2024-11-19
''Elite art - yes, mass art - no''. This quote, nicely captures the most important feature of the art of Franciszek Starowieyski, an artist fascinated by the art of the 17th-century masters, who created intellectual representations full of sensuality. At the Contemporary Art Auction in December, you will have the opportunity to bid on a drawing by the master dated 1685.
Franciszek Starowieyski (1930-2009) was a Polish painter, graphic artist, draughtsman and stage designer. He also went down as one of the leading representatives of the Polish Poster School. He came from a noble family, sealed with the Biberstein coat of arms. Furthermore, he studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków in the atelier of Wojciech Weiss and Adam Marczyński, and then under Michał Bylina at the Academy in Warsaw. It was the painting created as part of his diploma at the Warsaw academy that was exhibited at the famous exhibition at the Arsenał in 1955. As an artist fascinated by Baroque art, he antedated his works for 300 years. In doing so, he claimed to have been reincarnated by the spirit of an ancestor living in the 17th century. Starowieyski was also inspired by Salvador Dalí, the master of Surrealism. The mixture of these inspirations is clearly visible in the Polish artist's works. On the one hand, baroque momentum and dynamism and an interest in transience can be seen in it, while on the other hand, surreal visions can be seen. Interestingly, the artist was an agnostic but wished to achieve a spiritual mood in his paintings and drawings.
Between 8 and 11 December, you will be able to auction a drawing entitled ''Little smut between parents'' (the title is included at the bottom of the work in German: ''Eine kleine Schweinerei zwischen Elterenleuten''). The piece measures 81 x 48 cm and is signed by the author. This drawing contains the ''classic'' motifs present in Starowieyski's repertoire of tricks. The strong chiaroscuro used, the dynamics, the grotesque, and the surrealism visible in the interpenetration and duplication of the parents' figures immediately bring to mind the master's work.
