Zbiór nieznanych rysunków Stanisława Wyspiańskiego z kolekcji Józefa Grabskiego – rozpoznanie i interpretacja

Abstract

UNKNOWN DRAWINGS BY STANISŁAW WYSPIAŃSKI FROM THE COLLECTION OF JÓZEF GRABSKI – IDENTIFICATION AND INTERPRETATION

The article discusses twelve previously unknown and undescribed drawings by Stanisław Wyspiański (1869–1907) from the Kraków private collection of Dr Józef Grabski. The collection comes from various texts and notebooks and originated in various periods of Wyspiański’s creative activity. Most of them were accompanied by a handwritten note confirming their authenticity, made by Adam Chmiel (1865–1934). The collection includes an architectural sketch from 1886, drawings related to the designs in the Franciscan Church in Kraków in 1895 and in a Bieszczady parish in 1896, typographic designs for the Życie magazine from 1897–1899, stage design drawings and costume sketches for Wyspiański’s plays Bolesław Śmiały and Legenda, and a stained-glass window design for the Medical Society House in Kraków from 1904. The text also addresses the issue of selling Wyspiański’s works in the early 20th century and his contacts with his friend Adam Chmiel. This historian and archivist helped Wyspiański by providing him with information on old Kraków, old seals and palaeography, which the playwright and theatre director used in his work. Together with Wilhelm Feldman (1868–1919), after Wyspiański’s death, Chmiel took care of his writing legacy: he published the dramas and undertook the management of matters connected with publishing and translating Wyspiański’s literary works. He also wrote memoirs about the artist and published some of the letters he received from him. He also sold Wyspiański’s works, including the drawings in question.