Wojciech Kossak

Art visionary. Painter. A graduate of the School of Fine Arts in Krakow and Munich. Author of such works as: "Olszynka Grochowska Charge of the 5th Zamoyski Uhlan Regiment", "With a Dispatch", and "Uhlan's Rest".

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Co-creator of Panorama Racławicka - Wojciech Kossak, was born in Paris on New Year's Eve 1856.

After his godfather - Horace Vernet, the author of The Death of Prince Józef Poniatowski and the Battle of Somosierra, Wojciech received a second name, and perhaps this fact influenced his passion for painting and Paris, although life bound him forever with Krakow.

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And that was where Wojciech Kossak's painting had its beginning, where society was hungry for pictures with historical content, glorification of the old Polish army, sustaining the spirit of independence and longing for a uniform.

”He was, like his father, a battle painter, the creator of panoramas and large-format compositions depicting war episodes not only from Polish history, but also from French or German history, avoiding subjects glorifying the army, especially the Prussian invader, and at the same time - Polish defeats. He created many portraits, most often representative images of European society or aristocracy. He willingly portrayed himself, but he did not look for knowledge about himself or personality traits by studying his face. He most often treated the self-portrait as an opportunity to present himself with dignity.

Wojciech Kossak painted every day, from his early teenage years, first under the watchful eye of his father - in Krakow, then during many years of education at the Munich Academy and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. It was not easy for a young, ambitious painter from Poland to become known in Paris. (…)

The entire article and other sources can be found in the Polish Digital Equestrian Library (click)

Author: Iwona Strzelewicz-Ziemiańska