Xawery Dunikowski

Born Nov. 24, 1875, in Kraków; died Jan. 26, 1964, in Warsaw. Polish sculptor and painter.

Dunikowski studied in B. Syrewicz’s studio in Warsaw and at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków, from which he graduated in 1897. From 1914 to 1923 he worked abroad, mainly in Paris. He taught at the fine arts schools in Warsaw (1904-09) and Kraków (1923-39, 1946-55) and at the Higher School of Plastic Arts in Wroclaw (from 1959). During World War II (1939-45) he was confined in the Oswiecim concentration camp. Dunikowski’s early works, with their strong and free modeling (portrait of H. Szczygliński, bronze, 1898, National Museum, Warsaw), reveal the influence of impressionism and to some extent of the art nouveau style. In 1910 the sculptor experimented with cubism and expressionism (monument to Boleslaw the Brave, wood, plaster, 1916-17, National Museum, Warsaw). Dunikowski’s mature style, formed in the 1920’s and 1930’s, is distinguished by plastic generalization, structural clarity of form, and inner wholeness of imagery (the series Wawel Heads, wood, 1925-29 and from 1955, Wawel Castle; monument to J. Dietl, bronze, granite, 1937-39, Kraków).

In People’s Poland, Dunikowski created a number of monuments characterized by stern heroism, by an expressive juxtaposition of geometric forms, and by an organic synthesis of architecture, sculpture, and contour drawing cut in the surface of the stone (monument to the Silesian insurgents near Katowice, stone, 1949-52; Liberation monument in Olsztyn, granite, 1949-55). Dunikowski also executed several series of paintings, including Oswiecim (1948-61), in a dramatically expressive style. He received the State Prize of the Polish People’s Republic (1949). In the 1960’s, the Dunikowski Museum was founded in Warsaw.