Józef Pankiewicz

Who was Józef Pankiewicz?

Józef Pankiewicz was a Polish painter, graphic artist, and pedagogue. He was a prominent member of the Young Poland movement under foreign partitions.

Pankiewicz was born in Lublin. He studied under Wojciech Gerson and Aleksander Kamiński at the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He travelled to Saint Petersburg with Władysław Podkowiński after winning a scholarship to the Imperial Academy of Arts there. In 1889, both artists left for Paris.

Founder of Polish Colorism deriving from postimpressionism, in France Pankiewicz was a friend of Pierre Bonnard and was influenced by his art philosophy. Later he abandoned this style in preference to experimenting with fauvism during his stay in Spain.