Bolesław Biegas (1877-1954)
A Polish sculptor, painter, and playwright, Bolesław Biegas achieved considerable artistic and commercial success in France. However, he was largely marginalised in Poland, where he remains relatively obscure. The artist passed away on 30 September 1954 at the Necker Hospital in Paris at the age of seventy-seven. His funeral Mass was held on 5 October at the Polish Church on Rue Saint Honoré. Dying without descendants, he bequeathed his artistic legacy to the Polish Historical and Literary Society in France.

Biegas’s biography is marked by an extraordinary, almost Dickensian turn of fortune. Born to a poor peasant family, he was orphaned early and set to various jobs, including herding cattle, assisting a carpenter, and training under a minor woodcarver. A transformative moment in his life came in 1896, when his clay sculptures caught the attention of Dr Franciszek Rajkowski, a physician from Ciechanów, who took Biegas into his home, fostered his sculptural skills, and helped him learn to read and write. With support from Father Aleksander Rzewnicki, Count Adam Krasiński, and the literary critic and philosopher Aleksander Świętochowski, Biegas was able to develop his artistic potential. In 1896, Świętochowski organised Biegas’s first exhibition in Warsaw. He also initiated a public fund-raising effort for his education, which allowed the nineteen-year-old artist to study at Kraków’s Academy of Fine Arts under the guidance of Konstanty Laszczka. However, in 1901, Biegas was expelled from the academy after his piece, The Book of Life, caused a scandal. That same year, he participated in the Tenth Vienna Secession Exhibition, where his sculptures were displayed in Vienna and at Munich’s Glaspalast. Thanks to a scholarship from the Warsaw Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, Biegas moved to Paris, where he would spend the remainder of his life despite periodic returns to Poland.

The fin de siècle introduced Symbolism, Art Nouveau, and decadence to the visual arts and literature, which profoundly shaped Biegas’s work. The young artist moved away from genre scenes and naturalism, instead embracing metaphysical and aesthetic themes under the strong influence of Stanisław Przybyszewski’s concept of the „naked soul”, a pure essence unbounded by reason or sensory perception. Przybyszewski believed this essence could only be reached through the emotional experiences evoked by art. Biegas quickly captured the attention of French art critics and received the patronage of Baron and Baroness Henryk and Jadwiga Trütschel, who provided financial support. He also established extensive connections in the Polish artistic émigré community, and formed close friendships with many, including Olga Boznańska. His exhibitions were generally well received, and they often sparked intense reactions and were reviewed by prominent critics such as Guillaume Apollinaire, Émile Verhaeren, André Fontaines, and Louis Vauxcelles. Biegas remained engaged in Poland’s artistic life and exhibited his works at the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw (1901), Kulikowski’s Salon (1909), and the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Kraków (1902-1904, 1911). He also wrote works infused with symbolism, most notably poetry collections: Przeszłość i przyszłość („Past and Future”, 1902); novels: Graczak (1904) and Wędrówka ducha myśli („The Journey of the Spirit of Thought”, 1904); and plays: Lachit (1906), Orfida (1908), and Bramir (1909).

Around 1900, following advice from Stanisław Wyspiański, Bolesław Biegas began painting. While he drew inspiration from the symbolism of Gustave Moreau and Arnold Böcklin, his early works also reflect the influences of Art Nouveau and the distinctive style of Wyspiański. Exhibitions of his politically charged paintings, such as The Russo-Japanese War (1907), established Biegas as a rebellious artist and sparked a broader debate around artistic censorship. In 1909, he formed a connection with the Indian princess Perinette Khurshedbanoo, whose likeness he captured in numerous portraits. His best-known works include „spherical portraits”, which portray figures through abstract ornamental patterns. During the First World War, he created Vampires of War, a series illustrating the brutality and futility of war. He later completed Mysticism of Infinity and a collection of dreamlike, symbolist portraits depicting key cultural figures. After the Second World War, he created the politically resonant series Nations and Politicians.

In the 1920s, Biegas’s popularity waned dramatically due to his limited engagement in social and artistic circles and the diminishing public interest in Symbolism. During the inter-war period, his participation in exhibitions in Warsaw and Kraków nearly ceased. Despite numerous fortunate turns throughout his life, Biegas’s star had faded by the 1930s. After the Second World War, he lived a quiet, solitary life in modest conditions until his death on 30 September 1954.

Bolesław Biegas did not establish a lasting presence in Poland’s national awareness, a fact attributed to his permanent relocation to Paris in 1901, the critical reception of his work in Poland, and his passing during the Communist era; a system he resolutely opposed, evidenced by his decision to entrust his entire artistic legacy to the Polish émigré community in France.

Renewed interest in Biegas’s work emerged in the late twentieth century, along with a revival of appreciation for Art Nouveau and inter-war art. Today, his works are highly sought after by collectors.