Aleksander Lesser - Biography

Aleksander Lesser (May 13, 1814 – March 13, 1884) was a Polish painter and art critic of Jewish descent. Lesser specialized in Polish historic and contemporary themes. He was a member of Kraków’s Academy of Learning and co-founder of Warsaw's Zachęta, the Society for Encouragement of the Fine Arts.

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Life

Lesser studied painting at Warsaw University's department of fine arts, as well as at art schools in Dresden and Munich. He was a founder of the history-painting movement in Poland, which is considered a part of the "archeological trend" that existed before Jan Matejko. The trend's purpose was to portray the entire history of Poland in works of art.

Lesser's works were based on serious study of Poland’s past.

His most famous paintings include:

• The Defense of Trembowla against the Turks (1841)
• The Funeral of the Five Fallen in 1861 (1861), depicting the funeral of Poles of Catholic and Hebrew descent who had been murdered by Russian Cossacks. The painting includes Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Jewish clergymen.
• Portraits of Polish Kings – 40 portraits of Polish monarchs. The paintings, together with commentaries, were published in Warsaw in 1860.

Also notable are:

• The Recovery of Wanda's Body from the Wisła River
• Kadłubek Writing His Chronicle at a Monastery
• Young Boleslaw Wrymouth Departs Moravia
• The Coronation of Leszek I the White
• The Prussian Tribute
• Copernicus' Last Moments
• Paintings with Christian themes, e.g., The Transfiguration of Jesus; Mary Magdalen.

See also

• List of Poles

Notes

• "Lesser, Aleksander," Encyklopedia powszechna PWN (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), vol. 2, Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1974, p. 705.