Jacques Hnizdovsky

Jacques Hnizdovsky ( _uk. Яків Гніздовський, _pl. Jakob Gniazdowski, _hr. Jakiv Hnizdovskyj), (1915-1985) was born in Ukraine in the Borshchivskyi Raion of Ternopil Oblast to direct descendants of a noble family bearing the Korab coat of arms. Hnizdovsky was a painter, printmaker, sculptor, ex libris designer, and book illustrator. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and Zagreb, and produced hundreds of paintings, as well as over 300 prints (woodcuts, etchings and linocuts) after his move to the United States in 1949. He was inspired by woodblock printing in Japan as well as the woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer. These influences on his early works can be seen on the [http://www.hnizdovsky.com/Reflections.html Reflections] and [http://www.hnizdovsky.com/Woodcuts.html Woodcuts] pages of his web site. Most of his woodcuts, (apart from exhibition posters, which he also printed himself directly from the woodblock) were printed on washi, which in English is erroneously translated into rice paper, when in fact it is hand made from paper mulberry, also known as broussonetia papyrifera. Please see the following [http://hiromipaper.com/hpi_about_washi.htm link] for more information on the production of this beautiful handmade paper, which is likened to raw silk because of the raw mulberry fibers frequently embedded in the paper. This handmade quality and texture is a beauty to behold.

Hnizdovsky's woodcuts frequently depict plants and animals, and the primary reason for this, in the beginning, after his arrival in the United States, was the lack of funds to pay for a human model. But what first was only a substitute for the human form, later became his first love and primary subject matter. He was well known in all the botanical gardens in New York, where he would find his subjects willing to pose for no cost. At the Bronx Zoo, he also found many willing models that were willing to pose, as he would write, "for peanuts". [http://www.newyorkcityzoos.com/bronx.html Andy, the orangutan] that opened the Ape House of the Bronx Zoo when he was just a baby, was one of Hnizdovsky's favorite models. When he passed away, the Bronx Zoo immediately purchased the woodcut in remembrance of Andy. Another favorite model for one of Hnizdovsky's best known prints, was also from the Bronx Zoo. The Sheep print went on to be the print Hnizdovsky was best known for, and it illustrated the poster for his very successful exhibition at the Lumley Cazalet Gallery in London. This poster can be seen in the kitchen scene of the film The Hours.

Hnizdovsky has exhibited widely and his works are in the permanent collections of many museums word-wide. [http://www.mfa.org/index.asp The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston] has a large collection of his prints.

Jacques Hnizdovsky passed away in 1985 and is buried at the Lychakivskiy Cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. His archives are housed at the [http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/slv/slav.balt.html Slavic and Baltic Division] of the New York Public Library in New York City.

Please note that examples of the artist's work are not shown here, but may be seen on [http://www.hnizdovsky.com/ the artist's website] , since they are fully protected by United States Copyright Law and and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

Books Illustrating the Work of Jacques Hnizdovsky

* Tahir, Abe M. Jr (1987). "Jacques Hnizdovsky Woodcuts and Etchings". Pelican Publishing Co. ISBN 0882894870.Shows all prints created during the artist's lifetime, a catalogue raisonné, profusely illustrated with images.
* Tahir, Abe M. Jr (1975). "Hnizdovsky Woodcuts 1944-1975, a catalogue raissonné". Pelican Publishing Co.. ISBN 0882891499, ISBN 0882890727, ISBN 0882891502.Shows prints created between 1944-1975, a catalogue raisonné, profusely illustrated with images.
* Hnizdovsky, Jacques (1986). "Jacques Hnizdovsky Ex Libris". S. Hnizdovsky. ASIN B0007BYZ94Shows 54 Ex Libris designs that the artist created for friends, family, museums and libraries.

A Partial List of Books Illustrated by Jacques Hnizdovsky

*The Poems of John Keats, 1964
*The Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1967
*Tree Trails of Central Park, 1971
*Flora Exotica, 1972
*The Poems of Thomas Hardy, 1979
*The Traveler’s Tree, 1980
*The Poetry of Robert Frost, 1981
*Signum Et Verbum, 1981
*A Green Place, 1982
*Birds and Beasts, 1990
*Behind the King’s Kitchen, 1992
*The Girl in Glass, 2002
*The Adventurous Gardener, 2005

For a full list of Ukrainian books illustrated by Jacques Hnizdovsky, please contact the [http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/slv/slav.balt.html Slavic and Baltic Division of the New York Public Library] , which houses the entire collection.

Further Reading

* Leshko, Jaroslaw (1995). "Jacques Hnizdovsky Яків Гніздовський". Published by The Ukrainian Museum on the occasion of the exhibition Jacques Hnizdovsky 1915-1985: Retrospective Exhibition, organized by The Ukrainian Museum, New York.Profusely illustrated bilingual exhibition catalogue containing 23 pages of biographical text, showing examples of paintings, woodcuts, linocuts, etchings and ceramics by the artist.

External links

* [http://www.hnizdovsky.com/ Jacques Hnizdovsky - Official Site]
* [http://www.mfa.org/search/search.asp?search=hnizdovsky&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 MFA Collections Database of Hnizdovsky Prints]
* [http://www.artnet.com/artist/8330/Jacques-Hnizdovsky.html Artnet]
* [http://www.askart.com/askart/h/jacques_hnizdovsky/jacques_hnizdovsky.aspx AskArt]