Jerzy Rupniewski

Jerzy Mieczysław Rupniewski
Jerzy Rupniewski painting Krakow 1938
Born	21 September 1888 Warsaw, Kingdom of Poland
Died	June 10, 1950(1950-06-10) (aged 61) Świecie, Poland
Nationality	Polish
Occupation	Painter

Jerzy Mieczysław Rupniewski (1888–1950) was a Polish painter and graphic artist.

Biography

Early life and youth

Jerzy was the son of Władysław Rupniewski and Maria née Janke.

He studied at the vocational institution of the The Trade School of the Merchants' Assembly of the City of Warsaw (Template:Lang-pl), located in Prosta street (now inexistent).

Afterwards, Rupniewski moved to Lausanne, Switzerland to study at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (Template:Lang-en). He graduated from the establishment in 1908.

In 1912, he studied painting for a short period at the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw (Szkoła Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie), before turning to sculpture in the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich till the end of 1913.

His first exhibition occured in 1914 at the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw where he displayed pencil drawings as well as oil and watercolor paintings. In 1917, he organized his first solo exhibition.

Activity in Bydgoszcz

In early 1920, he transfered to Zalesie, a small village located 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Bydgoszcz and in November 1920, he moved to Bydgoszcz.

There he painted views of the town, especially the so-called Bydgoszcz Venice ''Wenecja Bydgoska'', an architectural ensemble of houses in downtown built over one of the rivulets. He depicted this area many times with various details. Furthermore, he depicted as well local fishermen, workers, craftsmen and salesmen. He was a member of the Julian Fałat Artists' Brotherhood in Toruń.

Rupniewski traveled extensively in search of new themes, visiting places like Venice, Sarajevo, Dubrovnik, Paris, Lausanne, Nuremberg and Essen.

In Bydgoszcz, he exhibited at the Municipal Museum and at the Bydgoszcz Salon on Old Market Square, which was razed during WWII.

From November 1929 to 1931, Jerzy was the vice-president and then president of the Pomeranian Artists' Association.

Second World War and following years

During the conflict, Rupniewski had been living in turn in Lviv, Janowice near Sandomierz, Warsaw, Pruszków and Zakopane.

After the war, he returned to Bydgoszcz and joined the Association of Polish Artists and Designers. He reciebed the award of the Bydgoszcz Voivodeship National Council and the medal of the 600^th anniversary of the city of Bydgoszcz in May 1946, during the exhibition organised by the Pomeranian branch of the Association of Polish Artists.

From spring 1947, he stayed in a hospital for the mentally and nervously ill in Świecie. He passed away there on 10 June 1950.

In 1981, a street in the district of Fordon was named after him.

Works

Jerzy Rupniewski's favorite subjects were city views, old houses and streets. He also painted portraits of local and modest residents. He was called the "Bydgoszcz Canaletto", for his love of painting the daily life of the city and its people.

Exhibitions

• 1914 - Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw
• 1917 - Solo exhibition

Non exhaustive list of creations

Bydgoszcz regional museum possesses 43 of his works.

Family

From 1920, he was married to Janina née Grabowska, with whom he had a daughter and 3 sons.

See also

• Bydgoszcz
• Julian Fałat
• List of Polish people

Bibliography

• (in Polish) Rudowski, Jan (1992). Polski słownik biograficzny T. 33 [Polish Biographical Dictionary Vol. 33 (1991-1992)]. Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich - Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk. pp. 501–515.