TATRA MOUNTAINS PAINTED BY JAN STANISLAWSKI

JAN STANISLAWSKI (1860-1907) 

Mount Osobita  (1,687m- 5,535ft)

Slovakia - Poland border 

 In Pejzaz Tatra landscape, 1903,  oil on canvas, Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie 

The mountain

Osobitá  (1,687m- 5,535ft)  as its name tells ("the lonely one") is a lonely top in the northern part of the Western Slovak Tatra Mountains, about 17 km from Zakopane (Poland). It is not very high, but very distinct and far from the main Tatra ridge. Osobitá constitutes a distinct geomorphological unit which represents just by itself 12% of the surface of the Slovak Western Tatras. This moutain was mentioned as early as 1615 when Polish highlanders described the Polish Tatras (wider during this time) as extending "From Osobita to Hawran".

There are the three distinct but close tops with heights of 1,617, 1,521 and 1,587 m (the last two are separated by the pass "sedlo pod Osobitou". There many caves in this karst zone, not all yet been investigated. In 1997, the most famous are Bezdenna and Okolik. Here also, as in many other places in the Tatra Mountains, was a mining activity for iron. Now, from these times remain only few tunnels reaching dozens of meters deep. 

In the past, the mountain was an important pastoral center, with five wide meadows. In the seventeenth century it could host up to 1500 head of sheep and cows. Later it decreased. 

Osobitá separates 3 valleys: Zuberska Dolina, Blatna Dolina and Oravicka Sucha Dolina. No other summit of the Orava region is as clearly visible, and very early the mountain attracted a lot of visitors. The first recorded visit was made by Titus Chałubiński in 1870, the first recorded winter one by Mariusz Zaruski with companions in 1906. 

At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was even a mountain hut at Mala Osobitá (1,583 m). Since 1989, the top is no longer available for tourists, since this one is included in the nature reserve (458 hectares).  There are two ways to reach Osobitá, from Slovakia and from Poland. Both are very easy and without difficulty, but the first one is as short as the second is very long.

Nowadays, it is impossible the reach the real top of Osobitá, which is located in the Natura 2000 zone, in order to protect fragile fauna such as eagles. Hence, strictly forbidden as mentionned previously. Including with a guide, or holding an UIAA licence !

The painter 

Jan Stanisławski was a Polish modernist painter, art educator, founder and member of various innovative art groups and literary societies. He began to learn painting at the art studio in Warsaw which later gave rise to the School of Fine Arts, under Wojciech Gerson.  In 1885, he continued his studies in Paris under Charles Emile Auguste Durand. While based in Paris, he travelled much, visiting Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and eastern Galicia.
His early works were exhibited at the inauguration of the Salon du Champ-de-Mars in Paris in 1890 and at the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in 1892. In the 1890s, he travelled extensively and his sketchbooks filled up with drawings from Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Kraków, and various places in Ukraine.  In 1897, he initiated and helped organise the Separate Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture at Kraków’s Cloth Hall. That year, he became a teacher of landscape painting at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków, and in 1906 – after the school was upgraded to an academy in 1900 – was granted full professorship and also taught at Teodor Axentowicz’s Private School of Painting and Drawing for Women and at Teofila Certowicz’s Art School for Women in Kraków.
He co-founded the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka" ("Art") in Kraków in 1897.  In 1898, he became a member of the Viennese Secession, and his works were exhibited among theirs in 1901, 1902 and 1905. In 1901, he became a founding member of the Polish Applied Arts Society. He worked in the Wawel Castle Reconstruction Committee and was involved in the activities of the Green Balloon (Zielony Balonik) Cabaret. After his death, two exhibitions were opened at the Palace of Art by the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in November 1907, one to show 154 of his oil paintings, as well as drawings and watercolours, and the other to present the works of his numerous outstanding students.
_______________________________
2019 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

GERLACHOVSKY STIT (2) BY JAN STANISLAWSKI

  JAN STANISLAWSKI (1860-1907)

 Gerlachovský štít (2,654 m - 8,709 ft)

Poland - Slovakia border

In  Tatras,  medium oil on cardboard, 1900

The mountain 

Gerlachovský štít (2,654 m - 8,709 ft), Gerlach Peak in english, is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the whole 1,500 km (930 mi) long Carpathian mountain chain. The pyramidal shape of the massif is marked by a huge cirque. Despite its relatively low elevation, the about 2,000 m vertical rise from the valley floor makes Gerlachovský štít  soar. Mistaken for an average mountain in the rugged High Tatras range in the more distant past, it has since played a symbolic role in the eyes of the rulers and populations of several Central European nations, to the point that between the 19th and mid-20th century, it had four different names with six name reversals. It managed to be the highest mountain of the Kingdom of Hungary, and of the countries of Czechoslovakia and Slovakia within the span of only about two decades of the 20th century.

Gerlachovský štít  shares its geology and ecology with the rest of the High Tatras, but provides a worthwhile environment for biologists as the highest ground anywhere in Europe north of the parallel linking approximately Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna. With the travel restrictions imposed by the Eastern Bloc, the mountain was particularly treasured as the loftiest point available to climb to by Czechs, East Germans, Hungarians, Poles, and Slovaks. It continues to attract its share of visitors although the local authorities have been continually adding new restrictions on access.

The painter 
Jan Stanisławski was a Polish modernist painter, art educator, founder and member of various innovative art groups and literary societies. He began to learn painting at the art studio in Warsaw which later gave rise to the School of Fine Arts, under Wojciech Gerson.  In 1885, he continued his studies in Paris under Charles Emile Auguste Durand. While based in Paris, he travelled much, visiting Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and eastern Galicia.
His early works were exhibited at the inauguration of the Salon du Champ-de-Mars in Paris in 1890 and at the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in 1892. In the 1890s, he travelled extensively and his sketchbooks filled up with drawings from Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Kraków, and various places in Ukraine.  In 1897, he initiated and helped organise the Separate Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture at Kraków’s Cloth Hall. That year, he became a teacher of landscape painting at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków, and in 1906 – after the school was upgraded to an academy in 1900 – was granted full professorship and also taught at Teodor Axentowicz’s Private School of Painting and Drawing for Women and at Teofila Certowicz’s Art School for Women in Kraków.
He co-founded the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka" ("Art") in Kraków in 1897.  In 1898, he became a member of the Viennese Secession, and his works were exhibited among theirs in 1901, 1902 and 1905. In 1901, he became a founding member of the Polish Applied Arts Society. He worked in the Wawel Castle Reconstruction Committee and was involved in the activities of the Green Balloon (Zielony Balonik) Cabaret. After his death, two exhibitions were opened at the Palace of Art by the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in November 1907, one to show 154 of his oil paintings, as well as drawings and watercolours, and the other to present the works of his numerous outstanding students.

_______________________________
2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

GIEWONT PAINTED BY JAN STANISLAWSKI

JAN STANISLAWSKI (1860-1907)

Giewont (1,895 m- 6, 217 ft)

Poland

In  Evening under Koziniec, oil on canvas, 1906  

The mountains 

Giewont is a mountain massif in the Tatra Mountains of Poland. It  is 1,895 m - at its highest.

The massif has three peaks (all m/metres in AMSL):

- Great Giewont - Wielki Giewont (1,895 m- 6, 217 ft)

- Long Giewont - Długi Giewont (1,867 m- 6, 125 ft)

- Small Giewont -  Polish Mały Giewont (1,728 m - 5,669 ft)

There is a mountain pass located between Great and Long Giewont, known as Szczerba (1,823 m-  5, 980 ft).  Long Giewont and Great Giewont are situated at a higher altitude than the nearby town of Zakopane, making them clearly visible from that city.

On Great Giewont, there is a 15 m steel cross (erected in 1901) - the site of religious pilgrimages. The area is notorious for its hazardous nature during thunderstorms, so this should be taken into consideration when approaching the summit.

The first recorded ascent to Giewont's summit was undertaken in 1830 by Franciszek Herbich and Aleksander Zawadzki (a19th century explorer). The first winter ascent of Giewont occurred in 1904 by a group of five mountaineers led by Mariusz Zaruski. Nowadays the climbing on Giewont is strictly banned. On the other hand, hiking on the hiking trails is allowed and the access (except the winter) is not difficult hence Giewont is a very popular destination among amblers and Sunday tourists. In the summer up to few thousands tourists a day ascend the top.

Giewont lies in the area of the Polish Tatra National Park (Tatrzański Park Narodowy). In Polish folklore it is associated with a legend about oversleeping knights, who will awake when Poland is in danger. 

The painter 

Jan Stanisławski was a Polish modernist painter, art educator, founder and member of various innovative art groups and literary societies. He began to learn painting at the art studio in Warsaw which later gave rise to the School of Fine Arts, under Wojciech Gerson.  In 1885, he continued his studies in Paris under Charles Emile Auguste Durand. While based in Paris, he travelled much, visiting Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and eastern Galicia.
His early works were exhibited at the inauguration of the Salon du Champ-de-Mars in Paris in 1890 and at the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in 1892. In the 1890s, he travelled extensively and his sketchbooks filled up with drawings from Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Kraków, and various places in Ukraine.  In 1897, he initiated and helped organise the Separate Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture at Kraków’s Cloth Hall. That year, he became a teacher of landscape painting at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków, and in 1906 – after the school was upgraded to an academy in 1900 – was granted full professorship and also taught at Teodor Axentowicz’s Private School of Painting and Drawing for Women and at Teofila Certowicz’s Art School for Women in Kraków.
He co-founded the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka" ("Art") in Kraków in 1897.  In 1898, he became a member of the Viennese Secession, and his works were exhibited among theirs in 1901, 1902 and 1905. In 1901, he became a founding member of the Polish Applied Arts Society. He worked in the Wawel Castle Reconstruction Committee and was involved in the activities of the Green Balloon (Zielony Balonik) Cabaret. After his death, two exhibitions were opened at the Palace of Art by the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in November 1907, one to show 154 of his oil paintings, as well as drawings and watercolours, and the other to present the works of his numerous outstanding students.
_______________________________
2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

RYSY PAINTED BY JAN STANILAWSKi

JAN STANISLAWSKI (1860-1907) 

 Rysy (2, 503 m - 8,212 ft)

Poland-Slovakia

 In  Zakopane, oil on canvas,  1906

The mountain 
Rysy (2,503 m -8,212 ft),  named Meeraugspitze in German and  Tengerszem-csúcs in Hungarian is a mountain in the crest of the High Tatras, lying on the border between Poland and Slovakia. Rysy has three summits: the middle at 2,503 m (8,212 ft); the north-western at 2,499 m (8,199 ft); and the south-eastern at 2,473 m (8,114 ft). The north-western summit is the highest point of Poland ; the other two summits are on the Slovak side of the border, in the Prešov Region.
Experts assume that the Polish and Slovak name Rysy, meaning "scratches" or "crevices", refers to a series of gullies, either those on the western slopes of Żabie Ridge or the very prominent 500 m (1,600 ft) high gully and numerous smaller ones on the northern side. A folk explanation on the Slovak side says that the name comes from the plural word rysy meaning "lynxes", although the habitat of the lynx does not extend above the timberline.
The Hungarian name Tengerszem-csúcs and the German name Meeraugspitze mean "eye-of-the-sea peak", from the glacial lake at the northern foot of the mountain, called "eye of the sea" (Morskie Oko in Polish).
The first known ascent was made in 1840, by Ede Blásy and his guide Ján Ruman-Driečny, Sr. The first winter ascent was completed in 1884, by Theodor Wundt and Jakob Horvay. In the 20th century, the communist authorities claimed Vladimir Lenin climbed the mountain sometime in the early 1910s. Rysy is the highest point in Poland.

The painter 
Jan Stanisławski was a Polish modernist painter, art educator, founder and member of various innovative art groups and literary societies. He began to learn painting at the art studio in Warsaw which later gave rise to the School of Fine Arts, under Wojciech Gerson.  In 1885, he continued his studies in Paris under Charles Emile Auguste Durand. While based in Paris, he travelled much, visiting Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and eastern Galicia.
His early works were exhibited at the inauguration of the Salon du Champ-de-Mars in Paris in 1890 and at the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in 1892. In the 1890s, he travelled extensively and his sketchbooks filled up with drawings from Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Kraków, and various places in Ukraine.  In 1897, he initiated and helped organise the Separate Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture at Kraków’s Cloth Hall. That year, he became a teacher of landscape painting at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków, and in 1906 – after the school was upgraded to an academy in 1900 – was granted full professorship and also taught at Teodor Axentowicz’s Private School of Painting and Drawing for Women and at Teofila Certowicz’s Art School for Women in Kraków.
He co-founded the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka" ("Art") in Kraków in 1897.  In 1898, he became a member of the Viennese Secession, and his works were exhibited among theirs in 1901, 1902 and 1905. In 1901, he became a founding member of the Polish Applied Arts Society. He worked in the Wawel Castle Reconstruction Committee and was involved in the activities of the Green Balloon (Zielony Balonik) Cabaret. After his death, two exhibitions were opened at the Palace of Art by the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in November 1907, one to show 154 of his oil paintings, as well as drawings and watercolours, and the other to present the works of his numerous outstanding students

_______________________________
2017 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

GERLACHOVSKY STIT BY JAN STANISLAWSKI

JAN STANISLAWSKI (1860-1907), 

Gerlachovský štít (2,654 m - 8,709 ft)

Slovakia- Poland

 In High Tatras in winter, oil on canvas,  1891

The mountain 
 Gerlachovský štít (2,654 m - 8,709 ft), Gerlach Peak in english, is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the whole 1,500 km (930 mi) long Carpathian mountain chain. The pyramidal shape of the massif is marked by a huge cirque. Despite its relatively low elevation, the about 2,000 m vertical rise from the valley floor makes Gerlachovský štít  soar. Mistaken for an average mountain in the rugged High Tatras range in the more distant past, it has since played a symbolic role in the eyes of the rulers and populations of several Central European nations, to the point that between the 19th and mid-20th century, it had four different names with six name reversals. It managed to be the highest mountain of the Kingdom of Hungary, and of the countries of Czechoslovakia and Slovakia within the span of only about two decades of the 20th century.
Gerlachovský štít  shares its geology and ecology with the rest of the High Tatras, but provides a worthwhile environment for biologists as the highest ground anywhere in Europe north of the parallel linking approximately Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna. With the travel restrictions imposed by the Eastern Bloc, the mountain was particularly treasured as the loftiest point available to climb to by Czechs, East Germans, Hungarians, Poles, and Slovaks. It continues to attract its share of visitors although the local authorities have been continually adding new restrictions on access.
Climbing
The High Tatras is truly an alpine rock climber’s paradise since there are no nasty glaciers about and the snow is mostly gone by June, though it may linger in some of the shaded valleys until late August. There are literally hundreds of alpine rock and face climbs here and most of them have never been done by westerners even 10 years after the fall of the wall. Most importantly the rock quality is on a par with Yosemite and the routes are well established and protected. Only members of a national UIAA club are allowed to climb the peak on their own. Other visitors have to take a certified mountain guide. The two easiest routes, usually up the Velická próba and down the Batizovská próba named after their respective valleys, are protected by chains.Technically only a grade II to III climb when not snow covered it benefits greatly from a very well maintained mountain trail that leads to the summit along a standard route.

The painter 
Jan Stanisławski was a Polish modernist painter, art educator, founder and member of various innovative art groups and literary societies. He began to learn painting at the art studio in Warsaw which later gave rise to the School of Fine Arts, under Wojciech Gerson.  In 1885, he continued his studies in Paris under Charles Emile Auguste Durand. While based in Paris, he travelled much, visiting Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and eastern Galicia.
His early works were exhibited at the inauguration of the Salon du Champ-de-Mars in Paris in 1890 and at the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in 1892. In the 1890s, he travelled extensively and his sketchbooks filled up with drawings from Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Kraków, and various places in Ukraine.  In 1897, he initiated and helped organise the Separate Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture at Kraków’s Cloth Hall. That year, he became a teacher of landscape painting at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków, and in 1906 – after the school was upgraded to an academy in 1900 – was granted full professorship and also taught at Teodor Axentowicz’s Private School of Painting and Drawing for Women and at Teofila Certowicz’s Art School for Women in Kraków.
He co-founded the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka" ("Art") in Kraków in 1897.  In 1898, he became a member of the Viennese Secession, and his works were exhibited among theirs in 1901, 1902 and 1905. In 1901, he became a founding member of the Polish Applied Arts Society. He worked in the Wawel Castle Reconstruction Committee and was involved in the activities of the Green Balloon (Zielony Balonik) Cabaret. After his death, two exhibitions were opened at the Palace of Art by the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in November 1907, one to show 154 of his oil paintings, as well as drawings and watercolours, and the other to present the works of his numerous outstanding students.
_______________________________
2017 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau

OSOBITA PAINTED BY JAN STANISLAWSKI

JAN STANISLAWSKI (1860-1907) 

Mount Osobita  (1,687m- 5,535ft)

Slovakia - Poland border 

 In Osobita - Tatras Mountains, 1901, oil on canvas, Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie 

The mountain

Osobitá  (1,687m- 5,535ft)  as its name tells ("the lonely one") is a lonely top in the northern part of the Western Slovak Tatra Mountains, about 17 km from Zakopane (Poland). It is not very high, but very distinct and far from the main Tatra ridge. Osobitá constitutes a distinct geomorphological unit which represents just by itself 12% of the surface of the Slovak Western Tatras. This moutain was mentioned as early as 1615 when Polish highlanders described the Polish Tatras (wider during this time) as extending "From Osobita to Hawran".

There are the three distinct but close tops with heights of 1,617, 1,521 and 1,587 m (the last two are separated by the pass "sedlo pod Osobitou". There many caves in this karst zone, not all yet been investigated. In 1997, the most famous are Bezdenna and Okolik. Here also, as in many other places in the Tatra Mountains, was a mining activity for iron. Now, from these times remain only few tunnels reaching dozens of meters deep. 

In the past, the mountain was an important pastoral center, with five wide meadows. In the seventeenth century it could host up to 1500 head of sheep and cows. Later it decreased. 

Osobitá separates 3 valleys: Zuberska Dolina, Blatna Dolina and Oravicka Sucha Dolina. No other summit of the Orava region is as clearly visible, and very early the mountain attracted a lot of visitors. The first recorded visit was made by Titus Chałubiński in 1870, the first recorded winter one by Mariusz Zaruski with companions in 1906. 

At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was even a mountain hut at Mala Osobitá (1,583 m). Since 1989, the top is no longer available for tourists, since this one is included in the nature reserve (458 hectares).  There are two ways to reach Osobitá, from Slovakia and from Poland. Both are very easy and without difficulty, but the first one is as short as the second is very long.

Nowadays, it is impossible the reach the real top of Osobitá, which is located in the Natura 2000 zone, in order to protect fragile fauna such as eagles. Hence, strictly forbidden as mentionned previously. Including with a guide, or holding an UIAA licence !

The painter 

Jan Stanisławski was a Polish modernist painter, art educator, founder and member of various innovative art groups and literary societies. He began to learn painting at the art studio in Warsaw which later gave rise to the School of Fine Arts, under Wojciech Gerson.  In 1885, he continued his studies in Paris under Charles Emile Auguste Durand. While based in Paris, he travelled much, visiting Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and eastern Galicia.
His early works were exhibited at the inauguration of the Salon du Champ-de-Mars in Paris in 1890 and at the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in 1892. In the 1890s, he travelled extensively and his sketchbooks filled up with drawings from Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Kraków, and various places in Ukraine.  In 1897, he initiated and helped organise the Separate Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture at Kraków’s Cloth Hall. That year, he became a teacher of landscape painting at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków, and in 1906 – after the school was upgraded to an academy in 1900 – was granted full professorship and also taught at Teodor Axentowicz’s Private School of Painting and Drawing for Women and at Teofila Certowicz’s Art School for Women in Kraków.
He co-founded the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka" ("Art") in Kraków in 1897.  In 1898, he became a member of the Viennese Secession, and his works were exhibited among theirs in 1901, 1902 and 1905. In 1901, he became a founding member of the Polish Applied Arts Society. He worked in the Wawel Castle Reconstruction Committee and was involved in the activities of the Green Balloon (Zielony Balonik) Cabaret. After his death, two exhibitions were opened at the Palace of Art by the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts in November 1907, one to show 154 of his oil paintings, as well as drawings and watercolours, and the other to present the works of his numerous outstanding students.
_______________________________
2017 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau