- Eligiusz Niewiadomski
Eligiusz Niewiadomski (
Warsaw ,December 1 ,1869 –January 31 ,1923 ,Warsaw ) was a Polishmodernist painter andart critic who belonged to theright-wing National Democratic Party till 1904 [Wapiński 1980, 221.] and later continued supporting it. In 1922 he assassinated Poland's first President,Gabriel Narutowicz .Life
Niewiadomski was born into a family of distant gentry descent. His father, Wincenty Niewiadomski, of the "Prus" coat-of-arms, was a
veteran of theJanuary Uprising and a worker at the Warsaw mint. At the age of two, Eligiusz lost his mother Julia, and was raised by his elder sister Cecylia. After graduating from a local trade school in 1888, Niewiadomski moved toSt. Petersburg , where he continued his studies at theImperial Academy of Arts . He graduated in 1894 with honors, and won a scholarship to the "École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts" inParis . After his return to Warsaw, he became a student ofWojciech Gerson , one of the best-known Polish artists of the age.After 1897, he taught drawing at the
Warsaw Polytechnic . He also collaborated with a number ofWarsaw -based magazines and newspapers as a journalist andart critic , which gave him considerable notoriety, mostly among the artists themselves. He became involved in various artistic movements, among them the "re-discovery" of theTatra Mountains , which at the time attracted some of the most renowned Polish painters, poets and writers as a source of inspiration. Niewiadomski prepared and published a map of the Tatras, one of the first tourist maps of the area. He also prepared a set of historical maps of Poland, "Album of the History of Poland" (1899). He also became involved in the reorganization of theZachęta art society. Using contacts acquired there, he promoted the idea of creating a separate Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. However, when the school was finally opened in 1903, Niewiadomski was not invited to teach there.Politically, Niewiadomski was a strong supporter of
nationalism , particularly the National League. In 1901 he was arrested by the Tsarist police forsmuggling nationalistpropaganda booklets from Galicia into theVistulan Country . Although released after several months in thePawiak prison , he lost his job at theWarsaw Polytechnic and fell into an impoverished state. This further radicalized his political beliefs. During theRusso-Japanese War he promoted the idea of perpetrating anti-Russiansabotage , for which he was excluded from the National League.To make a living, Niewiadomski began teaching art classes at numerous schools and churches in Poland. He also made frescoes in
Konin 's St. Bartholomew's Church. However, his two-volume monograph "On Mediaeval Art" sold poorly, and Niewiadomski was on the verge of being forgotten by his contemporaries.After the outbreak of
World War I he remained in Warsaw, where he publishedbrochure s andmanifesto s describing his views on the role of art. He also continued teaching art history and artistic technique at various schools. OnMarch 1 ,1918 , he was appointed director of painting and sculpture at theRegency Council 's Ministry of Culture, a post that had previously been turned down by numerous artists.After Poland regained independence, Niewiadomski joined the newly-reborn country's Ministry of Culture. In 1920, during the
Polish-Soviet War , he tried to join thePolish Army but was turned down as too old. However, he was accepted byPolish intelligence and served as a translator of Russian documents. During the last months of the war, he finally managed to convince his superiors to transfer him tofront-line service and fought in the 5th LegionsInfantry Regiment .Demobilized in 1921, Niewiadomski returned to the Ministry of Culture and continued his work there as a clerk. However, on
November 8 ,1921 , afterAntoni Ponikowski 's government refused to grant Niewiadomski's department a higher budget, he resigned his post. He then devoted himself to writing and prepared several monographs on 19th- and 20th-century Polish painting, and on the theory of art. He made his living illustrating books.Assassin
On
December 9 1922 ,Gabriel Narutowicz was elected by the National Assembly as the first President of Poland. After a heated debate, Narutowicz's candidacy managed to gather 289 votes, including 113 votes of various national minority MPs. The defeated candidate of the National Democratic PartyMaurycy Zamoyski gathered 227 votes, yet the National Democrats decided to boycott the President and announced that he was elected by the "Reds, Jews and Germans" rather than Poles. This started a period of civil unrest in Warsaw, where the supporters of nationalist ideas protested against the election of "their president".On
December 16 1922 the newly-elected President attended an opening of an art exhibition at theZachęta Art Gallery. Niewiadomski, a frequent guest at such festivities, approached Narutowicz and shot him. Arrested onDecember 30 he was sentenced to death byfiring squad , which was carried out in theCitadel of Warsaw onJanuary 31 1923 . He was 53 years old. His body was interred at thePowązki Cemetery in Warsaw.After his execution, Niewiadomski remained a largely controversial figure. His funeral was attended by 10,000 people Fact|date=December 2007 and he was depicted by some right-wing journalists as a national hero and a martyr. [Wapiński 1980, 221-222.]
ee also
*List of Poles
Notes
References
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