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Ruins of Kamieniec Castle in Odrzykon

Henryk Grabinski

Basic information

ID: Ж-5063
Author: Henryk Grabinski
Name: Ruins of Kamieniec Castle in Odrzykon
Date of creation: 1873
Country: Austro-Hungarian Empire
Technique: oil painting
Material: canvas on cardboard oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 42.8 x 52.8

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: landscape
Plot: Landscape
Provenance: Purchased from a private individual

Information about author

Author: Henryk Grabinski
Artist's lifetime: 1843–1903
Country: Austrian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire
Biography: Henryk Grabinski (1843, Lviv, Austrian Empire – January 22, 1903, Lviv, Austro-Hungarian Empire) was a Polish landscape painter and professor at the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts; he authored the textbook "School of Landscape Drawing" ("Szkoła rysunku krajobrazów", Lviv, 1884) and the album "Views of Galicia and the Southern Governorates of the Kingdom of Poland" ("Widoki Galicji i gubernii południowych Królestwa Polskiego"). In his youth, he worked in jewellery. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts under landscape painter Albert Zimmermann (1861–1866). In 1868–1869, he continued his education in Munich, and later went to Paris. After completing his studies, Grabinski often stayed in Krakow and Lviv, travelling extensively throughout Galicia, the Tatra Mountains, and the Pieniny; he also visited Italy, Tyrol, and Bavaria. From 1873 to 1877, he taught at the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts. Grabinski's students included Jacek Malczewski, Maurycy Gottlieb, and Roman Kochanowski. From 1879, the artist lived and worked in Lviv. Starting in 1882, he suffered from an incurable illness that left him unable to walk, yet he continued to paint until the end of his life. Henryk Grabinski was the author of numerous atmospheric landscapes, distinguished by their realism, rich colour palette, and interest in light effects. He primarily used oil painting techniques in his works, but he also created watercolours and drawings in pen and ink.

Object description

The painting depicts a semi-ruined castle rising above the landscape against a grey sky. Green trees and bushes are growing in the foreground at the foot of the hill. The composition is rendered in rich ochre-grey, brown, and green tones. Henryk Grabinski's painting depicts the ruins of the 14th-century Gothic Kamieniec Castle. The fortress is situated on the border of Korczyna and Odrzykon in the Krosno County, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland. The Gothic structure was built on a rock at an elevation of 452 metres above sea level. At that time, it was a typical border defensive castle. In the eastern part of the monument, a small museum is organised by castle enthusiast and collector Andrzej Kolde. Among the exhibits are military items from the castle's armoury, memorabilia of the former owners, and a 14th-century coat of arms above the gate. The landscape from 1873 serves more as a study for the larger painting of the same name (48 x 77 cm, National Museum in Krakow), created by H. Grabinski in 1880.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Ruins of Kamieniec Castle in Odrzykon

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