Działalność artystyczna Zofii i Anny Pawłowskich na przykładzie wybranych dzieł

Abstract

Contemporary art is frequently subjected to suspicion and mistrust. It is said to have stopped dealing with vital matters and accompanying people in their experiencing of the world around. It seems to be impotent and powerless. The truth, however, presents itself much differently since contemporary art is nowadays capable of achieving multiple goals. It evokes emotions and feelings, holds values and spreads knowledge, thus assisting people in thorough comprehension of the surrounding world. It may also constitute a sign of the time, a crosscultural bridge and a meeting point. At first glance contemporary art may seem complicated, often illegible but it amply rewards its attentive audience, offers a lot and may bring about extensive changes in human life. All you need is immerse yourself in its quiet voice and let it guide you as “it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” All these qualities may be easily found in the oeuvre of Anna and Zofia Pawłowska. The day of 27 March 2008 will always be remembered by the employees of the Diocesan Museum in Tarnów and will forever be associated with the ultimate parting of the two sisters, Anna and Zofia, precipitated by the sad demise of Zofia Pawłowska. Zofia Pawłowska was an accomplished artist and an art restorer. She was the founder of the Parochial Museum in Tropie, the first institution of that kind to be established in the whole Diocese of Tarnów. From 1951 to 2006 she worked as an art restorer in the studio belonging to the Diocesan Museum in Tarnów. Zofia Pawłowska was a woman of unshakeable faith and extreme modesty. She was deeply concerned with the preservation of the artistic heritage of faith and piety. Countless restoration works, sketches, oil paintings, polychromes and frescos constitute a minute part of the impressive scope of Anna and Zofia Pawlowska’s activities. Selected aspects of the works by Anna and Zofia Pawłowska seem worth discussing mainly due to their artistic values, frequent religious motives, as well as an unorthodox approach to the themes. Ms Zofia Pawłowska was bom on 27 February 1925 and her sister, Anna Pawłowska was bom on 1 November 1920. Having finished secondary school the two sisters continued their education in The Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. They began their studies in the faculty of decorative painting but, in the end, graduated from the faculty of conservation and restoration of works of art in 1952. In that year they started working as art restorers for the Diocesan Museum. The polychrome decorations, painted in both historic and modem churches reflect another passion shared by the sisters - artistic work. The first place which regained its original splendor thanks to Anna and Zofia Pawłowska was a wooden church in Chomanice where the two sisters painted polychrome decorations with tempera technique. Between 1958 and 1960 they used the buon-fresco technique to cover the walls of the chapel in Tarnowiec and from 1959 to 1960 they decorated the interior of the parochial church in Pogórska Wola with figurative polychrome. In 1961 the two sisters worked in a wooden church in Strzelce Wielkie where they succeeded in harmonizing modem paintings with an 18th century interior. From 1965 to 1966 Anna and Zofia Pawłowska made a significant discovery of late Rennaisance paintings in Mała near Ropczyce. The paintings were subsequently restored and the beauty and splendor of the newly restored polychrome decorations inspired the sisters to cover the walls and ceilings with modem religious paintings. This perfect harmony achieved in Mała resulted in an exemplary symbiosis between beauty and refinement. The period between 1968 and 1970 is marked with intensive work in Kisielice, near Elbląg. From 1974 to 1975 the sisters worked on a newly built church in Mikołaj o wice near Wojnicz. Artistic achievements of Anna and Zofia Pawłowska were noticed and appreciated in 1977 when the artists received a prestigious Brother Albert’s Award. The oeuvre of Anna and Zofia Pawłowska is mostly of religious and sacral nature. Every form of art gives a sense of permanence to all human endeavors. Consequently, if any area of human activity is not blessed with the influence of art it remains ephemeral, illusive and devoid of its true meaning. Hence the prominent role of art in the process of shaping a “beautiful” human being, their character and personality. The art created by Anna and Zofia Pawłowska perfectly serves such role. Not only do their paintings depict the scenes from the history of salvation but they also sensitize man to the beauty expressed with the language of the present. The thought-provoking qualities of the painting encourage man to become “a reflection of beauty”.