Dimensions: 35 x 22 cm (in light passe-partout)
Signed l.d.: 'Gembarzewski'.
Origins
collection of painter Waclaw Piotrowski
collection of the heirs of Waclaw Piotrowski
Biography
During his secondary school education he studied drawing with Wojciech Gerson. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg in 1891-94 in the studio of B.P. Willewalde. At that time he began to develop his interest in the iconography of the old Polish army. He collected materials, concerning these issues. In 1894 he was the organizer of the historical-military department in Rapperswil. In 1895-96 he lived in Paris and probably studied at the École de Beaux-arts. During this time he conducted research on the Napoleonic era. From 1912 he was active in the Society for the Care of Monuments, of which he was later president and honorary member. From 1916 he was a member of the Warsaw Scientific Society. In 1916-36 he was director of the National Museum in Warsaw, and from 1920 also of the Museum of the Polish Army, of which he was the founder. In 1922 he was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta and the French Legion of Honor. Bronislaw Gembarzewski's work was closely related to his interest in the history of the Polish army. He made illustrations for his own scientific works and the works of other authors in the military field. He created illustrations for Zygmunt Gloger's Old Polish Illustrated Encyclopedia. He worked on film and theatrical productions - including designing costumes for the film "Pan Tadeusz" and developing 72 tables of clothing for the film "With Fire and Sword."
