15 Works, Today, May 13th. is Teodor Axentowicz's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #131

Teodor Axentowicz  (1859–1938)

Kołomyjka / Oberek. Folk dance in front of the house, c. 1895

Oil on canvas

Height: 85 cm (33.4 in); Width: 112 cm (44 in)

National Museum in Warsaw

In Kolomyjka, Teodor Axentowicz’s fascination with rural traditions, which was very fashionable in his time, translates into a vivid, expressive picture in which dynamics and joyful mood are more important than realism or the traditional rules of composition.

The Oberek is the second most popular Polish folk dance after the polka, and consists of a fast and vigorous succession of lifts and jumps, which the artist shows well here.  More on this painting

Teodor Axentowicz (May 13, 1859 in Brașov, Austrian Empire – August 26, 1938 in Kraków, Second Polish Republic) was a Polish-Armenian painter and university professor. A renowned artist of his times, he was also the rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. As an artist, Axentowicz was famous for his portraits and subtle scenes of Hutsul life, set in the Carpathians.

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

Hutsul funeral

Watercolour on Paper

70 x 95 cm 

Private collection

The Hutsuls are an ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romani. While they have often been officially and administratively designed as a subgroup of Ukrainians and are largely regarded as constiuting a broader Ukrainian ethnos some Hutsuls have rejected the ethonym and regard themselves as Rusyns.

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

Under the burden of adversity, c. before 1938

Oil on canvas
Borys Voznytsky Lviv National Art Gallery

One of the two women in the foreground has broken down in tears, her fingers covering her eyes, and her head bowed in grief. The other stands beside her, outwardly less affected. In the distance is a house, light glowing at a bedroom window. More on this painting

The origin of the name Hutsul is uncertain. The most common derivations are from the Romanian word for "outlaw", and the Slavic kochul,which is a reference to the semi-nomadic shepherd lifestyle or the inhabitants who fled into the mountains after the Mongol invasion. More on the Hutsuls

Teodor Axentowicz  (1859–1938)

Teodor Axentowicz: The Holiday of Jordan (Blessing of water), c. 1895

Oil on canvas

Height: 150 cm (59 in); Width: 225 cm (88.5 in)

National Museum in Warsaw

Twelve days after Christmas, in the midst of the short, cold days of January, Ukrainian Greek Catholics celebrate, in a second way, God coming into the world. The feast, commonly called “Jordan” but properly called the Theophany, recalls Jesus’ baptism by John in the River Jordan and the revelation of the Trinity when, as Matthew recounts it, the Spirit of God descended like a dove, and a voice from heaven said. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." More on this painting

The most famous and best-known genre paintings by Axentowicz are, Holiday of Jordan (1893) and Kolomyjka (1895). The artist would later retrace these themes many times using oils, pastels and watercolours. The dynamics of spontaneous dance and the whirling movement of couples are evocatively reflected in Kolomyjka by a fast, spontaneous brush-like duct that draws out forms with blurred contours, subordinated to the colourful triad of white, brown and red. More on Axentowicz's work

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

BLESSING OF THE WATER

Watercolour on paper

64 x 85 cm 

Private collection

The Great Blessing of Water takes place in the Orthodox Church on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, often called, as it is in the Orthodox service books, the Theophany. The word "epiphany" means the shining forth or manifestation or appearance or revelation. The word "Theophany" means the shining forth or manifestation or appearance or revelation of God.  The emphasis in the celebration is on the appearance of Jesus as the human Messiah and the divine Son of God. More on this painting

Axentowicz was born to a family of Polish-Armenian ancestry. In 1893 in Chelsea, London, he married Iza Henrietta Gielgud, aunt of Val Gielgud and John Gielgud of the theatrical dynasty. A son, Philip S.A.D. Axentowicz, was born in Chelsea in 1893.

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

The Omnibus, 1891

Oil on panel

14 1/8 x 18 1/8 in. (35.9 x 46 cm.) 

Private collection

A horse-bus or horse-drawn omnibus was a large, enclosed, and sprung horse-drawn vehicle used for passenger transport before the introduction of motor vehicles. It was mainly used in the late 19th century in both the United States and Europe, and was one of the most common means of transportation in cities. More on the Omnibus

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

Market Day

Oil on panel

7 1/4 x 15 inches 

Private collection

Between 1879 and 1882 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. From there he moved to Paris, where he was a student of Carolus-Duran and continued his education until 1895. During that time he started a long-time cooperation with various journals and started his career as a copyist, duplicating the works of Tizian and Botticelli for Le Monde illustré. He also made numerous travels to London and Rome, where he prepared a set of portraits, one of the first in his career.

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

Holy , ca. 1900

Watercolor on paper

46.5 x 62.6 cm. (18.3 x 24.6 in.)

Private collection

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

Susanna and The Elder

Pastel

57 x 47 cm 

Private collection

A fair Hebrew wife named Susanna was falsely accused by lecherous voyeurs. As she bathes in her garden, having sent her attendants away, two lustful elders secretly observe the lovely Susanna. When she makes her way back to her house, they accost her, threatening to claim that she was meeting a young man in the garden unless she agrees to have sex with them.

She refuses to be blackmailed and is arrested and about to be put to death for promiscuity when a young man named Daniel interrupts the proceedings, shouting that the elders should be questioned to prevent the death of an innocent. After being separated, the two men are questioned about details of what they saw, but disagree about the tree under which Susanna supposedly met her lover. In the Greek text, the names of the trees cited by the elders form puns with the sentence given by Daniel. The first says they were under a mastic, and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to cuthim in two. The second says they were under an evergreen oak tree, and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to saw him in two. The great difference in size between a mastic and an oak makes the elders' lie plain to all the observers. The false accusers are put to death, and virtue triumphs. More about Susanna

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

Anchorite, c. 1881

I have no further description, at this time

An anchorite or anchoret is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-orientated, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. Whilst anchorites are frequently considered to be a type of religious hermit, unlike hermits they were required to take a vow of stability of place, opting for permanent enclosure in cells often attached to churches. More on an anchorite

In 1894 he started collaboration with Wojciech Kossak and Jan Styka during the preparation of the Racławice Panorama, one of the largest panoramic paintings in the history of Polish art. The following year he moved to Kraków, where he became a professor at the local Academy of Fine Arts. 

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

NOC. PRZED LUSTREM/ NIGHT. IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR, OK. , 1910

Pastel, crayon, watercolor, gouache, paper

64.3 cm x 86 cm 

Private collection

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

Nude in a golden drapery, circa 1920

Pastel on carton

100 x 70 cm 

Private collection

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

Nude

Watercolor and pastel on carton

88 x 48.3 cm 

Private collection

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

Spring, c. 900

Watercolor, pastel, cardboard

94 x 68 cm 

Private collection

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish, 1859–1938)

Autumn

Watercolor, pastel, cardboard

94 x 68 cm 

Private collection

He was also active in the local society and cooperated with various societies devoted to propagation of arts and crafts. In 1897 he founded an artistic conservatory for women and soon afterwards became one of the founders of the Sztuka society. In 1910 he became the rector of the Academy and since 1928 was also an honorary member of the Zachęta Society. He died August 26, 1938 in Kraków. More on Teodor Axentowicz

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