Wojciech Kossak (Poland, 1857-1942)


Figure 1.-- Wojciech Kossak is best known for his historical work including many battle scenes. This painting was entitled 'Young Kwow defender'. It was painted in 1921 during the Polish-Ukranian War. Even before Poland was officially independent, fighting broke out between Poles and Ukranians. The Defense of Lwow and the War with the Ukraine 1918-1919. Ukrainian units (Sich Riflemen) of the rapidly disintegrating Austrian Army moved to occupy the predominately Polish City of Lwow in Galicia. They procaimed it to be part of a new Socialist Ukrainian Republic (October 31, 1918). The Poles in Lwow, mostly poorly armed school children, resisted the Ukranians.

Wojciech Kossak was born into an artistic Polish family (Paris, 1856). He is celebrated Polish painter, norable for his Polish historical works, primarily battle scenes. Th Kossak family included both notable artists and writers. His father was Juliusz Kossak. His twin brother was freedom fighter Tadeusz Kossak. Wojciech Kossak fathered two talented daughters who became authors, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska and Magdalena Samozwaniec. His son, Jerzy Kossak, also became a painter. Wojciech was born on New Year's Eve 1856, just before midnight, while his twin brother, Tadeusz Kossak, followed a few minuts later, but on New Years Day (1857). The family subsequenbtly returned to Poland, at the time part of the Russian Empire. He began school after the return to Poland. He attended Three Crosses Square middle school in Warsaw. He attended the Gimnazjum św. Anny secondary school in Kraków. While at school, he studied painting with his father Juliusz. After Gymnasium he studied at the School of Drawing and Painting (1871-73). Then he studied at the School of Fine Arts under Władysław Łuszczkiewicz. He completed his studies at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, with professors Aleksander Strähuber and Alexander Wagner (1874-75). Kossak is best known for his historical painting, many of which were battle paintings depicting Poland's struggles for independence. He captured a realism lacking in earlier battle scene artists, influenced by his father. He did some portraits. Among them was a portrait of Karol Krystall as a boy (1923). It was a far cry from his battle scenes. Even with quite a number of portraits, his body of work is heavily dominated by Polish patriots and horses. In his last years was haeart broken by the German invasion and collapse of the Polish Army. One of his final acts was to refuse to paint the brutal German Governor-General of occupied Poland, Hans Frank.













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Created: 7:05 AM 10/25/2016
Last updated: 1:38 AM 8/20/2019