- Jan Styka
Jan Styka (
April 8 ,1858 -April 11 ,1925 ) was an ethnic Polish-born painter noted for producing large historical andChristian religion panoramas.Styka, son of an officer in
Austria-Hungary , attended school in his native Lemberg (L'viv Lwów) then studied at the Academy of Fine Arts inVienna ,Austria following which he took up residence inItaly for a short time before moving toFrance where the great art movements atMontmartre andMontparnasse were taking shape and where he would spend a large part of his life.Among Styka's important works is the large scene of
Saint Peter preaching theGospel in theCatacombs (seen here) painted inParis in 1902. His renowned panoramas include "Bem in Siedmiogrod" (1897), "The Martydrom of Christians in Nero's Circus" (1897), and at theWrocław Branch of the National Museum of Poland is the monumental collaboration "The Battle of Racławice" painted in 1894.In 1910, Jan Styka painted a portrait of esteemed pianist and Polish statesman,
Ignacy Jan Paderewski , which is now at the National Museum of Poland inPoznań . Previously, near the end of the 19th century, Paderewski had commissioned Styka to paint what would become his most famous work internationally. Originally entitled "Golgotha" (the Aramaic name for the site of Christ's crucifixion), the painting became known simply as "The Crucifixion"." This piece is an enormous panorama standing 60 m long by 14 m in height, or convert|195|ft|m long by convert|45|ft|m in height."The Crucifixion" has a fascinating history. Upon its commission in 1894, Styka travelled to
Jerusalem to prepare sketches, and toRome , where his palette was blessed byPope Leo XIII .The painting was unveiled in
Warsaw to great success on June 22nd, 1897. It was shown in many of the great cities of Europe, before making its way to America, to join the1904 St. Louis Exposition .The painting was seized when Styka's American partners failed to pay the customs taxes, and was considered lost for nearly forty years. In 1944, the painting was found, rolled around a telephone pole and badly damaged, having languished in the basement of the
Chicago Civic Opera Company for decades.Acquired by American businessman,
Hubert Eaton , the painting was restored by Jan Styka's son, artistAdam Styka . It is on display in the Hall of the Crucifixion at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery inGlendale, California .In 2005-2006, the painting underwent a massive restoration as part of Forest Lawn's centennial celebration. It currently is shown, on the hour, from 10 am to 4pm. It features a new, state of the art guided light show and narrated presentation written by noted biblical scholar, Timothy Kirk.
Jan Styka died in 1925 and was buried in
Rome . However, in 1959 Hubert Eaton arranged with Styka's family for his remains to be brought to the United States for interment in the "Hall of The Immortals" at Forest Lawn cemetery.Sons Tadeusz "Tade" Styka (1889-1954) and
Adam Styka (1890-1959) were both painters.External links
*Details of the "Panorama of the Battle of Racławice" at [http://www.wroclaw.pl/m6864/ the Wroclaw Municipality website]
*Details of "The Crucifixion" at [http://www.forestlawn.com/Special-Events-And-Facilities/Hall-Of-The-Crucifixion-Resurrection.asp the Forest Lawn website]
*Maria Styka [http://www.stykafamilyart.com/index.htmlwebsite family art ]
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