Painting: Master of landscapes, servant of art.

The work of Jan Stanisławski, the founder of the Kraków landscape school, who was also largely responsible for a revival in Polish landscape painting, is being celebrated at the National Museum in Kraków on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death.

Stanisławski's artistic career was atypical and, in his youth, he had no intention of becoming a painter. "He was a mathematician. One day, acting on impulse, maybe because of his visit to [St Petersburg's] Hermitage Museum or maybe because of some heartbreak, he decided to become an artist," said Urszula Kozakowska-Zaucha, the exhibition's curator.

In his career three periods can be distinguished. The artist's early works were inspired by realism. Later Stasnisławski fell under the sway of impressionism, filling canvases with bright colors and light, and presenting scenery from Kiev, Kraków and Italy. Around 1900 he abandoned impressionism and turned to symbolism, forming his signature style. From then on the artist tried to represent the breadth of the universe within the cipher of the natural scene.

The exhibition, entitled "The Poplars by the Water," presents 100 of Stanisławki's works. The collection spans his entire career, and features characteristic of Stanisławki's style may be seen throughout. "For Stanisławski, small formats are typical. Everyday scenes are rarely the topic of those paintings. Mainly he painted landscapes," explained Kozakowska-Zaucha.

Katarzyna Zachariasz

The exhibition runs until March 25. For more details log on to www.muzeum.krakow.pl