Siemiradzki in Rome in the light of new research

Lecture by dr Maria Nitka and Jakub Zarzycki

13 June 2017

vicolo Doria 2

Abstract

Since October 2015 a number of new studies on the works of Henryk Siemiradzki have emerged as part of a project entitled “The Corpus of Paintings of Henryk Siemiradzki”. Scheduled to run for the period 2015-2019, the project is implemented in collaboration with the Polish Institute of World Art Studies, the National Museum in Warsaw, the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, and the Pontifico Istituto di Studi Ecclesiastici in Rome. Henryk Siemiradzki (1843-1902) represented the mature style of academic art. He was a very important artist for both Polish and Russian art, and one of the most widely known painters in Europe at the end of the 19th century. His works were displayed in many galleries, making him one of the most exposed artists of his time. His foremost source of inspiration was Rome, where he moved in 1871; here, he mostly painted in the antique style. In 1882 Siemiradzki built a villa in Rome, which became an important centre for the contemporary Polish artistic community. The primary aim of the project profiled here is to draw attention to Siemiradzki’s artistic heritage, which remains largely obscure. The project also offers the possibility for further research – into areas including perceptions of Siemiradzki’s works after over 120 years of their presence in the cultural realm.

Maria Nitka obtained her PhD in Art History. Her dissertation, published in book form, focused on the Polish artists’ colony in Rome: http://www.world-art.pl/o,66,studia-i-monografie-studies-and-monograph.html . Currently representing the Polish Institute of World Art Studies, she is a founder member of a research team, which also includes representatives of the National Museum in Warsaw and the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, which is working on a catalogue raisonée of Henryk Siemiradzki’s paintings. Nitka’s area of responsibility is Siemiradzki’s liaisons with Italy.

Jakub Zarzycki, PhD Candidate, Art historian and literary scholar. Currently Candidate at the Institute of Art History of University of Wrocław (Poland) and at the Department of European, American and Intercultural Studies of Sapienza University of Rome. The title of his PhD project is: “L’Italia immaginata. Italy and [the] Italians in Polish visual culture from 1861 to 1914”. In the 2015–2016 academic year Polish Research Fellow at Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies, University of Alberta, Canada.  Co-worker on the project “The Corpus of Paintings of Henryk Siemiradzki”. More information: https://wroc.academia.edu/JakubZarzycki

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