2024-04-25
One of the most famous Polish women painters working in the nineteenth century was undoubtedly Olga Boznańska, but it is also worth remembering other outstanding female figures from this period. One of them was Anna Bilińska, who received the Silver Medal at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889.
She received her artistic education at the private Drawing Class of Wojciech Gerson, at the same time she was already selling her paintings and exhibiting them at the Society of Fine Arts in Warsaw ''Zachęta''. In November 1882, she left for Paris and began studying at the Académie Julian. She trained in the women's studio under Rodolphe Julian and Tony Robert-Fleury. She made her debut at the Paris Salon in 1884 when her drawing was exhibited under the title: ''The figure of a woman'', she also exhibited at the Salon in the following years. Not only that, but she collaborated with "Kłosy", an illustrated magazine published in Warsaw. The artist's career was abruptly interrupted, and she died a few months after marrying the doctor Antoni Bohdanowicz. The cause was probably a heart defect. She was only 38 years old.
The artist's preferred subject was definitely portraiture, and she approached each one with a great deal of realism, taking care to precise drawing and attention to detail. At this point, it is worth discussing ''Self-Portrait with Palette'', which the artist exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1887. In the painting, the viewer sees a confident woman sitting in a painter's apron, her hair dishevelled. She gives the impression that professional fulfilment is more important to her than her appearance. Such an attitude was not obvious in the patriarchal society of the turn of the nineteenth century. Anna Bilińska painted herself as a painter who struggled to become financially independent (she sold her work but also received the money in her will from a friend) and worked hard for her success.
In 2021, the National Museum in Warsaw organized an exhibition dedicated to the painter: ''Artist. Anna Bilińska 1854-1893''.