On Bruno Schulz’s Illustrations of the Story “From the Court of a Blind Goddess” Cover Image

O ilustracjach Brunona Schulza do noweli Z dworu ślepej bogini
On Bruno Schulz’s Illustrations of the Story “From the Court of a Blind Goddess”

Author(s): Wira Cypuk
Contributor(s): Adam Pomorski (Translator)
Subject(s): Cultural history, Local History / Microhistory, Social history, Polish Literature, Interwar Period (1920 - 1939)
Published by: Fundacja Terytoria Książki

Summary/Abstract: The cause of this investigation were two unknown drawings by Bruno Schulz (ink, two4x7 cm, two 6x7 cm, each with the artist’s signature) found in the newspaper Chwila, a Polish language Zionist daily published in Lviv in 1919-1939. Chwila paid much attention to Schulz: 43 articles, reviews, and notes on his life and work were published throughout the paper’s history. Few texts published in the Chwila were illustrated, and book illustrations were also rare in the artistic career of the writer: next to illustrating his own books, he designed covers and illustrations only for Juliusz Witt and Witold Gombrowicz. Searching for information about the author of an illustrated story “Z dworuślepej bogini,” Oskar Alexandrowicz (1885-1939?), a resident of Drogobych, painter, art critic, and lawyer, added to the knowledge about the circle of Schulz’s friends. For instance, an interesting character was Oskar’s brother, Roman Alexandrowicz (1882-1940), a well-known lawyer and collector of Schulz’s works which he used to show to the public in his apartment on the corner of Akademicki Square and Fredry Street in Lviv. The literary critic Ostap Ortwin (1876-1942), who was a regular patron of a famous café in the same building, most likely supported Schulz’s participation in the Spring Salon of 1922. Just opposite, on 7 Fredry Street, there was a studio of Kazimierz Sichulski, painter and professor of the Lviv State Industrial School, and Wanda Diamand’s photo studio “Światłocień.” The author also succeeded in establishing the identity and biographical data of another Alexandrowicz, Marek (1890-?), managerof one of the biggest oil companies in Europe, “Gazy Ziemne,” who was a close friend of Izydor Schulz.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 15
  • Page Range: 201-216
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish