Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński Monument
Kraków Artists: Writers and Poets
A monument in the south-western part of the Planty, between Podzamcze and Poselska streets, along Floriana Straszewskiego Street. It commemorates Tadeusz Żeleński "Boy", a physician who entered literary history as the author of pieces performed on the stage of the Green Balloon cabaret. The concept was developed by the sculptor Edward Krzak, and the figure was cast in bronze at the Warsaw Mechanical Works. The unveiling took place on 26 May 1980 and was accompanied by the performance "Our Boy" at the Bagatela Theatre.
History
Tadeusz Żeleński, known as Boy, was born in Warsaw in 1874, the son of the writer Wanda née Grabowska and the composer Władysław Żeleński. From 1892 to 1900 he studied medicine at the Jagiellonian University, and after graduating in 1901 he worked as a paediatrician at St Louis Hospital in Kraków. There he initiated the "Kropla mleka" ("Drop of Milk") organisation, in which he was director and medical adviser. His social life revolved around Kraków's cafés, among them Jama Michalika, and the Kraków bohemian scene; he was a friend of Stanisław Przybyszewski. From 1906 he helped create the Zielony Balonik cabaret, for which he wrote satirical texts. While on a scholarship in Paris he became interested in French literature, and later translated almost the entire canon, including Balzac and Proust. From 1919 he was the theatre critic of the Kraków daily "Czas", and from 1922 he lived in Warsaw. He was murdered by the Germans in Lviv, together with a group of professors from that city, on the night of 3 to 4 July 1941.
The monument stands in the south-western part of Planty Park, between Podzamcze and Poselska Streets, along Floriana Straszewskiego Street. It was put up on the initiative of the Society for the Promotion of Secular Culture, to mark the 70th anniversary of the Polish secular movement. The concept was developed by the Kraków sculptor Edward Krzak, and the bronze figure was cast by the Warsaw Mechanical Works. It stands on a granite pedestal with a low, elliptical base. The unveiling on 26 May 1980 was marked by a performance of "Nasz Boy" ("Our Boy") at the Bagatela Theatre, and on that occasion commemorative medals were awarded to the Bagatela, the Jama Michalika café and the Kraków Society for Conscious Motherhood. At first the monument faced the Archaeological Museum and stood on a strip of grass between footpaths. This was considered a planning mistake, so in 1992 it was moved to its present spot, on the main footpath of Planty Park, near Maurycy Straszewski's Neo-Renaissance residence. The community of Primary School No. 107, named after Boy, has taken symbolic care of the monument.
Did you know?
Boy's wife was Zofia Pareńska, the model for the character of Zosia in Stanisław Wyspiański's "The Wedding". Żeleński himself was present at the celebration that inspired the play.