Linke, Bronisław Wojciech (1906 - 1962), artist
Dąbrowska, Maria, preface
Kamienie krzycza. [Warszawa, Wydawnyctwo -Artystyczno-Graficzne RSW 'Prasa', 1959] [8 p.], 14 plates in color. €125,00
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Elephant Folio (410mm x 287 mm). Ex - library duplicate with a rubber stamp and rubber cancellation stamp of 'Bibliothek der Jüdischen Gemeinde zu Berlin'. Some wear of time. GOOD.

On front cover: a Jew praying in the rubble of Warsaw. The original was owned by a Jewish Chemist Mumek Zlotnik who emigrated to Mexico and died there in 1965. Present owner unknown.

Bronislaw Linke considered to be one of the Poland´s most prominent surrealists. Bronisław Wojciech Linke (born 23 April 1906 in Tartu, now in Estonia, died 6 October 1962 in Warsaw) – painter, illustrator and graphic artist, who produced pictures based on political and social themes. Studied at Szkole Przemysłu Artystycznego (School of Artistic Trades) in 1922–1923 in Bydgoszcz, and 1924–1926 in Krakow under Henryk Uziembło, and then, 1926–1931, in Akademia Sztuk Pięknych (Acadmey of Fine Arts) in Warsaw under the guidance of painters Tadeusz Pruszkowski and Mieczysław Kotarbiński. He belonged to Loża Wolnomalarskiej (Freepainters' Lounge), 'Czapka Frygijska' and after the Second World War to the Powiśle group (Shores of the Vistula).

As a graphic artist, he made his debut in the columns of the weekly satirical magazine Szpilek ('Pin' or 'Stiletto Heel') in 1936 and worked as illustrator for Dziennik Ludowy (People's Journal), Nowe Życie (New Life), Sygnały (Signals), Tygodnika Robotnika (Worker's Weekly) and, after the war, with Polityka (Politics) and Trybuna Ludu (People's Tribune). He is known also as a stage designer and designer of numerous book plates.

' Linke's place in international art seems to be minimal, if not non-existent. [...] this results from western markets having little access to his work and no sales opportunities: an artist caught by the twin hangover of McCarthyite USA and communist Poland. [...]

As a child, he saw terrifying scenes during the Russian February Revolution of 1917, the subsequent German offensive and the Estonian War of Independence against both the Germans and Soviets (1918-1920). Living through such dramatic times bore so heavily on his imagination that, for the rest of the life, he pursued artistic themes exhibiting powerful social commitment and strong moralistic undertones.

He created Cycles of work. His earliest Cycle of drawings was Wojna (War) (1931-32), followed by Miasto ('City' or 'Town') (1931-35).

He was friends with Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz with whom he journeyed in Silesia. A Cycle of 30 works entitled Śląsk (Silesia) resulted from this trip. In May 1938, an exhibition of the Cycle at the Instytut Propagandy Sztuki (Institute of Art Promotion) was shut down because of its potential social harm.

After the outbreak of World War II, he fled with his wife to Lviv (part of Poland taken over by the Soviets in September 1939, now part of the Ukraine), concerned about potential reprisal from the Germans for his press caricatures of Adolf Hitler. He was sent to Orsk on the river Ural in 1942, only managing to return to Poland in 1946. After returning to Warsaw, he painted his most famous cycle, Kamienie krzyczą (Stones Shout), 1946-56. This was a terrifying vision of the ruins of the capital.

He produced little in the post-war period because his art did not conform with the artistic climate of the time. Linke's creations are sometimes accurately described as metaphorical realism. The essence of his art is a visualisation of literary metaphors. The composition of his images, and the way the cycles of pictures are constructed, have a remarkably narrative character.

Most of his work was done on paper. The performer combined watercolour, gouache, crayon, pencil and Indian ink, often scratching and wiping the surface of the paper, and employing collage.

One of the best known of Linke's works is the painting called Autobus (Bus), popularly known as Czerwony autobus (Red Bus) which was one of his last works, inspired by Stanisław Wyspianski's play, Wesele (The Wedding). Like the heroes of the Wedding, the characters in The Bus are slaves standing as an obstacle to their own liberation. The poet Jacek Kaczmarski dedicated his 1981 song Czerwony Autobus to the picture in 1981. Another well known picture by Linke is Modlitwa zamordowanych (The Prayer of the Murdered) from 1942. A documentary film was made in 1991 with Bronisław Linke describing the world as he saw it. It was directed by Grzegorz Dubowski.' -- Adopted from Pan Steeva article on Bronislaw Linke.