Tomb of Polish Artists on Campo Verano in Rome
On Rome's Campo Verano, the Tomb of Polish Artists underwent conservation work in 2013. This tomb was designed in 1903 by the sculptor and medallist Antoni Madeyski as the final resting place of Aleksander Gierymski. More people were buried there in later years: Wiktor Brodzki, a sculptor who died in 1904; the author of the project, Antoni Madeyski, who died in 1939; and Jadwiga Bohdanowicz, a sculptor who died in 1943. The names of Wiktor Brodzki and Jadwiga Bohdanowicz were not listed on the tombstone, but were noted in the records of the Campo Verano Cemetery Board.

From Campo Verano to America
Similarly, the cemetery's records noted that the painter Jan Styka was also laid to rest in the Tomb of Polish Artists. In 1959, the artist's remains were transferred to the United States to the Glendale Cemetery near Los Angeles, where they were laid to rest next to his son Tadeusz Styka in the Quarters of the Immortals. In this cemetery, named Forest Lawn Memorial Park, a panorama entitled 'The Golgotha' ('The Golgotha') has been on display since 1951. "Golgotha" ("The Crucifixion"), considered to be the largest religious painting in the world. Jan Styka painted 'Golgotha' in 1896 together with Jan Stanislawski, Tadeusz Popiel and Zygmunt Rozwadowski at the instigation of Ignacy Paderewski.

Death of Aleksander Gierymski
Antoni Madeyski's Roman studio in via Flaminia was a meeting place for Poles - artists, writers, political and independence activists. One of the most outstanding Polish painters of the 19th century, Aleksander Gierymski, belonged to the sculptor's circle of friends. The artist was looked after by his patron and friend, the industrialist, scientist and inventor Bruno Abdank-Abakanowicz. Gierymski was a direct witness of his sudden death in 1900. This event aggravated the painter's poor health.

On 8 March 1901, the Rome correspondent of the "Gazeta Lwowska" wrote: "As I have already reported telegraphically, the late Aleksander Gierymski, an excellent landscape painter, brother of Maksymilian Gierymski, died here after a short illness at the age of 52. The artist, who had been suffering from acute neurasthenia for a long time, became a recluse, avoided the Society and manifested the beginnings of mental illness even towards those who could approach him. For three years, therefore, he had been seeking relief for his disturbed nerves, in the south, spending his winters in Rome, where he had a studio in the via Margutta, to which, however, few people had access.

His only friend and - protector was the electrical engineer, the late Bruno Abakanowicz. It was with him, in Saint-Maur near Paris and on the island of Plumanach on the Brittany coast, that Gierymski spent most of the year painting and taking solitary walks. When the late Abakanowicz, who was in charge of selling his paintings and providing funds, died, Gierymski felt this great loss painfully and became even gloomier. [...] The daughter of the late B. Abakanowicz, did not cease to surround the artist with kindness, but despite this, Gierymski, in his last days, fell into a nervous breakdown.

Several of his friends, young painters, took care of him here, and through their efforts, he was placed in a home for the insane, at the Zatybrze, where he was given proper care. It seemed that his illness would drag on; meanwhile, Al. Gierymski died almost suddenly, due to an attack of paralysis, alone, as he had lived. The Resurrectionist Fathers took care of the funeral and the removal of the body to the Campo Verano cemetery. One of the young sculptors, Mr A. Madejski, removed the death mask from the deceased. The funeral was attended by the local artistic colony." ("Gazeta Lwowska", no. 58, 12 March 1901)

The gravely ill artist was cared for in the last months of his life by Antoni Madeyski, mentioned in the correspondence. When Gierymski died, Madeyski took care of a dignified burial place for him.

According to Maria Kwiatkowska in the catalogue Groby Polskie na cmentarzach Rzymu (Warsaw 1999), 'the founders of Gierymski's monument - the cost of which was calculated at a thousand roubles - were: the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw, donating two thirds of the necessary sum, collected as income from a posthumous exhibition of the painter's works, and Zofia Abakanowicz and Ignacy Milewski.

Obelisk in white travertine
The Tomb of Polish Artists on the Campo Verano (Altoripiano qu. 15) was made of white travertine in the form of an obelisk topped with a cross; it was decorated with a sculptural composition with leaves and a lantern, with a bronze bust of Gierymski by Antoni Madeyski, placed in a niche, with two marble inscription panels. The grave field is lined with slabs at ground level, forming a frame. Inside it is the entrance to the crypt of the tomb covered by a moulded slab with two bronze entablature protruding above the level of the frame. On the slab is an inscription, carved deeply in Roman capital: POLSKICH /THE GRAVE OF ARTISTS.

At the headrest stands a two-storey rectangular pedestal. In its lower part, on the left-hand side, on an asymmetrically placed protrusion, there is a plastic sculptural composition consisting of laurel branches, a palmette and a lantern decorated with lion heads. This composition partially overlaps the side of the plinth, where the author's signature is located: ANT. MADEYSKI. To the right is also mounted a slab of white marble with an inscription: ANTONI MADEYSKI / ART. SCULPTOR / D.O.B. IN FUSNIA IN VILNIUS 1862 / D. IN ROME 1939. IN ROME 1939.

The upper part of the pedestal tapers upwards and is topped by a projecting, massive cornice with a carved Maltese cross on top. The cornice bears the relief letters PX against a background of scrolled palm leaves. In the central part of the plinth is a framed semi-circular niche with a bronze bust of Aleksander Gierymski. Below it is a tapering plaque of pink marble with the main inscription of the monument carved in deep Roman capitals: ALEXANDER / GIERYMSKI / UR. IN WARSAW / 1850 / D. IN ROME / 1901. IN ROME / 1901.

The bust of Gierymski, was stolen in the late 1990s. It was fortunate to establish that the original sculpture, with the signature: "Ant. Madeyski Rome 1902", is in the collection of the National Museum in Kraków, under inventory number MNK II-rz-193.

On its basis, Polish conservators were able to make a copy that was then placed in the niche of the tombstone. The replica of Gierymski's bust was made of epoxy resin.

During the conservation work, an additional plaque commemorating Wiktor Brodzki and Jadwiga Bohdanowicz with inscriptions was placed on the tombstone: WIKTOR BRODZKI / ART. SCULPTOR / B. IN OCHOTÓWKA 1817 / D. IN ROME 1904 / JADWIGA BOHDANOWICZ / ART. SCULPTOR / D.O.B. IN WARSAW 1887 /DIED. IN ROME 1943.

Thus a precious reminder of the Polish presence and artistic life in Rome has been restored to its proper condition.

Further work on Campo Verano
Work on Campo Verano continues. In 2014, thanks to funds from the Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs "Cooperation with Poles and Poles Abroad" awarded to the Society of Academic Tradition, three more Polish graves were subjected to conservation work: the artists Henryk Cieszkowski and Aleksander Stankiewicz, the Lateran canon Ludwik Grabiński and the insurgent, collector and social activist Onufry Antoni Józef Korzeniowski.

The work was carried out by the same team of conservators who restored the Tomb of Polish Artists in 2014. As in 2013, the team's work was supervised by Dr Janusz Smaza, and assistance in the project was offered by the Cultural Heritage Foundation and Polish diplomatic missions in Rome.