Edward MESJASZ (1929-2007), Winter Scene

Oil, canvas, 49 x 68 cm, signed p.d.: E. Mesjasz.

Edward MESJASZ (1929-2007). Born in 1929 in Lipno, Kłobuck county. From his youth he showed uncommon artistic abilities. He drew and painted, eagerly following his father, a soldier of the 1st Krechowiec Cavalry Regiment in the 1920s and an outstanding draftsman. Edward Mesjasz's artistic path led through the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, where he earned his degree. He was a pupil of Jerzy Kossak, son of the outstanding battle painter Wojciech, which further deepened his interest in historical subjects. After graduation, he taught at the High School of Arts in Częstochowa, then at one of the elementary schools in Częstochowa. During this time he painted a copy of a painting by Wojciech Kossak entitled: Vigil, guard over the Vistula River. The painting, measuring 2 x 1.5 meters, was based on an old postcard. Then he was a lecturer of technical drawing at a textile school, making extra money by teaching advertising and lettering at a trade school in Czestochowa. After 1968 he took a position as a drawing teacher at a vocational school. Among his students, during his professional period, was the prominent visual artist Jerzy Duda-Gracz. After retiring, he devoted himself wholeheartedly and energetically to painting. He had several solo exhibitions, including at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa in 1972 and at the District Museum in Czestochowa in 1978. At home, he participated in many group exhibitions. The peak of his popularity was from 1970 to the mid-1980s. He painted paintings thematically related to the history of the Polish Armed Forces, from Mieszko I to the People's Polish Army. Following experiences from his childhood years, he loved to paint September 1939, particularly the battles of the Polish cavalry. In addition to the accounts of living participants in those events at the time, he made his works realistic with careful inspection and study of the battlefields. Until his last days he painted, due to his poor eyesight, using a magnifying glass. He died after a serious illness, in his own apartment in Czestochowa, in 2007.