A mural by Jerzy Nowosielski was created in Krakow to mark the centenary of the famous icon-painter’s birth

Jerzy Nowosielski would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. The eminent icon-painter was commemorated with a mural that was created on one of Krakow’s blocks of flats.Jerzy Nowosielski’s mural is located in the vicinity of the artist’s family home and studio

The mural was created on a block of flats at 22 Lotnicza Street and depicts a copy of the painting ‘Saturday Rest’ by Jerzy Nowosielski. Why was it painted in this particular place? Because the building is right next to the house where Nowosielski lived with his wife Zofia (at 19 Narzymskiego Street). If they were still alive, they could have admired the painting from their garden

“The residents were very close to the artist”

The Year of Jerzy Nowosielski currently being celebrated (established by the Polish Sejm) is one of the reasons why the mural was created. But not only

“The Year of Jerzy Nowosielski and the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth overlapped with the 50th anniversary of the introduction of free Saturdays in Poland,” – describes on its website the Anthropological Association ‘Archipelagos of Culture’, which is one of the initiators of the mural. It is also a work that fits into the context of the place, using the natural background of the wall. It also offers the possibility of multiple interpretations

“Above all, the residents were very close to the artist and wanted to commemorate him, hence the location of the mural,” said Agnieszka Słabkowska of the ‘101 Murals for Krakow’ project in an interview with LoveKraków.pl

Mural of Jerzy Nowosielski – official unveiling next week

The official unveiling of the mural will take place on 24 October at 6.30 p.m. The event is also expected to be attended by people associated with the work of Jerzy Nowosielski. The work of this outstanding artist is still not known to everyone, yet he had enormous achievements not only in iconography. He collaborated with Tadeusz Kantor and was also involved in philosophy and Orthodox theology. He died in 2011

Many institutions were involved in the creation of the painting

The mural was created on the initiative of the Anthropological Association ‘Archipelagi Kultury’, the Centre for Research on Cultures of Memory, the ‘101 Murals for Krakow’ Foundation and Krakow councillor Małgorzata Jantos. The Starmach Gallery, which has a huge collection of Nowosielski’s works in its collection, also joined the project. The creation of the mural was made possible thanks to financial support from the local government, as well as the Medicine company, which supports the creation of murals in Krakow as part of the “Murale” campaign (organised for several years with “101 murals for Krakow”), in which it combines fashion with culture and art. As part of it, many wall paintings have already been created in the capital of Malopolska

Photos of the mural: Piotr Trzepacz, portrait of the creator: Wikimedia Commons

See also: Murals | Kraków | Tenement | Graphics | Facade