Treij. O malarstwie Jerzego Ćwiertni (1928–2009)
Treiz. On Paintings by Jerzy Ćwiertnia (1928–2009)

Summary/Abstract: A presentation of the works of Jerzy Ćwiertnia, painter, poet, essayist and philosopher, against the background of the artist’s world outlook – original and suffused with mysticism and idealism. The fundamental goal of his oeuvre was the extraction of the spiritual beauty of Nature, which, in his opinion, is the source and essence of all being. By transcending the framework of the Judaeo-Christian sacrum–profanum dichotomy Ćwiertnia fully shared the convictions of Hindu aesthetics, namely, that it is impossible to realise beauty and attain liberation by turning away from the world. Although in Ćwiertnia’s paintings references to Nature remain only allusions, they play a fundamental role; after all, without them the unchanging original harmony permeating the universe could never disclose itself. The author focused her attention on the painting entitled Treiz – the first in a series of canvases planned by the artist; each composition was to deal with a successive number of the Pythagorean Sacred Decade. Actually, it turned out to be Ćwiertnia’s last work. Reflections concerning the painting created as the quintessence of the discussed oeuvre fill a copious text, a meticulous analysis of the artist’s achievements. His limited participation in artistic life, ostentatious and radical convictions enrooted in the spirituality of the East, protest against the system of (anti)values dominating in Christian Europe responsible for the suffering of creatures close to him, alienation vis à vis national specificity, and lofty ethical and aesthetic demands – all these factors were the reason why the artist’s comprehensive activity has up to now never become the topic of a suitable study.

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