Father and son – stories connected by painting

Once upon a time, more than now, a trade was handed down from generation to generation. In the case of artists, this issue is interesting because not only skills but also talent are at stake. In this list, we will try to show the most appealing, in our opinion, pairs of artists included in old art (created before 1945 or shortly after).

Father and son Jacek and Rafał Malczewski

Jacek Malczewski is considered to be one of the most important representatives of Symbolism from the turn of the 19th and 20th century. He grew up in a patriotic noble family, which instilled in him love for the homeland. Thus, in his paintings he took up patriotic and messianic themes. Autobiographical motifs and elements of native folklore are also noticeable in his work. His son, Rafał, received his artistic education in his father's atelier and at Kraków's Academy of Fine Arts. Most often, he painted landscapes from the Tatra Mountains, Podhale, views of small towns and factory Silesia, later also from Brazil and Canada. Apart from painting, he wrote columns, was a keen mountaineer, skier, and popularizer of sport.

Jan, Adam and Tadeusz Styka

Jan Styka was a famous Polish painter and book illustrator, one of Jan Matejko's students. He became famous as the author of several panoramas, including Racławice (1893-94) painted together with Wojciech Kossak (and others), and Golgotha (1896) painted together with Jan Stanisławski and Tadeusz Popiel. (1896). Apart from these, he also created portraits, genre and religious scenes, and large historical compositions. Jan Styka's two sons became painters - Adam and Tadeusz. It is known that Tadeusz's first teacher was his father, later he studied in Paris with Eugene Carriere and Jean-Jacques Henner. Tadeusz became famous above all as a portraitist, painting Hollywood stars, politicians and stage stars: Pola Negri, Ignacy Jan Paderewski or Enrico Caruso (Italian opera singer).

Adam Styka, on the other hand, turned towards the Orient. The greatest influence on his works had journeys to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt. In his compositions, he was able to show the landscape and culture of North Africa, paying special attention to light effects.