Franciszek Starowieyski (1930 - 2009), Allegory A.B.C., 1986

oil, charcoal, chalk, canvas, 195 x 295 cm, signed and described p. side [monogram tied]: 'FBS 1986' | l'Allegorie de la A.B.C.| POSPOLITUDE OVERWHELMING FOREVER'.

EXHIBITED:
- Franciszek Starowieyski (1930 - 2009). Parisian Friendships 1683 - 1693 Collection of A. and N. Avila, National Gallery of Art, 16.04 - 15.06.2014
LITERATURE:
- Franciszek Starowieyski (1930 - 2009). Parisian Friendships 1683 - 1693 Collection of A. and N. Avila, National Gallery of Art 2014, p. 32.

He came from a noble family, sealing with the Biberstein coat of arms. He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow in the studio of Wojciech Weiss and Adam Marczyński (1949-52), and then at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in the studio of Michał Bylina, where he received his diploma in 1955.
Graphic artist, painter and stage designer, author of numerous theater and film posters; collector, baroque lover, erudite. He was one of the most distinctive figures in Polish contemporary art, and at the same time a separate artist, not belonging to any artistic group. He conceived and realized the performances of the Drawing Theater, during which large-format compositions were created before the eyes of the audience. He developed his own surrealist-grotesque language of artistic expression, characterized by baroque exuberance of forms, rich symbolism, extraordinary grandeur and sensuality. In his work, he wanted to talk about the secret aspirations of man, his secret dreams, and referred to it as etherealism - an escape towards eternity. Fascinated by the Baroque era, he dated his works back 300 years. He was the first Pole to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1985.