Zofia Romer
Encyclopedia
Zofia Romer née Zofia Dembowska. Well regarded Polish painter. She was born in 1885 in Estonia
to well-known physician Tadeusz Dembowski and his wife Matylda. She grew up in Lithuania
and Poland
studying under various painters. As a young woman she was romantically linked with Bronislaw Malinowski
and Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz
.
and subsequently under Roth and Holoszy in Krakow, Poland and Munich, Germany. In 1903 and 1904, she continued her studies in Paris with the well known portrait painter Jacques Emile Blanche
and the historical painter Luc-Olivier Merson
. She completed her formal artistic education back in Krakow with Józef Siedlecki at the Baraniecki Museum.
As a result of her displacement from her home during World War II
, in the second half of her life she lived and created in such diverse places as the Russian Federation, Tehran, Cairo, London, the United States, and Montreal, Canada, where she died in 1972.
Her work hangs in the collections of many museums in Eastern Europe including the State Museums of Kaunas, Siauliai, Telsiai, Kelme, and Vilnius, and the National Museum in Warsaw, as well as numerous private collections all over the world.
In 1992 a catalogue of her known work was published in connection with a multiple museum exhibition of her work.
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
to well-known physician Tadeusz Dembowski and his wife Matylda. She grew up in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
studying under various painters. As a young woman she was romantically linked with Bronislaw Malinowski
Bronislaw Malinowski
Bronisław Kasper Malinowski was a Polish-born- British-naturalized anthropologist, one of the most important 20th-century anthropologists.From 1910, Malinowski studied exchange and economics at the London School of Economics under Seligman and Westermarck, analysing patterns of exchange in...
and Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz
Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, a.k.a. "Witkacy" was a Polish playwright, novelist, painter, photographer and philosopher.-Life:...
.
Education
In Lithuania, she studied painting first under Trutniev in VilniusVilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
and subsequently under Roth and Holoszy in Krakow, Poland and Munich, Germany. In 1903 and 1904, she continued her studies in Paris with the well known portrait painter Jacques Emile Blanche
Jacques Émile Blanche
Jacques-Émile Blanche was a French painter born in Paris. His father was a successful psychiatrist who ran a fashionable clinic, and Blanche was brought up in the rich Parisian neighborhood of Passy in a house that had belonged to the Princesse de Lamballe.Although he received some instruction in...
and the historical painter Luc-Olivier Merson
Luc-Olivier Merson
Luc-Olivier Merson was a French academic painter and illustrator also known for his postage stamp and currency designs....
. She completed her formal artistic education back in Krakow with Józef Siedlecki at the Baraniecki Museum.
Marriage and career
In 1911 she married Eugeniusz Romer, a wealthy and influential Polish landowner in Lithuania. Mrs. Romer played a significant role in the artistic heritage of Lithuania. During a prolific artistic career spanning almost 70 years and encompassing a variety of media, she produced about 5000 works, of which at least 1200 are catalogued. From 1943 onward she earned her living as a portrait painter.As a result of her displacement from her home during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in the second half of her life she lived and created in such diverse places as the Russian Federation, Tehran, Cairo, London, the United States, and Montreal, Canada, where she died in 1972.
Her work hangs in the collections of many museums in Eastern Europe including the State Museums of Kaunas, Siauliai, Telsiai, Kelme, and Vilnius, and the National Museum in Warsaw, as well as numerous private collections all over the world.
In 1992 a catalogue of her known work was published in connection with a multiple museum exhibition of her work.
Further reading
- Anna & Andrzej Rosnerowie, Pasmo czynności ciągiem lat idące, Warsaw, 1992 (In Polish)
- Jolanta Sirkaite, Dailininke Sophija Romeriene, Kulturos Filosofijos ir Meno Institutas, Vilnius, 2005 (In Lithuanian)
- Prugar-Myślik / Janoniene / Sirkaite / Daugelis, Catalogue of Picture Exhibition of Zofia Dembowska Romer's Works, M. K. Čiurlionis National Art MuseumM. K. Ciurlionis National Art MuseumThe M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum is a group of museums based in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is primarily dedicated to exhibiting and publicizing the works of the painter and musician M.K. Čiurlionis ....
National Museum, Warsaw, 1992 (In English, Polish, Lithuanian)