The portraits painter

Realism, in defense of the truth

   I value realism. Not only as a style of painting or an art direction. What I particularly like about it is the departure from the typically romantic inspiration of imagination in favor of a slightly more classic presentation of mundane matters in a simple way. Theoretically, realism was supposed to simplify the entire composition by giving up most of the ornaments or exaggeratedly vivid colors. In my opinion, this way of presenting a situation or a person is the essence of the entire work. So important, especially when creating a portrait. Realism was once intended to be addressed mainly to simple people who did not have education or greater financial resources. In this way, this style broke the rule that art and paintings could only please the eyes of wealthy, upper-class people.

   For me, realism means high quality and simplicity. In my opinion, these are the most important elements of a good portrait. When a grandmother orders a portrait of her beloved grandson from me, she expects that I will depict his beautiful, large eyes or his cheeky smile on the canvas. Simple and without unnecessary details and quirks that destroy the entire composition. After all, the person being portrayed should be in the foreground. She is both the main and only hero. All attention should be focused on her.

   When creating portraits, I am inspired by the best. In my opinion, these are Józef Chełmoński and the brothers Aleksander and Maksymilian Gierymscy. Even though they were all representatives of the realism trend, their works differ significantly. Chełmoński showed a slightly softer and gentler side of life, using brighter colors and introducing a note of carefreeness into his paintings. Aleksander Gierymski is a representative of "critical realism". and is more willing to portray workers, peasants or residents of poorer districts. His brother Maksymilian focused  and focuses on realistic landscapes or scenes