Artur Grottger Monument
Kraków Artists: Painters and Sculptors
A monument to the painter Artur Grottger in the Planty, next to the building of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts. A fund-raising drive began in 1892, and in 1893 a committee was formed, headed by Witold Pruszkowski; since it proved impossible to collect the originally planned 20,000 Rhenish guilders, it was decided to build a much more modest monument, costing 5,000. In a competition the jury chose the design by Wacław Szymanowski of Paris. The unveiling took place on 16 May 1903 in the presence of the artist's brother Jarosław Grottger, the city president Józef Friedlein and professors of the Academy of Fine Arts.
History
Artur Grottger, born in 1837 in Ottyniowice in Podolia, is regarded as one of the leading representatives of Romanticism in Polish painting. In 1852 he came to Kraków and studied at the School of Fine Arts under Wojciech Stattler, Józef Kremer and Władysław Łuszczkiewicz. He is best known for his cycles of drawings on card about the January Uprising, such as "Polonia" and "Lithuania". He died in 1867 at the French spa town of Amélie-les-Bains.
Fundraising for the monument began in 1892, and in December a concert was held with the proceeds going to this cause. In 1893 a committee was formed, headed by Witold Pruszkowski. The plan was to raise 20,000 Rhenish guilders, but by 1897 the committee had only 2,215, so it was decided to build a much more modest monument worth 5,000. In a competition the jury chose the design by the Paris-based sculptor Wacław Szymanowski, and the site chosen was next to the building of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts.
The unveiling took place on 16 May 1903. Those attending included the Mayor of the city, Józef Friedlein, the artist's brother Jarosław Grottger and his family, professors of the Academy of Fine Arts and the Jagiellonian University with the rector Tadeusz Gromnicki, artists, pupils from the St Hyacinth and St Anne grammar schools, and local residents. The ceremony began in the Society's building with a speech by Stanisław Kostka Tarnowski, and during it the orchestras of both schools played and the choir of the Music Society performed.
The monument stands in Planty Park, facing the building of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts. The white pedestal is topped with a bronze bust of Grottger, and below the inscription "Artur Grottger" is a relief of the painter lost in thought about the defeats of 1863.
Did you know?
Grottger's first monographic exhibition was held in Kraków in 1885, in the Cloth Hall. Of the 112 works, 49 were drawings, 39 oil paintings and 24 watercolours.