Bronze; 172 cm, base 66 x 59 cm
casting number 3/8
Sign: MKonieczny / 57
Marian Konieczny was born in 1930 in Jasionowo, and died in 2017 in Jaroszowiec. Between 1948 and 1954 he studied at the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, graduating in the atelier of Xawery Dunikowski. From 1954-1958, he was an aspirant student at the I. E. Riepin Institute in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). From 1958 to 1965 he was an assistant professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, from 1965 to 1974 he was an associate professor and dean of the Department of Sculpture, and until 2000 he was a professor at the Department of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. From 1972 to 1980, he served as rector of his alma mater.
The artist, being the author of many monuments, is best known for his monumental sculpture. Some of his better known works include. Warsaw Nike, Kosciuszko Monument in Philadelphia, Glory and Martyrdom Monument in Algiers, Vladimir Lenin Monument in Nowa Huta (now dismantled), Stanislaw Wyspianski and Grunwald Monument (reconstruction) in Krakow, Wincenty Witos, Jan Matejko in Warsaw, Maria Curie-Skłodowska in Lublin, Revolutionary Struggles in Rzeszow, John Paul II in Licheń, Bytow and Lezajsk, Royal Epitaph in Poznan Archcathedral, Bartosz Glowacki near Raclawice, Jan Zamoyski in Zamosc. Author of portraits and thematic series: Daedalus and Icarus (1965-1989), Motherhood (1966-1968) and Crucifixion - Dance of Life (1977-1978). He has also been involved in medal making. He participated in many exhibitions, received numerous awards and prizes, and was awarded honorary membership of the Academy of Art of the USSR, as well as the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Gold Medal "Meritorious to Culture Gloria Artis" and the Medal of the Commission of National Education. He was buried in the Alley of the Distinguished of Krakow's Rakowicki Cemetery.
According to an expert in contemporary sculpture, Prof. Lechoslaw Lameński, "...he is an extremely controversial figure in the history of monumental Polish sculpture of the second half of the 20th century (...), despite being the author of dozens of monuments, he has never enjoyed the recognition and interest of critics and art historians. As if in spite of all his opponents, this extremely hard-working, exceptionally talented and versatile sculptor, most willing to express himself in the realist convention, not only did not disappear from Polish artistic life after the turbulent political changes of 1989, but continued to win competitions and receive commissions for new monuments, including works of a religious nature. But, after all, Marian Konieczny's enormous output is not only numerous monuments, including those that can undoubtedly be considered religious, bringing him as much fame and recognition as words of criticism, it is also sculptures of a more personal, decidedly intimate nature, usually made in patinated plaster. (...) These works show a completely different artist, not the seemingly calculating, cool and resolutely pompous one, effectively hiding the emotions that haggle with him, but they bring closer a flesh-and-blood man with his big dreams and longings."
"Old Athlete" is one of three sculptures that Marian Konieczny brought to the country from his four-year aspirant studies in the then Leningrad. It appears to be a demonstration of the artist's mastery of technique, which he achieved at the same age when Michelangelo was finishing his "David." From press reports, it is known that a particular man, Pavel Gregorievich Efremov, a former four-time All-Russian wrestling champion, aged about 70 at the time, posed for this full-figure studio figure by Konieczny. Work on the sculpture took a long time, as it happened that the model disappeared for several days, struggling with alcohol addiction. However, he was in such good physical shape that he still impressed with his strength and muscular physique. "Old Athlete" stands firmly on his feet, recalling the balanced tectonic composition of Maillol's work, and the vivid texture of the surface owes much to his keen eye for Rodin's expressive sculptures, with which Konieczny was unquestionably fascinated, even during periods when the formal side of his work was approaching the tenets of Socialist Realism. Creating such an outstanding sculpture in a place and time where Socialist Realism reigned indivisibly as the binding artistic doctrine (the USSR, 1956), testifies to a fully formed and independent way of realizing creative passion. Such freedom in the use of numerous references to centuries-old sculptural tradition is also characteristic of the workshop part of Konieczny's achievements, not related to architecture or monumental sculpture. We can't necessarily speak of portrait sculpture here, it's more a study of an athletically built male nude, which thanks to its inner strength is able to resist the inevitable passage of time, constituting the apotheosis of sport as an element shaping human character.
Marian Konieczny consistently followed his own path, and his "resistance to fashion" resulted in timeless works, such as "Old Athlete," which, appreciated as early as 1959 with a silver medal at the Exhibition of Young Art in Vienna, is still impressive.
Emphasizing the formal and ideological distinctiveness of Marian Konieczny's intimate achievements and summing up his monumental works, we can confidently say that he has become one of the most clearly defined artistic individualities of his generation, and the works that occasionally appear on the market definitely stand the test of time and can be an interesting offer for art lovers.
