Waliszewski Zygmunt

Waliszewski Zygmunt (1897–1936), Polish painter and graphic artist. One of the outstanding representatives of Polish Art. He was born in Petersburg. In 1903 the family of Waliszewski moved to Batumi and in 1905 the Waliszewskis settled in Tbilisi. Zygmunt Waliszewski studied at the Caucasian specialized school of art promotion. In 1908, in Tbilisi, they organized a personal exhibition of Z. Waliszewski’s work. In 1909, together with Georgian painters L. Gudiashvili, D. Kakabadze and S. Sudeikin, he painted frescos on the walls of café ‘Qimerioni’. In collaboration with Kirill Zdanevich, Georgian artist of Polish origin, he decorated the walls of another café ‘Tail of Peacock’. He took activ part in collecting the paintings of remarkable self-educated Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani. In 1921, Z. Waliszewski moved to Poland.

Zygmunt Waliszewski’s wellknown works are ‘Mozart and Salieri’ (1917), ‘Tania the Amazonian’ (1920), ‘Don Quixote on Armchair’ (1934), ‘Love Island’ (1935), etc. At the same time, he was well versed in painting portraits. He has portrayed eminent Georgian ladies: Olia Koniashvili, Melita Cholokashvili, unknown lady, etc. Among his noteworthy work stand out his ‘Self-portrait in Red Turban’ (1935). Z. Waliszewski used to paint stage sceneries as well. Most of his works are dispayed at the national galleries of Krakow, Poznan and Warsaw.

Z. Waliszewski died in Warsaw.