Henryk Gotlib
Encyclopedia
Henryk Gotlib was a Polish-born painter
, draughtsman
, printmaker, and writer
, who settled in England and made a significant contribution to modern British art. He was profoundly influenced by Rembrandt, and the European Expressionist painters.
, where he gained his earliest artistic training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow from 1908 to 1910. Due to pressure from his parents, he also read law at the university in Krakow during this period, although it was clear from an early age that he had a profound passion for art. His earliest portraits of his mother, in which he experimented with a variety of styles including that of Vuillard and late Cubism
, date back to when he was just 16 years old.
He continued his artistic training at the Kunstgewerbeschule
in Vienna
(1911-13) and later at the Munich
Academy of Fine Art under Angelo Jank (1913-14). It was during this period that he was exposed to European Expressionist masters, falling under the influence of expressionists like Max Beckmann
and Egon Schiele
.
During his lifetime, Gotlib exhibited extensively throughout Europe with much success. His first one-man show - in Warsaw in 1918 - was organised by the Society of Polish Artists whom he joined at the end of World War I. The following year, Gotlib returned to Krakow and became a leading member of the Polish avant-garde ‘Formist’ movement, exhibiting in Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris. In 1922, the Van Gogh Gallery in Amsterdam held a one-man exhibition of his work.
He lived in France, mainly in Paris, during the years 1923 through 1929, when he participated in exhibitions at the Salon d'Automne
and the Salon des Indépendants. In 1930, he joined the Group of Ten after returning to Poland, where he remained until 1933. He went travelling once more from 1933, spending long periods in Italy, Greece and Spain, and met his wife in 1938 during a visit to London. With the outbreak of World War II shortly after this, Gotlib settled in England, where he remained until his death. During his first year in England, Gotlib was invited to join the London Group
, which had no foreign members at that time. This was a great honour, indeed an indication of his prolific talent as a painter.
Gotlib was also a talented writer. During his years in Paris he was art correspondent to the Warsaw Times, and his book Polish Painting was published in 1942. It tells us of his contemporary Polish artists and Polish artists through the ages. Polish Painting also provides some information of the ‘Formist’ movement, and includes a detail of his painting Warsaw, September 1959 that he was moved to paint after the German army attacked Warsaw. In the same year that this book was published, Gotlib participated in several important exhibitions in Britain, including ‘Exhibition of Works of Polish and Czechoslovak Artists', at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. He exhibited extensively in Britain from 1940 onwards and examples of his work can be found in many public collections (see heading 'public collections' below).
in the 1950s, and his final years were shadowed by depression, which is reflected in the sombre canvases from this period:
In 1964, he was included in the exhibition 'Fifty years of British Art' at the Tate Gallery
. Indeed, his contribution to British art is well-known. In The Burlington Magazine
in 1942, Tancred Borenius
wrote: “A highly personal sense of colour in a lovely, luminous totality gives the keynote to his art”; Michel Strauss commented on the “strength and sensitivity” of his work in the same Journal in 1961.
Gotlib died in Godstone
, Surrey
, England, at the age of 76. After his death he was acknowledged with an important Arts Council retrospective exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
, Edinburgh
, in July and August 1970, curated by Douglas Hall. This major exhibition toured to the Southampton Art Gallery, September 1970; and the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, October–November 1970. Another major retrospective of his work took place in 1980 at the National Museum, Warsaw, Poland.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, draughtsman
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, printmaker, and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, who settled in England and made a significant contribution to modern British art. He was profoundly influenced by Rembrandt, and the European Expressionist painters.
“There was never any doubt of Gotlib’s stature in the mainstream of 20th Century European painting” (C. M. Kauffmann, Director, Courtauld Institute of ArtCourtauld Institute of ArtThe Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...
).
Biography
Gotlib was born into a middle-class family in KrakowKraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, where he gained his earliest artistic training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow from 1908 to 1910. Due to pressure from his parents, he also read law at the university in Krakow during this period, although it was clear from an early age that he had a profound passion for art. His earliest portraits of his mother, in which he experimented with a variety of styles including that of Vuillard and late Cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
, date back to when he was just 16 years old.
He continued his artistic training at the Kunstgewerbeschule
Kunstgewerbeschule
A Kunstgewerbeschule was the old name for an advanced school of applied arts in German-speaking countries. The first such schools were opened in Kassel in 1867 and Berlin and Munich in 1868 with other German towns following. They are now merged into universities....
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(1911-13) and later at the Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
Academy of Fine Art under Angelo Jank (1913-14). It was during this period that he was exposed to European Expressionist masters, falling under the influence of expressionists like Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement...
and Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter. A protégé of Gustav Klimt, Schiele was a major figurative painter of the early 20th century. His work is noted for its intensity, and the many self-portraits the artist produced...
.
During his lifetime, Gotlib exhibited extensively throughout Europe with much success. His first one-man show - in Warsaw in 1918 - was organised by the Society of Polish Artists whom he joined at the end of World War I. The following year, Gotlib returned to Krakow and became a leading member of the Polish avant-garde ‘Formist’ movement, exhibiting in Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris. In 1922, the Van Gogh Gallery in Amsterdam held a one-man exhibition of his work.
He lived in France, mainly in Paris, during the years 1923 through 1929, when he participated in exhibitions at the Salon d'Automne
Salon d'Automne
In 1903, the first Salon d'Automne was organized by Georges Rouault, André Derain, Henri Matisse, Angele Delasalle and Albert Marquet as a reaction to the conservative policies of the official Paris Salon...
and the Salon des Indépendants. In 1930, he joined the Group of Ten after returning to Poland, where he remained until 1933. He went travelling once more from 1933, spending long periods in Italy, Greece and Spain, and met his wife in 1938 during a visit to London. With the outbreak of World War II shortly after this, Gotlib settled in England, where he remained until his death. During his first year in England, Gotlib was invited to join the London Group
London Group
The London Group is an artists' exhibiting society based in London, England, founded in 1913, when the Camden Town Group came together with the English Vorticists and other independent artists to challenge the domination of the Royal Academy, which had become unadventurous and conservative....
, which had no foreign members at that time. This was a great honour, indeed an indication of his prolific talent as a painter.
Gotlib was also a talented writer. During his years in Paris he was art correspondent to the Warsaw Times, and his book Polish Painting was published in 1942. It tells us of his contemporary Polish artists and Polish artists through the ages. Polish Painting also provides some information of the ‘Formist’ movement, and includes a detail of his painting Warsaw, September 1959 that he was moved to paint after the German army attacked Warsaw. In the same year that this book was published, Gotlib participated in several important exhibitions in Britain, including ‘Exhibition of Works of Polish and Czechoslovak Artists', at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. He exhibited extensively in Britain from 1940 onwards and examples of his work can be found in many public collections (see heading 'public collections' below).
Formism
Gotlib was a leading member of the Formist movement; an avant-garde art movement in Poland which originated around 1917-18 and lasted until around 1923-24. The movement was started by a group of energetic young artists, writers and poets who essentially pursued a passion for anti-naturalism. According to Gotlib, Formism "proclaimed an absolute break with the past and the rebirth of art [in Poland]." Polish art at the time was traditionally concerned with history painting and anecdote, emphasising the importance of narrative in art. With the deformation of nature, subordination of forms, abolishment of a single viewpoint and crude colouring, "the formist storm" attacked academicism and established a front against naturalism and the imitation of nature.Later years
As a figurative artist, he was largely neglected after the rise in popularity of abstract expressionismAbstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
in the 1950s, and his final years were shadowed by depression, which is reflected in the sombre canvases from this period:
"Typically one thinks of oil paintings of nudes, dark in tone, grainy, with impasto, in texture, broad and bold in treatment…in the tradition of German expressionism”.
In 1964, he was included in the exhibition 'Fifty years of British Art' at the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
. Indeed, his contribution to British art is well-known. In The Burlington Magazine
The Burlington Magazine
The Burlington Magazine is a monthly academic journal that covers the fine and decorative arts. It is the longest running art journal in the English language and it is a charitable organisation since 1986. It was established in 1903 by a group of art historians and connoisseurs which included Roger...
in 1942, Tancred Borenius
Tancred Borenius
Carl Tancred Borenius was a Finnish art historian working in England, who became the first professor of the history of art at University College London...
wrote: “A highly personal sense of colour in a lovely, luminous totality gives the keynote to his art”; Michel Strauss commented on the “strength and sensitivity” of his work in the same Journal in 1961.
Gotlib died in Godstone
Godstone
Godstone is a village in the county of Surrey, England. It is located approximately six miles east of Reigate at the junction of the A22 and A25 major roads, and near the M25 motorway.-History:...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England, at the age of 76. After his death he was acknowledged with an important Arts Council retrospective exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, holds the national collection of modern art. When opened in 1960, the collection was held in Inverleith House, at the Royal Botanic Gardens...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, in July and August 1970, curated by Douglas Hall. This major exhibition toured to the Southampton Art Gallery, September 1970; and the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, October–November 1970. Another major retrospective of his work took place in 1980 at the National Museum, Warsaw, Poland.
Public collections
- His “powerful” painting Rembrandt in Heaven is in the collection of the Tate GalleryTate GalleryThe Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
, London. “Altogether I do not learn more from anybody, except Rembrandt”, wrote Gotlib in a letter to John Nowell, January 1964. - A painted plaster self-portrait entitled Henryk Gotlib is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, and is on display in Room 31.
- Also in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery are 64 pencil drawings of international writers, scientists, diplomats and politicians, sketched by the artist at the international conference of scientists held in 1941 by the British Association.
- The Arts CouncilArts Council of Great BritainThe Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
acquired the painting The Boat in 1961. - Standing Nude is in the collection of the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
- The Courtauld GalleryCourtauld Institute of ArtThe Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...
owns a small collection of paintings by Gotlib.
The Ruth Borchard Collection
A 1955/6 self-portrait by Gotlib is in the Ruth Borchard Collection - an important collection of 100 British self-portraits. They were collected by Ruth Borchard - who famously would not pay more than 21 guineas for any one picture, irrespective of the artist's fame - during the 1950s and 1960s. Alongside Gotlib, the collection includes some of the most prominent figures of twentieth-century British art. Face to Face: British Self-Portraits in the Twentieth Century by Philip Vann, published in 2004, is a detailed examination of this remarkable collection.Writings by Gotlib
- Polish Painting, London: Minerva, 1942.
- Travels of a Painter, commissioned by a Warsaw publisher but interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. Written in 1938/39.
External links
- Tate Collection, description of Gotlib's Rembrandt in Heaven
- Gotlib in the National Portrait Gallery, London
- Gotlib in the University of Warwick Art Collection
- A selection of paintings by Henryk Gotlib can be found at the Boundary Gallery, London]