Marek Żuławski (13 April 1908 – 30 March 1985) was a Polish painter, graphic artist, and art historian who settled in London in 1937.
Background and career He was born in Rome. His father was Jerzy Żuławski, a noted intellectual from a prolific extended family of artists, directors and climbers; his mother was Kazimiera Żuławska, née Hanicka. He was raised in Zakopane with his two younger brothers, Juliusz and Wawrzyniec. Later, the family moved to Toruń where he completed his secondary education.
Between 1926 and 1933 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw under professors Felicjan Kowarski and Karol Tichy at the same time as his cousin, Jacek Żuławski. In 1935 he won a scholarship to study in Paris. In 1937 he moved permanently to London. There he frequented other Polish artists, including Feliks Topolski, Halima Nałęcz, Marian Szyszko-Bohusz and the Themersons.
Initially he was influenced by Post-Impressionism. After the war he honed his own style, tending towards a simpler form and a more muted palette. His subjects included still life and figurative art such as Chrystus z Belsen 1947, Tancerz 1957, Kain i Abel 1967, Żona Lota 1975 and Akt stojący II 1979, a work on paper. Apart from easel work, he completed several murals as in Our Lady's church in St John's Wood in London, illustrations and graphic art. He created posters (Gordon Bennet, 1935), still lifes and landscape paintings. Żuławski exhibited on numerous occasions at the London Group.
Written work He also wrote art criticism and essays, notably, Od Hogartha do Bacona (1973), ("From Hogarth to Bacon"), and Romantyzm, klasycyzm i z powrotem (1976) ("Romanticism, classicism and back again"). He produced a number of talks about art for the BBC Polish Section. He wrote a two-part autobiography, Studium do autoportretu (1980), which was republished in a second edition by the publishing house Oficyna Wydawnicza Kucharski in Poland.
Personal life In 1938 he married Eugenia (Imogena) Różańska (1906–1982), but the marriage was short-lived.chronology of Żuławski's life, published by Uniwersytet im. Mikołaja Kopernika (University of Nicholas Copernicus) in Toruń (in Polish) His second wife, Halina Korn (1902–1978), was also a writer and painter.Marek Żuławski, Romance at the outbreak of World War II: meeting Halina Korn In 1980 Żuławski married Maria Lewandowska. Their son, Adam, was born in January 1983.
In March 1985 Żuławski died in London.http://www.marek-zulawski.umk.pl/kalendarz.html#tutaj UMK chronology of Żuławski's life His archives are in the Archiwum Emigracji University of Torun Library, and a collection of his art – drawings, graphic art and paintings – is in the Torun University Museum.
Notable artworks Gordon Bennet, 1935 Quarry Worker, 1949 Chrystus wśród ubogich, 1953 Ludzie nad morzem, 1957 Tancerz, 1957 Zielony akt na pomarańczowym i czarnym tle, 1958 Ecce homo II, 1958 Ecce homo IV, 1961 Trzy przedmioty na czerwonym tle, 1963/1968 Kain i Abel, 1967 Sen o lataniu, 1968 Martwy człowiek, 1969 The Team, 1971 Caribbean Cruise, 1974 Mechanical Man, 1975 Żona Lota, 1975 Marylka w sierpniu, 1979 Akt stojący II, 1979 Standing Nude, 1980 Ojcostwo, 1980 Wyżyna Golan, c. 1982 Robotnik, unknown year
Family tree
References
Bibliography
External links Marek Żuławski official website Translating Marek: English translations of excerpts from Marek Zulawski's autobiography Marek Żuławski official website - University Museum in Torun, Poland Gallery Marek Żuławski on Culture.pl