Collection

Alcazar de San Juan

Jan Ciaglinski

Basic information

ID: Ж-2987
Author: Jan Ciaglinski
Name: Alcazar de San Juan
Date of creation: 1908
Country: Spain
Technique: oil painting
Material: canvas on cardboard oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 26.6 x 34

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: landscape
Provenance: Collection of Leon Pininski

Information about author

Author: Jan Ciaglinski
Artist's lifetime: 1858–1913
Biography: Jan Ciaglinski was a Polish painter who lived and worked in Russia. His works are considered the first examples of Russian Impressionism. The artist was born on February 8, 1858, in Warsaw. After graduating from the Third Men's Gymnasium in Warsaw in 1876, he entered the University of Warsaw at the Faculty of Medicine. He was also taking drawing lessons with Wojciech Gerson. Between 1877 and 1878, Jan Ciaglinski attended the Art Class in Warsaw. In the second year of study, he transferred to the Natural Sciences Department. In January 1879, the artist went to St. Petersburg, where he was a non-degree student from February; after passing the exam in life drawing in summer of the same year, under the guidance of Pavel Chystiakov, he began regular studies at the Higher Art School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. In 1881, he began his teaching career, initially lecturing at the Art School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts in St. Petersburg, and from 1902, as a professor at the Higher Art School at the Academy of Fine Arts. The artist founded a private school. The impressionist Jan Ciaglinski taught "Three Zosia'', the young Polish aristocrats, namely Zofia Nalepinska, Zofia Segno, and Zofia Baudouin de Courtenay who all three fell in love with Mykhailo Boichuk; later they became Boichukists. In the autumn of 1906, Jan Ciaglinski was named an Academician for his creative and pedagogical work; in 1911, he became a full member of the Academy of Arts. Until 1893, the artist showed his art works in St. Petersburg at the annual academic exhibitions, however, when in 1894 he and other artists were rejected, they organized their own exhibition "Refuses". In the same year, he went for a short period to Paris where he studied with Benjamin Constant. From 1899, he took part in the exhibitions of the Independents, and from 1900 – in the exhibitions of the society "World of Art '' organized with his participation. In addition to the above-mentioned exhibitions, Ciaglinski repeatedly had exhibitions in Warsaw, Lviv (1894), Krakow (1900), Berlin (1891), and several times in Paris. The artist died of a serious illness on January 6, 1913, in St. Petersburg. According to the will of the deceased, all his creative heritage had to be divided between Polish museums in Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, Lviv, and Vilnius. However, the Heritage Distribution Commission decided to transfer the works to other museums as well, including the Lviv National Art Gallery. The entire collection of works by Jan Ciaglinski, which is housed at Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery, includes 137 works.

Object description

The work was brought by Jan Ciaglinski from his trip to Spain in 1908. As was common in the early twentieth century, the artist sought inspiration in traveling to exotic countries. Since Jan Ciaglinski lived mainly in St. Petersburg, a city characterized by a monochromatic landscape and little light, it becomes obvious why the artist travelled to sunny climes. Ciaglinski explored many areas. He traveled across Italy and the Caucasus, visited Constantinople, Spain, Morocco, Palestine, Egypt, and Greece. But one of his most important travels was a trip to Spain in 1908. Alcazar de San Juan is a municipality in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain. Castile-La Mancha is famous for Miguel de Cervantes and Don Quixote. Many of the stories described in the novel “Don Quixote” took place in that territory. Boundless fields and windmills are perceived today as symbols of real Spain. The endless wars in Castilla-La Mancha led to the construction of many fortresses and castles. Ancient architecture and picturesque vineyards combined with windmills of Don Quixote are the hallmark of this region. Castilla-La Mancha is also known for its spectacular holidays that combined Christian traditions and elements of folklore. Bright carnivals are held in several cities. The most popular of the holidays, which is also known as Carnavalcazar, takes place in Alcazar de San Juan.

Alcazar de San Juan

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