Jozef Marian Chelmonski

Jozef Marian Chelmonski (1849–1905) was a Polish painter.

Chelmonski was born on November 7, 1849 in the Boczki village near Lowicz in central Poland. His first teacher of drawing was his father (a small leaseholder and administrator of Boczki village). After finishing high school in Warsaw, he was studying in Warsaw Drawing Class (1867–1871) and taking private lessons from Wojciech Gerson. From 1871 to 1874 Chelmonski lived in Munich. He cooperated with Polish painters assembled around Jozef Brandt and Maksymilian Gierymski. He also had studied for a few months at the Academy of H. Anschutz and A. Strahuber. In 1872 and 1874 Chelmonski visited Polish territories (Poland as a country did not exist then), Tatra Mountains and Ukraine.

"Babie lato", oil on canvas, 1875, National Museum in Warsaw .First paintings of Chelmonski arose under the influence of Gerson. Following works presented landscapes and villages. In 1875 Chelmonski came to Paris, where he had many important exhibitions. Thanks to them Chelmonski gain publicity and had become famous. Since he had many orders, the artistic level of his paintings decreased. From 1878 to 1887 Chelmonski had been traveling. He visited Poland, Vienna and Venice. In 1887 he returned to Poland and in 1889 settled in Kuklowka village. Contact with homeland and nature revealed quality of his artworks. From that time are the most beautiful of Chelmonski's paintings like: Partridge on the snow, The storks or Before thunderstorm.

Chelmonski represented the trend in art called Polish Patriotic Painting. He died in Kuklowka near Grodzisk Mazowiecki in 1905.