Biographies

Stanislaw Wyspianski (1869 – 1907) He was the son of the Kraków sculptor Franciszek Wyspianski and studied at the Kraków School of Fine Arts, mostly under Wladyslaw Luszczkiewicz and Jan Matejko. In 1889 Wyspianski and Józef Mehoffer, the school’s most talented students, were appointed to complete Matejko’s painted decorations for St Mary, Kraków, a task that prompted Wyspianski’s interest in both decorative painting and stained glass. In 1890 he travelled in Italy, Switzerland, France and Germany, and also to Prague. In 1891 he continued his training in Paris, where he remained with intervals until 1894, studying at the Académie Colarossi under Joseph Blanc, Gustave Courtois, and Louis Auguste Girardot. Wyspianski also worked independently in Paris, studying paintings in the museums and fascinated by contemporary art. Through Wladyslaw Slewinski, he met Paul Gauguin and members of the Nabis. Perhaps more famous as a playwright than as a painter, he made reputations in both fields. His artwork ranges from delicate portraits to powerful stained glass church windows. He also did set designing for the theatre. (Some of the above information comes from the Grove Dictionary of Art.)