Street in Bełżyce

The abundance of nature was an inspiration for many artists. It was emphasized by Chełmoński's first teacher, Wojciech Gerson. Between 1867 and 1871 Chełmoński attended the Warsaw Drawing Class and a private studio of Wojciech Gerson. The artist recalled his teacher in the following words: “[...] for Gerson, nature was the best teacher, the highest model. He asked us from the very beginning to draw everything without exception: earth, stones, sky, grasses, trees, all kinds of animals, like frogs, insects, etc. He recommended that any opportunity that presents itself to the study of nature should not be missed, both in a state of peace and in motion”.

In 1871, Chełmoński went to Munich. Stanisław Witkiewicz’s memoirs from that time have survived, depicting the Munich environment living in extreme poverty. Chełmoński failed to find the wildness of nature for which he longed. In spite of the improvement in his material situation, out of a longing for his country, in 1874 he left Munich for Ukraine, then he returned to Warsaw.

He was accused of revealing a shameful part of the life of Poles, and nature presented in his paintings is sad, grey and hopeless. He went down in history as a realist who focused on the subject of peasants. His works are admired for their perspective shots that show complex shortcuts, as in the painting Four-in-Hand, a sensitive eye for movement and the matter of the earth that becomes almost tangible. Chełmoński's paintings revolved around peasant themes, the landscape and life of the Polish countryside. The effect of his interest in nature are such paintings as: Indian Summer, Storks, Partridges in the Snow.

Bełżyce was the place of residence of the painter's sister, Maria née Chełmońska, who came there in 1885 with her husband Szymon Marceli Klarner and stayed there for the rest of her life. The result of Józef Chełmoński's stay in the town is a watercolour depicting Klarner’s Street.

Klara Sadkowska