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Sketch for the Raclawice Panorama

Wojciech Kossak, Jan Styka

Basic information

ID: Г-V-60
Author: Wojciech Kossak Jan Styka
Name: Sketch for the Raclawice Panorama
Technique: drawing
Material: paper on canvas charcoal
Dimensions: 152 x 303 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: battle painting
Plot: Battle

Information about author

Author: Wojciech Kossak
Author in the original: Wojciech Kossak
Artist's lifetime: 1856–1942
Biography: Wojciech Kossak (31 December 1856, Paris – 29 July 1942, Kraków) – prominent Polish battle painter and graphic artist. Son of famous painter Juliusz Kossak, from whom he received his first drawing lessons. He studied at Kraków Academy of Fine Arts under Władysław Łuszczkiewicz (1871–1873). Later, he continued his studies in Munich, where the work of Józef Brandt exerted a significant influence on the young artist. After military service in 1876–1877, Kossak went to Paris, where he refined his mastery at the National School of Fine Arts (École des Beaux-Arts).
In 1884, the artist settled in Kraków. During 1893–1894, he stayed in Lviv, where he worked on the large-scale "Racławice Panorama" alongside Jan Styka and other artists. Kossak was responsible for creating most of the dynamic battle scenes. Possessing a profound knowledge of military history and being an outstanding master of equine depiction, he detailed the cavalry clashes with meticulous precision. The artist reproduced the uniforms, equipment and weapons of both armies with documentary accuracy.
After the panorama was exhibited in Lviv, the artist left for Berlin, where, together with other masters, he created the panorama "Napoleon's Crossing of the Berezina", which gained considerable popularity. With the outbreak of the First World War, he served in the Austrian army. Despite his military duties, in 1915 he was appointed professor of battle painting at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts, where he taught until 1919. After the war, he returned to Kraków, and during the interwar period, he visited the USA several times. With the beginning of the Second World War, Kossak remained in German-occupied Kraków. There, he took office as president of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts, hoping to negotiate with the occupying authorities for the protection of Polish cultural heritage.
Wojciech Kossak left a significant mark on the history of Polish art as one of the leading representatives of historical and battle painting. The core feature of his artistic stance, shaped under the influence of his father's art, was patriotism, which manifested itself in series of easel paintings and monumental canvases.
The artist's works are held in the National Museum and the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw, as well as in the National Museum in Kraków. The artist's most famous work, "Racławice Panorama", created jointly with Jan Styka, is on display in Wrocław. Kossak's works are also represented in museums in Katowice, Poznań and Przemyśl. In Ukraine, the artist's works are preserved in Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery and the Kropyvnytskyi Regional Art Museum. Kossak was a commercially successful and prolific artist, which is why hundreds of his works are kept in private collections across European countries.

Information about author

Author: Jan Styka
Author in the original: Jan Styka
Artist's lifetime: 1858–1925
Country: Austro-Hungarian Empire, Poland, Italy, France
Biography: Jan Styka (8 April 1858, Lviv, Austrian Empire – 28 April 1925, Rome, Italy) – painter, poet and illustrator.
He received his primary education at Imperial-Royal Four-Class Real Gymnasium in Brody, where he first began to draw. In 1871, his family settled in Lviv. At Lviv Gymnasium near Bernardine Monastery, drawing was initially taught by Professor Godlewski, and after his death – by Karol Młodnicki, artist and friend of Artur Grottger. The young artist also visited workshops of sculptors Julian Markowski and Tadeusz Barącz, who saw him as a future sculptor.
In 1877, Jan Styka went to Vienna, where he continued his artistic education at Vienna Academy of Fine Arts under Christian Griepenkerl and Leopold Müller. Later, he travelled to Italy, where he familiarised himself with collections of classical painting. In Rome, he befriended prominent artist Henryk Siemiradzki. There, he also became fascinated by poetry of Torquato Tasso, which inspired him to create a number of canvases. After returning to Lviv, he went for an internship under Jan Matejko at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków. For some time, he worked in Paris, maintaining close ties with Polish cultural diaspora.
In 1889–1890, his own villa-house was built in Lviv by Ivan Levynskyi's company according to the design of the architect Julian Zachariewicz. In 1900, the artist moved to France. His Lviv villa was purchased in 1907 by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky (now home to Oleksa Novakivskyi Art and Memorial Museum). In 1910, Jan Styka settled in Italy, on the island of Capri.
The artist worked in various genres – he created monumental canvases on historical and battle themes, portraits, biblical scenes, as well as large-scale panoramas ("Racławice Panorama", 1894; "Golgotha", 1896, etc.).

Object description

The artists Wojciech Kossak and Jan Styka executed this sketch between January and April 1893. Following this, the creators transitioned directly to working on the "Raclawice Panorama". The opening of the panorama took place on 5 June 1894 in the rotunda of Stryiskyi Park during the General Provincial Exhibition. At that time, both artists signed the sketch as a gift to the Literary and Artistic Circle (Koło Artystyczno-Literackie) in Lviv, whose members had actively participated in the creation of the work by providing advice and observations. From 1894 to 1939, the sketch was preserved in the building of this society at 13 Akademichna Street (currently – T. Shevchenko Avenue).
The Battle of Racławice took place in April 1794 between the Polish insurgent army led by Tadeusz Kościuszko and russian regular troops. It was one of the first battles of this uprising that ended in a victory for the Poles. A significant role in this triumph was played by detachments of scythemen (kosynieri) – peasants led by Bartosz Głowacki who used scythes modified into pikes as weapons.
This sketch offers a detailed study of the figures from one of the panorama's most critical episodes – the assault on a russian artillery battery by Polish peasant scythemen. On the right, scythemen are depicted in traditional peasant sukmanas (woollen coats) with scythes converted into pikes, moving swiftly towards the enemy. In the bottom right corner, a scytheman with a pitchfork is shown; in the final panorama, this character is positioned directly next to the cannons captured from the Russian forces.
On the left, a russian officer on horseback is depicted firing back, while a peasant charges at him with a raised scythe ready to strike. Below, another officer with a musket is shown fleeing, covering his face with his hand. In the upper right section, the figure of a horseman wearing a rogatywka (konfederatka) – the traditional headgear of the Polish insurgents – is outlined, with an enemy soldier fallen beneath his horse's hooves. The principal characters presented in this sketch were fully transferred into the final panoramic composition.

Inscriptions

In the bottom centre, the inscription: "Z okazyi skończonego dzieła/ Kołu artystyczno-literackiemu na pamiątkę". Below left, the signature: "Wojciech Kossak", right: "Jan Styka dnia 29/5 1894".

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Sketch for the Raclawice Panorama

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