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Q U A R T E R L Y P U B L I S H E D BY T H E S T A T E I N S T I T U T E OF A R T
N. 2
Y E A R BOOK X I I
195b
SUMMARY O F A R T I C L E S
Henryk Zwolakiewicz — I G N A C Y D O B R Z Y Ń S K I —
THE PAPER-CUTTER
Ignacy D o b r z y ń s k i is a notable artist of our days
i n the paper-cutting craft. D o b r z y ń s k i was born i n
1882, i n the village of Grabowa, L u b l i n region.
D r a w i n g i n s p i r a t i o n from old traditions, D o b r z y ń ski's w o r k reflects his own concept and style, f u l l
of creative inventiveness.
Paper-cutting (openwork compositions cut out of
coloured paper) began to develop i n the L u b l i n re
gion i n the middle of the 19th century and paper
cuts were used as i n t e r i o r decoration i n cottages
d u r i n g holidays and f a m i l y celebrations. The custom
survived up to the outbreak of the first w o r l d w a r .
I n the past the w o r k was chiefly done by young
girls, as i t was not customary for elderly women to
perform the tiresome w o r k of cutting ingenious com
positions of coloured glossy paper; men performed
the w o r k v e r y seldom.
The paper-cuts were made i n a r i c h v a r i e t y of
forms, roundish, polygonal, i n the f o r m of stripes
and trees placed i n a flower-pot. Geomtric orna
mentation prevailed i n the past, floral (stylized) or
namentation appeared later.
Two distinct stages can be discerned i n D o b r z y ń ski's creative development: a close following of L u
b l i n traditions i n paper-cutting, and the f i n d i n g of
his own style.
I n his first and earlier stage, D o b r z y ń s k i cut s m a l l sized open-work compositions of various designs.
The technological approach was also t r a d i t i o n a l : the
paper and the tools were used v e r y economically.
A t that period geometric ornamentation, circles i n
particular, prevailed i n the L u b l i n paper-cutting
craft. Figures of horses and birds appeared later.
The second stage i n Dobrzynski's art is l i n k e d w i t h
the change i n the v e r y function of the paper cuts,
when they no more were made for personal use,
but for sale purposes, w h e n popular traditions be
gan to vanish and the fashion for „ p o p u l a r " i n t e r i o r
decoration reached the homes of intellectuals i n
towns. I t was at t h a t t i m e that D o b r z y ń s k i began
\o make serial paper-cuts destined for sale, w i t h o u t
however, abandoning his search for new forms. T h e
se t w o
tendencies, i . e . serial productions and the
search for new creative solutions are i n t e r m i t t e n t in
his w o r k , w i t h either one or the other tendency
prevailing, depending on circumstances.
I n yielding to the tastes of the urban customers,
D o b r z y ń s k i shows a tendency to overburden his
126
compositions w i t h naturalistic ornamentation, show
ing, on the other hand, ambitious new designs,
a good sense oí r y t h m and much inventiveness i n
his non-serial compositions.
As t i m e marches on, abstract geometric ornamen
tation is ousted by f l o r a l compositions and symbo
lic figures as w e l l as insignia. The size of the w o r k
is being enlarged and the paper-cut becomes a te
chnical display of the virtuoso paper-cutter, who
very often shows neglect for the basic p r i n c i p l e of
popular art, according to w h i c h there must be con
sistency between the character of the m a t e r i a l and
the implemets used to perform the object.
Before proceeding w i t h the c u t t i n g proper, D o
b r z y ń s k i v e r y often draws his designs i n pencil.
Leaving behind h i m popular traditions, D o b r z y n
ski's works reflect ever more distinctly his o w n spe
cific style. A n d is i t good or bad? W i t h o u t going
into details, i t should be said that this is a general
trend characterising the transformations going on
i n the development of popular art. F i n d i n g no sup
port i n the artistic c r i t e r i a of the r u r a l population,
divorced from his t r a d i t i o n a l background, the popu
lar artist must reckon on himself, experiencing the
joy of success and the bitterness of failures. The
source of his creative power — the artists's i m a g i
nation, the richness of his creative inventiveness, the
v a r i e t y of themes — is at the same time the very
source of the greatest peril, impelling the artist to
overburden his w o r k s w i t h ornamentation, thus v i o
l a t i n g the e n t i t y of the composition. I n Dobrzynski's
case, he uses his paper-cuts as an i l l u s t r a t i o n of his
inventiveness, hence the narrative character of
his w o r k , p a r t i c u l a r l y that of the latest period, ex
pressed by means of silhouettes, almost naturalistic
in their outlines. I t may happen that an artist finds
proper decorative means to express his „ l i t e r a r y "
ideas, w i t h o u t violating the principles of ornamen
tal composition, more often, however, the ornamen
tation elements do not harmonize w i t h the v e r y con
cept of the composition and w i t h the v e r y character
of a paper-cut. There is nothing strange, therefore,
i n i t that those artists w h o respect the character
of the paper-cuts art achieve the best results from
the artistic point of view.
There is yet another question w h i c h should be
answered: can Dobrzynski's creative w o r k be clas
sified as folk art? I n the t r a d i t i o n a l sense — cer
tainly not, b u t t r a d i t i o n a l popular art cannot nowa
days be identified w i t h creative w o r k i n contempo
r a r y r u r a l areas. D o b r z y ń s k i is not estranged from
his native village and the general trend of de
velopment i n popular art. A n d exactly these ties
are l i n k i n g h i m w i t h the people and the modern cha
racter of our countryside.
M a r i a Przeżdziecka
— M A R C I N GĄSIOR, THE RE
L I G I O U S SCULPTOR
B o r n i n 1865 i n the village of Ł a p a j ó w k a , M a r c i n
G ą s i o r spent there 84 years of his life, except for
a short period d u r i n g the first w o r l d w a r w h e n he
was mobilised as a coachman to serve i n the a r m y .
The classic Jack-of-all-trades, G ą s i o r was the v i l
lage shoemaker and carpenter, the watchmaker and
the chimney-sweeper and he also fiddled i n the v i l
lage band. He showed a pronounced dislike for field
work.
He carved religious figures for home altars on or
ders from farmers i n his native village and neigh
bouring villages. Using a pen-knife and chisels of
his own make, G ą s i o r carved exclusively i n l i n
den-trees. He used to coat his sculptures w i t h o i l
varnishes and sometimes also gilded them. W h i l e he
carved crosses from memory, he drew i n s p i r a t i o n
from the illustrations i n his prayer book w h e n he
worked on groups of figures (Christ the Crucified,
St. A n t h o n y , St. Joseph), b u t he never simply copied
from illustrations, a l l his sculptures are carved i n
Gasior's o w n specific style.
Guided by one general canon, he produced his
works i n series, as i t were, i n t r o d u c i n g only slight
changes i n the i n d i v i d u a l figures and precisely this
uniform style w h i c h is characteristic of a l l his works,
makes a classification according to dates very d i f f i
cult, i f not altogether impossible.
A cohesive roundish shape of the basic lump, bow
like curved arms and the r h y t h m of the toes, brought
out i n sharp relief by the folds i n the straight cut
garments, are the characteristic traits i n a l l his
sculptures. No other sculptor i n this region had ever
showed any resemblance to Gasior's style.
I n the conclusive part of the article, the authoress
makes a detailed formal analysis of Gasior's w o r k s .
Barbara Bazielich
— STARY SĄCZ POTTERY
A r c h i v a l information on Stary Sącz pottery dates
back to 1581, when, as the records show, among the
35 local artisans, there also was one potter. A guild
affiliating 4 earthenware masters was founded some
where i n the middle of the 17th century. Their wares
were evidently not i n grand demand, as according to
public records, the potters were just eking out a m i
serable existence.
No data on the development of Stary Sącz pottery
in the 18th century is available as a l l records perta
ining to that century were destroyed d u r i n g the h o s t i
lities of the last w a r . F r o m w h a t has been preserved
it is k n o w n that the 19th century was the golden age
in the development of the Stary Sącz pottery, and this
leads to the conclusion that already the last decade
of the 18th century must have been a blooming pe
r i o d i n the development of pottery a r t i n the Stary
Sącz region. According the Guild's records for the
years 1834—1844, 16 potters were registered i n Stary
Sącz at that period, the figure is, however, i n c o m
plete as members of the Guild's B o a r d and commis
sions were not being registered.
The end of the 19th century w h i c h m a r k e d a c u l m i
nating point i n the development of Stary S ą c z potte
ry (17 earthenware masters) was followed by a gra
dual decline.
There are 3 potters at present i n Stary Sącz: Józef
Biliński, L u d w i k Wilusz and P a w e ł P ł a z i a k , the t w o
latter being new comers from the J a s ł o district.
The authoress of this article succeeded i n ascerta
ining the names and the numbers of potters who w o r k
ed i n Stary Sącz i n the previous centures, she did
not succeed, unfortunately, i n establishing a u t h o r i t a
tive information on the artistic value of their p r o
ducts. Much more information is available on the de
velopments i n the 19th century, w h e n Stary S ą c z pot
ters supplied w i t h their earthenwares the whole area
of the Stary Sącz district. Merchants from Cracow
and K r y n i c a used to t r a v e l r e g u l a r l y to Stary Sącz
to buy from M i c h a ł Starczewski (died i n 1910) his
painted pots, dishes and mugs ornamented w i t h f l o
wers or stripes. Starczewski also made toys for c h i l
dren (riders on horseback), t w i n s and various ware
for pastry baking. His vessels are remarkable for their
p a r t i c u l a r l y fine gloss w h i c h Starczewski could achie
ve by using litherage i m p o r t e d from Hungary, to
gether w i t h the clay he used for his ware. Some of
Starczewski's products have been preserved and are
on display i n the Stary Sącz museum.
Wincenty Kalisz, whose wares were k n o w n for their
exquisite shape and fine glossing, was considered the
most remarkable potter of the end the 19th and the
beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately, not one
of his products has been preserved.
Another celebrity among the Stary Sącz potters of
that period was Jozef Nowak. The traditions of his
workshop have been preserved by his p u p i l and
grandson Józef Biliński, w h o lives and w o r k s i n Sta
ry Sącz at present.
B i l i ń s k i began his apprenticement at the age of 12,
under the guidance of his grandfather. He then w o r
ked w i t h a number of potters when ultimalety i n 1927
he opened a workshop of his o w n . F o l l o w i n g a se
rious illness i n 1937, w h i c h undermined his health,
he saw himself compelled to take an apprentice, and
this was how L u d w i k Wilusz from the village of
Kołaczyce, near Jasło, began to w o r k w i t h B i l i ń s k i .
They w o r k e d together t i l l the outbreak of the w a r .
In addition to everyday-use wares, such as pots,
dishes, mugs and twins, Bilinski's workshop also
produced socalled fancy pottery, including figurines,
bowls, ash-trays and flower-pots. Though B i l i ń s k i
seemed to be p a r t i c u l a r l y proud of his heavily orna
mented flower-pots, w h i c h he adorned w i t h the f i 12-7
gures of animals and poeple, they do not represent
any greater artistic value. A l l Bilinski's wares are
remarkable for their extra-fine burnish and the v a
riety of the ornamental themes.
L u d w i k Wilusz, B i l i n s k i ' s former apprentice, began
to learn the pottery trade i n his native village of
K o ł a c z y c e . He has at present a workshop of his o w n
in Stary S ą c z . His wares are very accurately glossed
and are notable for their r i c h ornamentation.
I n 1946, Wilusz i n v i t e d P a w e ł P ł a z i a k , a younger
friend from his native village, to come and w o r k
w i t h h i m i n Stary Sącz. A t present, alike the other
potters, P ł a z i a k has a workshop of his own.
The Stary S ą c z potters have t ó b r i n g the clay out
which they make their wares, from P o d g ó r z e , not far
from the t o w n . The preparation process of the clay,
before i t is ready for production, takes not less than
a year's time. A disk, a knife and a small w i r e are
the usual implements used by a potter. The knife
is a small, t h i n , rectangular wooden plate w i t h
a roundish loophole i n the centre of i t . I t serves to
smooth the vessels and to remove the remainders of
the clay w h i l e the vessels are i n the process of m o u l
ding. The w i r e serves to unfasten the vessel from
the disk after the moulding process has been finished.
The Stary Sącz pottery of the 19th century was
produced i n a r i c h v a r i e t y of forms. I n addition to
pots and dishes, the potters made a l l kinds of f l a t bellied shepherds' mugs, s t a r - l i k e forms for pastry
baking, flower-pots, special roof „ b a l l o n s " and c h i l
dren's toys. Though also present-day pottery is varied,
articles of fancy-pottery, purchased m a i n l y by h o l i
day-makers, is the chief product of the Stary Sącz
workshops.
Painted earthenware is made of l i q u i d clay, coloured
by means of i r o n ore, yellow loam and the green
residue on such metals as copper. O r d i n a r y paint
w h i c h cannot resist high temperature is not being
used for colouring pottery.
I n a l l probability, non-ornamented, glazed earthen
ware was characteristic of t r a d i t i o n a l Stary Sącz pot
tery in the past. Painting apparently was brought
along by the potters w h o came from J a s ł o .
Present-day pottery is painted and the hand-paint
ing is more often than not done by the potter's wife.
The decoration themes on the pottery made i n a l l the
three Stary Sącz workshops are very similar in
design (See tables I , I I and I I I ) . Ornamented and
dried up vessels are being glazed and then b u r n t i n
ovens. B u r n i n g is the very last stage i n a potter's work.
The ovens, of w h i c h there are various types, are
either placed i n the workshop or i n a separate place.
The w o r k of Stary Sącz potters is seasonal. They
start early i n May and finish at the end of Septem
ber. W i n t e r time is used for relaxation and also for
the preparation process of the clay. I t is also d u r i n g
w i n t e r time that the potters sometimes make very
128
ingenious and r i c h l y ornamented specimens of pot
tery.
The market i n Stary Sącz is the chief place where
local potters sell their products.
Barbara Bazielich — T R A D I T I O N A L A N D M O D E R N
CREATIVE ART I N THE KATOWICE VOIVODSHIP
A n e x h i b i t i o n of popular art, both old and modern,
was organised by the Upper-Silesian Musem i n coo
peration w i t h the C u l t u r a l Departament of the K a
towice People's Council. The e x h i b i t i o n was on show
from December 1957 up to A p r i l l 1958.
The Katowice Voivodship embraces at present Cie
szyn and Upper Silesia, as w e l l as the D ą b r o w a and
C z ę s t o c h o w a basins, w h i c h means a number of ethno
graphic regions, a l l of w h i c h were repesented at the
exhibition, showing the c u l t u r a l links between Silesia
and the other regions of this c o u n t r y .
The opening of the e x h i b i t i o n was preceded by
a thorough research into the various regions, d u r i n g
w h i c h a number of creative folk art centres i n these
regions was discovered and i n f o r m a t i o n on popular
artists was- collected.
The e x h i b i t i o n was housed i n the B y t o m Museum
and was divided i n t o t w o sections: the t r a d i t i o n a l
p a r t of the e x h i b i t i o n i l l u s t r a t e d the various types of
creative art i n the past. O l d Silesian chests for
clothing, ingeniously carved and painted, arrested the
attention of the visitors. The modern section was
arranged according to regions, displaying the w o r k
of the modern popular artist and also his workshop.
Decorative weaves, regional costumes, embroidery and
lace were on display. A m o n g the interesting exhibits
were also painted uprons w h i c h are part of Silesian
wonemen's garments.
Objects of religious rite, such as Eastereggs from
the Gliwice and Ś w i ę t o c h ł o w i c e regions and masks
from the R y b n i k regions were also on show.
A separate section housed sculptures carved i n wood
by modern artists.
Ewa Fryś
RABKA
— EASTER P A L M S C O M P E T I T I O N I N
The religious custom of consecrating palms is s t i l l
very much alive i n Poland. The blessing ceremony
is performed on P a l m Sundays. The Rabka district is
renowned for its finest palms i n the country. Made
of blossoming w i l l o w branches and adorned w i t h
multi-coloured tissue-paper, the palms are sometimes
4 metres high.
The National Museum i n Cracow organised this year
a competition for the finest palms i n Rabka district.
The palms w h i c h w o n the competition were purchased
by the Museum and are now among the Museum's
collections.
CZASOPISMA P A Ń S T W O W E G O INSTYTUTU
W A R S Z A W A , U L . D Ł U G A 26.
SZTUKI
BIULETYN HISTORII SZTUKI,
k w a r t a l n i k ponad 100 str. dużego
formatu, około 100 ilustracji. Cena 21 zł prenumerata p ó ł r o c z n a 48 zł
roczna — 96 zł.
P O L S K A S Z T U K A L U D O W A , k w a r t a l n i k , 64 str. dużego formatu, bo
gaty m a t e r i a ł ilustracyjny. Cena 18 zł prenumerata p ó ł r o c z n a 38 zł
roczna — 72 zł.
PRZEGLĄD ARTYSTYCZNY, kwartalnik
poświęcony
nowoczesnej
twórczości plastycznej, 64 str. dużego formatu, bogata szata ilustracyjna
w technice rotograwiurowej. Cena 18 zł prenumerata p ó ł r o c z n a 33 zł
roczna — 72 zł.
P A M I Ę T N I K T E A T R A L N Y , k w a r t a l n i k , ponad 160 str. druku, około
100 ilustracji. Cena 18 zł prenumerata półroczna 36 zł roczna — 72 zł.
K W A R T A L N I K F I L M O W Y , ponad 90 str. druku, k i l k a n a ś c i e ilustracji.
Cena 10 zł prenumerata p ó ł r o c z n a 20 zł roczna — 40 zł.
M U Z Y K A , k w a r t a l n i k , około 130 str. druku, liczne p r z y k ł a d y nutowe.
Cena 18 zł prenumerata p ó ł r o c z n a 36 zł roczna — 72 zł.
PRENUMERATA
Czasopisma PIS jako m a ł o n a k ł a d o w e są rozpowszechniane g ł ó w n i e
w drodze prenumeraty.
Z a m ó w i e n i a i p r z e d p ł a t y na p r e n u m e r a t ę przyjmowane są w terminie
do dnia 15-go m i e s i ą c a p o p r z e d z a j ą c e g o okres prenumeraty — przez:
U r z ę d y Pocztowe, listonoszy oraz O d d z i a ł y i Delegatury „ R u c h u " .
Można r ó w n i e ż z a m ó w i ć p r e n u m e r a t ę d o k o n u j ą c w p ł a t y na konto P K O
nr 1-6-100020, Centrala K o l p o r t a ż u Prasy i W y d a w n i c t w „ R u c h " w W a r
szawie, u l . Srebrna 12.
Cena prenumeraty za g r a n i c ę jest o 40% droższa od ceny podanej w y
żej. P r z e d p ł a t y na tę p r e n u m e r a t ę przyjmuje na okresy półroczne i r o
czne P r z e d s i ę b i o r s t w o K o l p o r t a ż u W y d a w n i c t w Zagranicznych „ R u c h "
w Warszawie, Wilcza 46, za p o ś r e d n i c t w e m P K O Warszawa konto
N r 1-6-100024.
SPRZEDAŻ
A k t u a l n e numery czasopism P a ń s t w o w e g o I n s t y t u t u Sztuki są do na
bycia:
w w i ę k s z y c h kioskach „ R u c h u " ,
w w i ę k s z y c h k s i ę g a r n i a c h miast w o j e w ó d z k i c h .
Egzemplarze zdezaktualizowane m o ż n a n a b y ć w sklepie przy u l . W i e j
skiej 14 w Warszawie. Z a m ó w i e n i a spoza Warszawy należy k i e r o w a ć
do Centrali K o l p o r t a ż u Prasy i W y d a w n i c t w
„ R u c h " , Warszawa
u l . Srebrna 12.
k r a k o w s k i e Z a k ł a d y Graficzne, K r a k ó w . S k ł a d : Z a k ł a d Nr. 6. u l . E. Orzeszko
wej 7. Zam. 258, d r u k : Z a k ł a d Nr. 8, ul. Kościuszki 3. Zam. 337. Klisze:
d r u k a r n i a Akcydensowa, Warszawa, Tamka 3. Pap. ilustr. K I . I I I , 100 gr. B I +
karton biały kl I I I , 200 gr. Al. Nakład 2000 egz. S-41.