Pawel Ignaczak
Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu
Print Room
Al. Marcinkowskiego 8
Poznan, POLAND
Telephone: +48 61 8568 062
Telephone: +48 605 744 166
Email: ignaczak@mnp.art.pl
Email: pawelignaczak@o2.pl
Paper: "The Graphic Work of Jean Pierre Norblin de la Gourdaine"
The lecture focuses on the graphic oeuvre of Jean-Pierre Norblin de la Gourdaine. Born in France in 1745, after studies in Paris and Dresden he spent much of his life in Poland, where he came in 1774. Here, for 30 years, he was active as court painter, draughtsman and etcher.
Almost all of his nearly 100 etchings were created in Poland. In his graphic style Norblin merged traditions of several cultures. As an artist educated in Paris, in the beginning of his career he followed the French graveurs. Early on he discovered the world and the art of Rembrandt. After the encounter with the latter’s German followers of the 18th century, Norblin totally changed his graphic manner. His talent, however, did not flourish until the artist arrived in Poland. His subjects were specific Polish themes, such as noblemen, beggars, or Jews. His art, immersed in the art of Western Europe, became the beginning of Polish historic iconography and of the Polish graphic school. His compositions depict scenes from Polish and Czech history and his artistic pupils, e.g. Micha? P?o?ski and Aleksander Or?owski (later one of the most important peintres-graveurs in Russia), contributed to the development of Polish national art.
PAWEL IGNACZAK works as Assistant in the Print Room of the National Museum in Pozna?. He is also preparing a PhD thesis about the graphic work of Jean-Pierre Norblin de la Gourdaine at Adam Mickiewicz University in Pozna?. There he studied the history of art and Italian and French literatures. His interests focus on the European art of the 18th century, especially on the problem of the exchange of artistic ideas between nations.