Tadeusz Pruszkowski and his group

The interwar period was a unique time in Polish culture and art. While various avant-garde movements were developing in Polish art, a prominent painter, Tadeusz Pruszkowski, began his teaching activity in the Warsaw School of Fine Arts. Over the course of two decades, a whole group of creative individuals gathered around him and took over more than just the artistic scene in Warsaw.

The Interwar Classicism of the Warsaw School

In interwar Poland, two strong classical circles emerged. One was the circle of the Vilnius school, and the other was the circle of the Warsaw school. In Vilnius, Ludomir Ślendziński played the leading role, strongly influencing his colleagues and students. In Warsaw, a similar position was taken by Tadeusz Pruszkowski, who instilled in his students a love for the art of the old masters and tradition. He taught them about technical mastery, the values of art, and precision in drawing. Over the course of several years, at the initiative of the professor known as "Prusz" or banteringly as "Fatty," four innovative groups were established by his graduates. The oldest and ideologically most important was the Brotherhood of St. Luke. Its members, including artists such as Bolesław Cybis, Jan Gotard, Eliasz Kanarek, Jan Zamoyski, and Janusz Podoski, engaged in a profound dialogue with the masters of Italian Quattrocento and 17th-century Dutch art. The co-creators of later groups-the Warsaw School, the Free Painters' Lodge, and the Fourth Group-only preserved these traditions, although their art often leaned towards modern colorism. Pruszkowski's pupils were popularly called "Pruszkowiaki." Their love for broadly understood tradition was evoked by interwar European art. Art Deco style, German New Objectivity, and the "return to order" movement all allowed for the establishment of a thriving artistic community in Warsaw that could confidently compete with the achievements of foreign fellow creators. After years of partitions, artistic activity in the reborn country flourished everywhere. Art gained a new role and was somewhat involved in the state's propaganda activities. In Poland, the myth of the "state-building artist" was born, one who was involved in building the power and glory of the nation. In this context, we should undoubtedly look at the most important works of Pruszkowiaki, especially those commissioned by the state, church, and private entities.

Kazimierz Dolny on the Vistula river as an artistic colony

There are many unique towns in Poland, but in the 1920s, only one place stood out among them, where all the students from the Warsaw School of Fine Arts suddenly began to gather. Of course, the formation of this peculiar artistic colony in Kazimierz had its roots much earlier, already in the 18th century. For example, Zygmunt Vogel, Wojciech Gerson, Leon Wyczółkowski, and Władysław Ślewiński traveled to the Vistula River, painting extremely picturesque floodplains. They all "portrayed" the town in their own way. As Waldemar Odorowski wrote:

"Each era has its own type of imagery, and Kazimierz's example is very distinctive. The same motifs of Kazimierz's views were repeated for years, but always differently - from carefully crafted, faithfully depicted realities of the town's works to paintings that convey the mood that arose from the painter's contact with Kazimierz."

- Waldemar Odorowski, Malarze Kazimierza nad Wisłą, Warsaw 1991, p. 6 

Various factors influenced the interest in Kazimierz. The most important of them was undoubtedly its unique topography. The town located in the Lesser Poland's Vistula Gorge offered extremely attractive landscape views, appreciated not only by tourists and vacationers but also by artists. Added to this were cultural aspects: a rich history and its witnesses in the form of monumental buildings, some of the most magnificent representatives of the Polish Renaissance and Mannerism. The space of Kazimierz Dolny was like a microcosm where two distinct religious communities, Christian and Jewish, coexisted. This environment drawn young apprentices. The center generated its own kind of magic, enchanting all who visited it. It's no wonder that Maria Kuncewiczowa wrote that "two moons" shine in the night sky over Kazimierz's market square, suggesting its mysterious and enigmatic duality.

Starting in 1923, Tadeusz Pruszkowski began organizing summer painting outdoor sessions in the town, linking Warsaw with Kazimierz. This initially small group of students grew rapidly from year to year. The sessions became legendary, and the activities of Pruszkowski's students created many fascinating myths. With the arrival of summer, the space of Kazimierz became a metaphorical stage for the mood-setting Theatrum Mundi, ruled by visiting artists. Years later, Jan Zamoyski remembered this time as follows:

"We were simply enchanted by the town. In vain would you search for another place that provides such a variety of impressions as the small area of Kazimierz. Almost within reach, we had a richly carved area with hills furrowed by deep ravines, a wide river with jagged banks and sandbanks creating a magnificent beach; (...) an enchanting architecture of the town perfectly incorporated into the terrain, with noble silhouettes of churches and unique, artistically valuable tenement houses (…)".

- Jan Zamoyski, Łukaszowcy, Warsaw 1989, p. 9 

Presence of young painters provided residents with lots of entertainment. Often a whole group, amused like during ancient bacchanals, would walk through the narrow streets. The paintings by the Pruszkowiacy group excellently depicted the surrounding reality, including the one in Kazimierz. Grotesqueness and an incredible sense of humor, typical of the genre-moralistic painting of the old masters, often accompanied them. Apparently, a short film titled "The Happy Hangman, or California in Poland" was even recorded there, but unfortunately, the rolls burned in the Warsaw Uprising.

Pruszkowiacy as a Market Phenomenon

Works by Pruszkowski's students appear on the auction market relatively rarely, thus always arousing great interest. Many of them left the country, and many did not survive World War II. The auction assembling works by representatives of this circle is a good opportunity to look at the rich and unfortunately still unexplored activity of "Prusz's" students. The high value of this painting has influenced its market phenomenon, which has been ongoing for many years. A good example here can be the record sale by DESA Unicum of Jan Zamoyski's "Guitarist" – a work presented at the first exhibition of the St. Luke's Brotherhood in the Warsaw Zachęta in 1928. The painting was auctioned for PLN 800,000 (EUR 174,867), attesting to the great interest in the art of this circle. Among over twenty objects are works by artists such as Pruszkowski himself, as well as by Bolesław Cybis, Teresa Roszkowska, Jadwiga Przeradzka, Jeremi Kubicki, Antoni Michalak, Eliasz Kanarek, Czesław Wdowiszewski, and Włodzimierz Bartoszewicz. The whole is complemented by pieces by other creators operating in the orbit of the outstanding professor.