Jerzy Nowosielski

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Jerzy Nowosielski (1923–2011)
A mystic of art, icon painter who merged Eastern spirituality with modern abstraction.

Style and technique: He combined the Byzantine canon of iconography with elements of modern art – geometrization, color synthesis, abstraction. He painted in tempera and oil, often on wood panels. His works were minimalist, yet deeply metaphysical.
Themes: Sacred art, the human body (especially the female form), metaphysical landscapes, interiors, and Orthodox churches. He was an iconographer, but more than that – he viewed the human body as an “icon of God.”
Secrets and curiosities:
- He experienced a crisis of faith in his youth, later rediscovering spirituality through Orthodoxy – giving his art a unique contemplative dimension.
- He designed dozens of church and chapel interiors, including in Biały Bór – now considered masterpieces of 20th-century sacred art.
- His fascination with the body wasn’t a contradiction but a continuation – he said, “the female body is a sacrament.”
What does he tell us today?
He shows that art can be a form of prayer – that modernity and the sacred don’t have to be in conflict, but can coexist.

Biography

Jerzy Nowosielski was a renowned Polish painter, graphic artist, scenographer, illustrator, and Eastern Orthodox theologian, regarded as one of the greatest contemporary Polish icon painters. He produced religious wall paintings, iconostases, and polychromies in various churches in Poland and abroad. He also painted secular portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and abstract works. His art is held in many Polish museums and private collections internationally.

Early Life and Background

Born in Kraków to a Lemko Greek-Catholic father and a Polish-German mother, Nowosielski studied painting under prominent artists including Felicjan Kowarski and Tadeusz Pruszkowski. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in 1946.

Religious Artistic Contributions

Specialized in Eastern Orthodox religious art, creating wall paintings, iconostases, and polychromies in churches in Kraków, Białystok, Jelenia Góra, and other locations including Lourdes, France. He designed the Church of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Biały Bór.

Secular and Abstract Art

Also produced portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and abstract paintings. His work is widely exhibited in Polish museums and private collections across Canada, the USA, and Germany.

Honors and Legacy

Recipient of Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1993), honorary doctorate from Jagiellonian University (2000), and Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2008). A unique ceramic mosaic by him was added to Poland’s cultural heritage register in 2023.

Nationality

Polish

Themes

Christian iconography, Eastern Orthodox theology, religious compositions, abstract painting, portraits, landscapes, still lifes

Key Awards and Honors

1993
Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta

A prestigious Polish state order awarded for outstanding achievements in culture and arts.
2000
Honorary Doctorate from Jagiellonian University

Awarded for contributions to art and culture.
2008
Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis

High distinction for notable contributions to Polish culture.