Tadeusz Makowski w Wiener Secession. Okoliczności wystawy w roku 1936

Abstrakt

The presentation of Tadeusz Makowski’s works at the 143rd Exhibition of the Wiener Secession in the winter of 1936 has so far not drawn closer attention from researchers. However, the circumstances of this display, the way it was exhibited and the artistic relationship of Makowski’s work at the time were part of the broader context of the connections between art and politics. These, in turn, were already clearly leaning towards various fascist nationalisms throughout Europe. Almost all reviews highly praised the works of Makowski and Josef Dobrowsky – as a counterweight to this phenomenon. The work of both artists was seen as far from national ideological entanglements, which was treated as an already rare value (Dobrowsky, however, was given artistic priority). The assessment of Viennese criticism discussed in the article deserves attention in view of referring only to Polish and French opinions about Makowski’s paintings. It is all the more interesting because several reviews are characterized by insight and criticism both about the paintings and about the exclusively approving way Polish and Parisian authors wrote about them.
The text also recalls Makowski’s participation in two later Viennese exhibitions, often overlooked in artist’s bios.