Anna Bilińska facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anna Bilińska
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Self-Portrait with Apron and Brushes, 1887
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| Born | 8 December 1854 Zlatopol, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire
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| Died | 18 April 1893 (aged 38) Warsaw, Congress Poland
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| Nationality | Polish |
| Education | Académie Julian |
| Known for | Painting |
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Notable work
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A Negress (1884) At the Seashore (1886) |
| Movement | Realism |
| Spouse(s) | Antoni Bohdanowicz |
Anna Bilińska (pronounced: [ˈanna biˈliɲska]), also known as Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz, was a talented Polish painter. She was born on December 8, 1854, and passed away on April 18, 1893.
Anna was famous for her amazing portraits. She was part of the Realism art movement, which focused on painting things as they truly looked. She lived most of her life in Paris, France. Many people consider her the "first internationally known Polish woman artist."
Contents
Life of Anna Bilińska
Her Early Years
Anna Bilińska was born in 1854 in a town called Zlatopol. This town was once part of the Russian Empire and is now in Ukraine. She grew up there with her father, who was a doctor.
Anna once joked that she had a "Cossack's temperament, but a Polish heart." Later, her family moved to Central Russia. There, Anna had her first art teachers, Ignacy Jasiński and Michał Elwiro Andriolli.
In 1875, Anna's mother moved the family to Warsaw, Poland. Anna was a very good pianist, which was a common skill for women of her time. But she loved painting even more.
In 1877, she started studying with the painter Wojciech Gerson. She also began showing her artwork at the Zachęta Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Even though her parents didn't want her to, she rented her own art studio. She sold her paintings to pay for the studio.
Travels in Europe: Austria, Italy, and Paris
In 1882, Anna traveled with her friend Klementyna Krassowska. They visited cities like Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, and places in northern Italy. After these travels, Anna moved to Paris, France.
In Paris, she studied at the famous Académie Julian. She even became a teacher there later on. Sadly, in 1884, both her father and her friend Klementyna passed away. This was a very difficult time for Anna.
In 1889, Anna showed her Self-Portrait at a big art show in Paris called the Exposition Universelle. She won a silver medal for her work! This was her first major success around the world. Her paintings were also shown at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1889. In 1891, she won a gold medal at an art exhibition in Berlin.
Anna lived in France until 1892. That year, she married Antoni Bohdanowicz, who was a doctor. She then took his last name. After they got married, they moved back to Warsaw. Anna planned to open an art school for women, like the ones in Paris. However, she became very ill with a heart problem and passed away a year later, in 1893. She was buried in Warsaw's Powązki Cemetery.
Her Famous Artworks
Anna Bilińska is most famous for her portraits, especially those of women. She painted them with great understanding and feeling. Her painting Self-Portrait with Apron and Brushes (1887) was special. In it, she showed herself as the artist, standing in front of a backdrop. This showed that she was her own model.
Another important painting is By the Window (1890). She used pastels for this one. Art critics in the 1800s thought it was very modern. It shows a young girl looking out a window at a sunny garden. Anna probably painted it during a summer trip.
She also painted portraits of men, like the American sculptor George Grey Barnard in 1890. Besides portraits, Anna painted still lifes (pictures of objects), everyday scenes, and landscapes. She used oil paints, watercolors, and sometimes pastels.
Two of Anna's paintings went missing after World War II. These were A Negress (1884) and The Italian Woman (1880). A Negress was found again at an auction in Germany in 2011. It was brought back to Poland in 2012. You can see it now at the National Museum in Warsaw.
Her paintings are displayed in many museums. You can find them in the National Museum in Warsaw, the National Museum in Wrocław, and the National Museum in Kraków. They are also in galleries in Bath, Saint-Étienne, Lviv, Gothenburg, Pennsylvania, and Berlin. Some are also in private collections.
Anna Bilińska's Legacy
Anna Bilińska is seen as the first Polish woman artist to get a professional art education at a high level. She also earned praise from critics in other countries. In 2018, her work was part of an exhibition called Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900.
After Anna's father died in 1882, her friend Emmeline Deane painted a portrait of Anna. This painting showed Anna in deep sadness. When it was shown in Paris and London, it caused a lot of discussion. It was even featured in a cartoon magazine! This painting was important because it was rare for women painters at that time to create and show formal portraits of other women painters.
For much of the 1900s, Anna Bilińska's work was not very well known, even in Poland. Some people think this was because of the way women artists were viewed back then, and because she died so young. However, many other talented women painters from the 1800s also faced this.
In 2017, an exhibition called Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900 featured many of these "forgotten" female artists. This show helped bring attention to their work.
In 2021, the National Museum in Warsaw held a big show of Anna Bilińska's art. They displayed over 120 of her paintings. Reviewers agreed that the show was finally giving Anna the "recognition she deserves." Her paintings are now considered an important part of Polish art history.
Exhibitions
Posthumous Exhibitions
- Artystka, Anna Bilińska 1854–1893; (June 26 – October 10, 2021) at the National Museum in Warsaw, Poland. This was a special show just for her work.
- Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900; (October 22, 2017 – January 15, 2018) at the Denver Art Museum, Colorado. It also traveled to the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky (February 17 – May 13, 2018), and the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA (June 9 – September 3, 2018).
Gallery
Selected Paintings
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At the Seashore (1886), National Museum in Warsaw
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Breton Woman Standing on a Doorstep, 1889, National Museum in Wrocław
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Self-Portrait, unfinished (1892), National Museum in Warsaw
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Portrait of Sculptor George Grey Barnard in His Atelier (1890), State Museum of Pennsylvania
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Old Man with a Book (1890s), Lviv National Art Gallery
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Under the Linden Trees, Berlin (1890), National Museum in Warsaw
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By the Window (1890), Musée d'art moderne in Saint-Étienne
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Sailing Boats in Pourville (1885), Private collection
See Also
In Spanish: Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz para niños
- List of Poles
