Recepcja twórczości Francisa Bacona w sztuce polskiej lat sześćdziesiątych i siedemdziesiątych XX wieku. Rozpoznanie wstępne

Abstrakt

In the mid Sixties New Figuration appeared in Poland. Researchers interested in this chapter of polish art consider the reception of Francis Bacon's paintings as one of the sources of this kind of art. The subject of this article is mainly the painters, whose works show this reception, but also the sculptors. It concentrates on the Sixties and Seventies in Polish painting.

At that time in the Polish art we can see a group of artists connected with existentialism. One of the most interesting phenomena is the painting of Teresa Pągowska (1926-2007), this artist, whom was older than others who were also working in the area of New Figuration, already had concrete artistic experience. In spite of similarities between many works of Francis Bacon and Teresa Pągowska, mainly in the composition and shot of the figure (deformed, not complete, dismembered), the works of Pągowska should be considered in their own right particular to her own style. Pągowska processed Bacon's art in an original way. Her distinction from other painters belonging to New Figuration comes from her experience, on the one hand Colorism (polish Postimpresionism), on the other hand – Abstraction, which led her to understand figures as a plastic sign, moving, full of color.

In the second half of the Sixties we can find the inspiration of Francis Bacon's art in the paintings of Janusz Przybylski (1937-1998). Bacon in his compositions used spatial frame which was interpreted in different ways. It had been seen as a usual glass cage, confined the human being. The artist admitted that he uses this endeavour to expose a man in a better way. This solution became a kind of an artistic hook and it was taken by other artists. It spread so much that it became a kind of a manner. To avoid narration Bacon sometimes used a form of triptych. This was typically used by him and was imitated almost as often as placing people in a spatial frame. Both hooks were used by Przybylski, whose art in a different way fits in as a style of existentialism. The deformed human beings in the cages should show alienation and the drama of man. This aspect of polish artists' paintings more than others highlights connections with the English master's art. The polish painter of the Sixties and Seventies was not an artist who could be described as self-sufficient from what we can see by viewing their paintings and reading art critics.

The reception of Bacon's painting we can also find in the art of a group from Cracow called “Wprost”, especially in the one of their member's art – Zbylut Grzywacz (1939-2004). Grzywacz confirmed that his interest in Bacon's art can be seen in his paintings created in the Seventies. The nature of these adaptations lay mainly in getting compositional solutions typical to Bacon and the original look of the deformed human being. However, the artist also underlined that used by him endeavours of body's deformation were connected with politics so they had a different context than in the work of Bacon. This highlights the large gap between English artists who's art concentrated on universal cases and the public art of the polish artist. Grzywacz painted with speed, carelessly, he just wanted to give us a short message, he didn't care about particular artistic problems. He wasn't a member of this group interested in Francis Bacon. Next to him we should remember Jacek Waltoś (born 1938). In his paintings we won't find such a direct connection with Bacon's art like as is the case with Grzywacz. Waltoś was fascinated by Bacon but he took from him just the ideas concerning problems of a painting's composition. This artist, contrary to other members of “Wprost” was mostly interested in the representation of emotional states, of what is inside the human being. Waltoś, a creator of existential art, feeling incomplete, the loneliness of human being, found in the Irish artist a kind of brother.

There was also Wiesław Szamborski (born 1941) who was among the painters inspired by Bacon. In the first years after he finished his studies he exhibited often with Marek Sapetto (born 1939; until 1974). The art of both artists joins with Bacon's art color standardisation of painted surfaces and putting on them strongly deformed human beings. More painters were regarded as inspired by Bacon but there is not a description of their art in this article which is just an introductory reconnaissance of this problem. The image of a human being which was proposed by Francis Bacon turned out to be very interesting also for sculptors centred on existential reflection. The dramatically deformed face occurred to be the best medium to express people's anxieties, their feelings of emptiness and loneliness (Jacek Waltoś, Jan Kucz – born 1936, Wiktor Gajda – 1938, Adam Myjak – born 1947).

The Eighties did not have such rich artistic material as can confirm a permanent fascination of Bacon's painting in Poland. It seems that in a world dominated by New Expressionism there is no place for it. Enough to say that the most interesting artist in dialogue with the English painter seems to be Grzegorz Bednarski (born 1954), consequently belonging to Figuration, connected with Cracow's environment. After his debut he moved to the area of existentialism. Nowadays Bacon's work is regarded as a classic. Artists quote his paintings in a conscious way (for example Marek Przybył, born 1961).

Bacon happened to be a very popular artist in Poland in the Sixties and Seventies which corresponds with general trends in European art. At this time came after return to show a human being. It appeared New Figuration, antidote on the Abstraction, Conceptual Art and metavisual experiments of the Sixties. Bacon became the father to these new phenomena in art because he brought about a renewed artistic imagination and created a new image of the human being. Moreover, Bacon was regarded as a main representative of art identified with existential philosophy. This painting in a very good way expressed spirits of the time. It reflected Zeitgeist, that climate which was then best shown in the philosophy of existentialism. Bacon's reception in Poland had also local color. English artist's art was assimilated by polish painters, who were interested in politics, what was unfamiliar with Bacon who concentrated on universal problems. It seems that polish artists like thematic art, taking problems concerning a human being and his immediate environment, what constitutes the heritage of our history.