Jan Chrzan

"Painting is such a wonderful thing that you keep trying, and you can never master it! So you have to keep on painting…"

Biography

Jan Chrzan - portrait

Jan Chrzan was born on May 25, 1905 in Piaseczno near Warsaw and passed away on April 21, 1993 in Warsaw. He attended the Konrad Krzyzanowski School of Painting and Drawing in 1925. He began his studies at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in 1930, studying under Professor Mieczyslaw Kotarbinski, and then at the studio of Professor Tadeusz Pruszkowski. Chrzan’s works from that period were acclaimed on numerous occasions. He received, among others, an honorary award for painting and drawing (19 December 1930), a cash prize (27 March 1931), as well as a rectorial distinction (20 June 1931) and a prestigious second-class award (27 June 1932). In 1939, his paintings were included in a foreign travelling exhibition of works by members of the Professional Visual Artists' Bloc. Most of his works were destroyed in a fire in his apartment during the Second World War.

During the occupation of Warsaw, in addition to his painting, he worked as a teacher at a vocational school (1941–1944). He was also involved in the Polish resistance movement. He played an active role in the Warsaw Uprising during which he organized efforts to save lives, supervised the construction of barricades, and directed the transport of the wounded as a Red Cross volunteer. After the Uprising failed and the resistance fighters fled from the capital, Chrzan, nevertheless, managed to evacuate hundreds of civilians from Warsaw in this most appalling atmosphere of defeat.

Jan Chrzan in the open air
Chrzan also made an important contribution to saving Poland's cultural artifacts and national treasures. During the Warsaw Uprising, he headed up a department of the underground government, responsible for safeguarding artworks in the central northern districts of the city. Together with Professor Stanislaw Lorentz and Jan Cybis, he set about protecting the most valuable exhibits of the National Museum and the RoyalCastle. He also took photographs as a means of documenting the destruction of the Polish capital. Right up until the time of liberation, Chrzan was involved in evacuating exhibits from libraries, archives and museums in Warsaw.

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Jan Chrzan - portrait

From 1945 onwards, Chrzan was very active in the Polish Union of Artists. In 1957, under the aegis of the PUA, he drew up plans to establish the “Art” Co-operative and set up its pioneering Salon of Modern Art in Warsaw. As a result of his efforts, the co-operative was granted 11 properties around the city. Being the director of the Salon of Modern Art for 18 years, he promoted Polish artists, organizing the the sale of their works at home and abroad.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Chrzan initiated and then jointly organized the famous Warsaw Art Fairs . These collective, open-air exhibitions proved a huge success, bringing thousands of people into direct contact with artists and enabling them to buy their works. Chrzan is also known for inventing and implementing a modern method of artistic training – to be used in vocational schools and craft workshops – based on his own charts, drawings and designs. This visualisation of the crafts making procedure combined the artistic qualities with the practical application, reducing, enormously, the length of the crafts learning process. This revolutionary method was hailed by experts as one of the best and most effective means of vocational training.

Jan Chrzan - exhibition

Jan Chrzan created more than 2000 oils, temperas and gouaches. The subject of the Warsaw Uprising always had a special place in his art. He presented that period in Polish history from the perspective of both a sensitive artist and an active participant of the tragic events (most of the paintings belong currently to the Warsaw Uprising Museum). He painted landscapes, inspired by the beauty of nature and different views of the Polish towns, especially Warsaw. His paintings include other subjects as well, such as nudes, still lifes and portraits. He also painted murals (the parish church in Kolbuszowa near Rzeszow) and designed unique furniture, shoes and handbags.

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At the studio

Nothing got in the way of his zeal to create. If he ran out of canvas, he would paint on tablecloths; if there was no paper or cardboard, he would draw on napkins in cafés. Not even the paralysis of the right side of his body, which afflicted him in 1983, could stop Chrzan's artistic enthusiasm. He learned to paint with his left hand. He created new works and made changes in the old ones He rarely cared to date or title his paintings, and his habit of repainting, so characteristic for Chrzan in his entire artistic career makes it doubly difficult for us to date his works precisely.

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He took part in the collective exhibitions of art, both at home and abroad. Having no desire for fame or personal recognition, he did not try to organize any individual exhibitions of his works. The first presentation of this kind took place after his death. In 1999 the Central Army Library in Warsaw presented the exhibition of his paintings on the subject of the Warsaw Uprising. Chrzan’s works can be found in public institutions and private homes in Poland, Europe, Japan, Canada, and the United States.

In 1980, Jan Chrzan was awarded the Chevalier’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta for his lifetime achievements.

Jan Chrzan with his wife Janina and daughter Malgorzata

Is this a complete image of a man and an artist? Certainly not. A book would not be enough to describe this unusual ingenious man, a passionate artist and an active social worker. We must also mention one more important aspect of his life – the family he cared for throughout his entire life. He will remain forever in the hearts of his loved ones: his wife Janina, his daughters Malgorzata and Ewa, and his grandson Rafal.

Rafał Wereżyński