Title of Product:

Piotr Michalowski- the Romanticism’s Painter of equestrian motives and battlefield aroma scenery

Image of the product:

Name of Author(s): Irena Kossowska

Name of Producer: Net periodic: “culture.pl”

Language/s of Product: Polish

Website of the product: www.culture.pl/pl/culture/artykuly/os_michalowski_piotr

Target Group: General audience

Overall Evaluation: excellent

Availability of community:
Newsgroup

Objectives & Structure:
Aspects to consider:
- The students learn the Romanticism’s connections in the stylization of figures and sceneries (see e.g. the battlefield aura)
- The students may consciously follow the artistic predilections as regards the attributes of the portraits, scenes, picture’s complements
- The Epoch of Romanticism and performing the background melodious tones of natural and exposed states of feelings
- The Romanticism’ frames provide to the students more and less direct themes of subjective attachment rooted in the authors’ spirits and based on their artistic temperament

Description of contents:
He studied natural sciences, economics and the arts at the Universities of Cracow and Gottingen. In the years 1823-30 he was a member of the Governmental Income and Treasury Commission in Warsaw. During the November Polish National Uprising of 1830, he was in charge of the manufacture of firearms.
As an amateur, a period that lasted until 1832, he had primarily made sketches of watercolours, influenced by Orlowski and Verneta. In Paris, he studied in the atelier of Charlet as well as in museums where he paid particular attention to painters of the Spanish origin (e.g. Velazquez), Dutch and Flemish.
Michalowski was strictly respected in the currents of the Polish Romanticism, its formula of heroic aura and cumulative effects of the evidential stanzas of events and personages. He was particularly given to the drawings and paintings (in oil and watercolour) of horses, horse drawn vehicles and cattle. He created Napoleonic battle scenes, including several of the Somosierra battle (very glorified and echoed in the Polish memoirs), abundant in movement and marching transposition. Likewise he painted battle scenes from the November Uprising. He was fascinated by Napoleon of whom he painted many mounted portraits. He created realistic yet fully expressive portraits of the members of his family, particularly children, and of his friends. He also painted studies of the peasant faces (Senko 1846-48), one of the main motives corresponding with the Polish Romanticism in multilateral frames of typical and related characters’ artistic and plot component.
Skilled in the use of colour, his compositions are characterized by excellent bolt design and freedom in the use of painting techniques- he used long brush strokes. Michalowski’s paintings reveal the force of his poetic (about sentimental) feelings for nature and man, and the dynamism and fervour of a romantic patriot.
Michalowski’s painting constitutes a romantic vision of a battle scene (in a kind of its universal mythology and naturally bounded discourse). The rusty dust cloud of battle, the glistening silhouettes of several galloping riders, the white peasant coats, the purplish- cornered Cracow livers’ hats, the glint of the lances, the impetus of the attack scattering the enemies, all above significations witness about the dynamism of a composition.
That dynamism was contrasted with the study of the horse in the foreground, matter of fact and intense. The restrained characterization of the smartly composed animal brings about a moment of reflection, primarily unexpected in this context. The horse appears to be aw witness to events contrary to its nature. The juxtaposition of the skirmish and the figure of the animal performed the entity of a new kind, without evident incoherence- providing namely the fresh aura of Romanticism’s up- gradation.

Evaluation and Comments:

Description of how the website can be used with the students::
- The website demonstrates the authentic predilection of the author, his conduct in the course of establishing the performed scenery.

Comments::
- The students develop the individual cognitive code of the artist and may refer to their transparent imaginary clichés- through memories, an observed performance’s associating in mind and revealing the hidden core.

Evaluation Date: 01.09.2008.

Name of teacher: Michał Seroczyński

Name of School: CKU Sopot

Country: Poland

Subjects Taught: Fine Arts