“Sleeping Staś”
“Sleeping Staś” is a pastel on paper drawing by the Polish Post-Impressionism and Symbolist artist, Stanisław Wyspiański, from 1904. Though mostly known as a playwright, Wyspiański was also a visual artist, poet, and interior designer. In his 38 short years, he was a prolific artist and produced an immense output of art.
Wyspiański and his wife, Teodora, had four children. He often documented his domestic life in informal pastel sketches, such as this one of his sleeping son. He sought to capture them in their more private moments, from sleeping, to nursing. He sketched self-portraits with his family, placing himself into the domestic scene. Together, these portraits offer a glimpse into the private life of the man who loved his family and was proud of his heritage.
Wyspiański was part of the Young Poland movement. He wanted to display life as it was, without any academic higher aspirations, or glossing veneer. He was brought up in an educated middle class with access to the art and intellectual scene of Kraków. His critique of the social class system in Poland at the time, as written in his play, ‘Wesele’ (‘The Wedding’), went beyond social commentary. His wife and mother of his children was the servant for his aunt who raised him.
“Sleeping Staś” is currently in the collections of the Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu in Poznań, Poland.
For more on Stanisław Wyspiański, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
