master’s works was assembled after later additions.
The Krakow exhibition was divided into four parts: Symbolic Period, In the Circle of Jesuits, Portraits, and Wawel Heads.
The sculptures from the early period of the artist’s work contain many of the author’s thoughts and reflections on the impermanence of earthly substance and the mysteries of human existence, were presented in a symbolic manner, and were created under the strong influence of the philosophy of Stanislaw Przybyszewski. Among them is the poignant “Fatum,” a sculpture that is extremely expressive despite its simplified form, bringing to mind art native to Africa. The “Pregnant Women” series is considered by many experts to be Dunikowski’s most outstanding works.
The bust of Christ is a study, one of many made during his work on the portal of the Jesuit Church in Krakow (1911). The depicted figure exudes a wealth of inner experiences, with a dominant expression of sadness.
The likeness of Franciszek Mączyński, the architect who designed the Jesuit temple, is also associated with the same circle. The figure is shown from the knees, in a dynamic pose, and the model of the church embraced by the hand clearly refers to the centuries-old style of depicting founders and creators of religious buildings.
Prominent among the Portraits is the head of Frederic Chopin, a sculptural subject with which Dunikowski grappled several times. Fascinating is the figure of Henryk Szczyglinski , a character portrait of a thoughtful young man with a somewhat rebellious attitude, made using a technique that causes light to refract onto the rough texture, in a manner that breathes impressionism.
A special place in the artist’s work is occupied by the famous Wawel heads. Made in various materials (plaster, wood), the designs and final products are related to the sculptor’s assignment to complete the coffers on the ceiling of the Hall of Deputies, robbed by the invaders. In creating them, he portrayed historical figures, local notables, acquaintances of completely random people…. Some of the heads captivate with their beauty, amaze with their dissimilarity, others force to reverie, but do not leave the viewer indifferent.
Works from the Wawel collection are extremely rarely presented outside the castle museum, and it is worth taking a moment to commune with the art of the artist considered the most outstanding Polish sculptor of the 20th century.
