Author: Gustaw Zemła (born 1931 in Jasienica Rosielna)
Bronze
A part of a monument designed for Kielce (2010)
Property of the Dom Pracy Twórczej in Radziejowice, inv. no. 299
purchased from the artist (2011)
The sculpture depicts Henryk Sienkiewicz, a Polish writer and Nobel Prize laureate (1905) awarded for his “outstanding merits as an epic writer”. While Quo Vadis secured him international recognition, in Poland he was mostly appreciated for the Trilogy written “to hearten the nation” as well as novels Krzyżacy (The Teutonic Knights) and W pustyni i w puszczy (In Desert and Wilderness). The local trivia is that the writer – a good friend of Krasiński family – was a frequent guest in Radziejowice.
The cast, limited to a bust cropped at the shoulders, forms the upper part of a model for a monumental commemorative sculpture, expanded by a column in the background and presenting the whole figure seated. The bust in Radziejowice, viewed at the front, depicts a head slightly leaning forward at the left shoulder. In the clearly visible facial features, marked by the passing time, the prominent high cheekbones, long and sharp nose as well as hollowed cheeks are strongly emphasized. The lips are lost in the thick beard which extends the chin. Exceptionally arresting are the deep-set eyes, neither gimlet nor staring into the distance.
The forehead, scored with horizontal wrinkles, is partly covered on the left by a falling lock of hair, arranged in clearly defined, neatly trimmed strands. The realistically sculpted head emerges from wind-swept, undulating layers of the garment: a visibly upturned coat collar over one shoulder only, beneath which appear the flat lapels of a frock coat, a folded waistcoat, and a lavish ascot tied like a fluttering bow beneath a tall shirt collar encircling the neck. This elaborate arrangement of overlapping collars creates the illusion of movement.
Text: Elżbieta Charazińska
Editing: Beata Fiugajska
Photo: Piotr Ligier