Maria Bal | |
|---|---|
 Bacchante, portrait of Maria Balowa byJacek Malczewski, 1907 | |
| Born | Maria Brunicka 26 July 1879 |
| Died | 1 January 1955(1955-01-01) (aged 75) |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Symbolism |
| Spouse | Stanisław Bal |
Jadwiga Maria Kinga Bal (Balowa) of Zaleszczyki,née Brunicka (26 July 1879 – 1 January 1955) was a Polishbaroness and a lifelongmuse ofJacek Malczewski, considered Poland's national painter. She served as thelive model for a series of hissymbolic portrayals of women, as well as nudestudies and mythological beings. Most were completed before the interwar period when Poland had not yet achieved independence.[1][2]
Jadwiga Maria Brunicka (called Maria) was born during the foreignPartitions of Lithuania-Poland to baron Seweryn Brunicki, a Polish land-owner, and his wife Jadwiga Maria Kryspina Zagórska, (see theOstoja coat of arms) at their country estate inZaleszczyki (now Zalischyky, western Ukraine).[3] A descendant of aJewish family fromBavaria, her father carried the title ofbaron received in 1813.[4] The family owned atenement house in the metropolitan city ofKraków at ul. Pierackiego 7, where Maria later was a frequent visitor.[4]
Maria was noted as being exceptionally beautiful by her family. They called herKinga from the time she was a girl. As was typical of wealthy families, she was educated at home by a tutor.[4]
In 1898 Maria Brunicka married Stanisław Jakub Bal, a land-owner who was nine years older. The main residence of the Bal family was an estate inTuligłowy, in eastern Poland. The house had been rebuilt in the early 19th century. They had two daughters together.[4] Their marriage ended about 1904.[5] One of their daughters, Helena Bal (1904–1996), became a painter in the interwar period.[6]
From about 1904 to the outbreak of World War I, Maria had an affair with the painter Jacek Malczewski who was 25 years her senior; electedRector of theAcademy of Fine Arts in 1912.[7][8] They remained friends after she broke up with him, and frequently corresponded during her foreign travels.[4] In 1923 she married again, this time to a Jerzy Turno, (see theKotwica coat of arms).[4][9] Malczewski was among the prominent guests at her wedding.[4]
Maria Bal had met the artistJacek Malczewski around 1904 while living in Kraków, after her first marriage had come to an end. They had a tumultuous affair that lasted untilWorld War I.[4] She posed for many of his symbolic paintings from thePythia series painted at the cusp ofPoland's return to independence (before the end of the war).[5] These works included his numerous self-portraits with muses.[10] Malczewski was a married man. He had a son, Rafał born in 1892, who also became a painter later on.[11]
Maria Bal was a star of the local literary society in Kraków. She was also a regular at the gatherings of artists held at the Kraków mansion of Olga Chwistkowa. After breaking up with Malczewski, Maria remained friends with him. They frequently corresponded before her second marriage.[4]
Maria is one of the most revered art models in Poland.[6] She died on 3 January 1955 in Kraków at the age of 75.[4] A black dress of hers, from the 1930s, is on display at the Department of Fashion in the Central Museum of Textiles inŁódź.[12]
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In the background of his models he gave shape to symbols with esoteric meanings supposed to provide keys for a psychic interpretation. Similarly, he depicted mythological and fantastical beings, which seem to be almost tamed, in landscapes that hint at links both to his childhood and maturity.
Tomasz Lenczewski,Genealogia rodów utytułowanych - ut.21.1.148
Obrazy z cykluPolonia (Paintings of thePolonia series from the collections of theNational Museum in Kielce).
Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN, Warsaw 1974.