Edmund Cieczkiewicz

Edmund Cieczkiewicz (1872-1958) was a Polish painter and graphic designer. Best known for his Romantic landscapes, he is often dubbed "the last student of Matejko".

Born in Barszczowice near Lwów (modern Lviv, then in Austro-Hungarian Galicia), Cieczkiewicz graduated from a gymnasium in Nowy Sącz and in 1887 joined the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts.[1] There he studied painting under the tutelage of Florian Cynk, Władysław Łuszczkiewicz and Leon Wyczółkowski,[1] as well as Jan Matejko and Teodor Axentowicz.[2] He graduated in 1898,[1] along his better-known colleagues: Józef Mehoffer, Stanisław Wyspiański, Xawery Dunikowski and Wojciech Weiss.[3]

Although a skilled painter, his personal situation prevented him from devoting his life solely to art. Instead upon graduation he started working for Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways as a railway clerk.[2] He continued to paint though, notably portraits and mountain landscapes of the Beskids and Tatra Mountains, as well as Volhynia and Białowieża Forest.[1]

Among the best-known of his works are a series of paintings adorning the train stations of Tarnów and Nowy Sącz (finished around 1910).[4][3] The Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways were so impressed with the series that it ordered a similar series of Alpine landscapes for the Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, however the outbreak of World War I prevented their completion.[4] Apart from paintings, Cieczkiewicz also painted a series of promotional posters for the 1929 Polish General Exhibition in Poznań (1929) and numerous postcards.[3]

After the war Cieczkiewicz retired and settled in Wierchomla before moving to Kamionka Wielka, Piwniczna and finally to Rytro, where he spent the remainder of his life.[4][3] He died 31 January 1958 in Rytro and was buried at the local Catholic cemetery.