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Józef Brandt

Bolesław Szańkowski (1871/73-1953): Portrait of Józef Brandt, 1910. Oil on canvas, 162 x 112 cm, National Museum in Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 961
©
Muzeum cyfrowe / http://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl

After studying painting in Munich from 1860 onwards, Józef Brandt (1841-1915), who called himself Josef von Brandt on account of his Polish aristocratic title, celebrated brilliant successes with large battle paintings recaling the 17th century Polish wars against the Tatars, the Turks and the Swedes. Smaller paintings on the same theme as well as genre pictures from Polish folk life proved highly popular amongst collectors in Germany, England and the USA. With the opening of his Munich studio in 1875, when he publicly exhibited a collection of Polish antiquities used as models for his paintings, he became the leading figure in the Polish artists' colony in Munich. His close connection to the Bavarian royal family and his great successes at international exhibitions earned him titles, decorations and medals in the 1880s/90s. In Poland he is still remembered for his school of painting on his estate at Oronsko, which he had acquired by marriage, and for his national-polish motifs.

Mediathek Sorted

Media library

  • Art review. The Battle of Vienna 1683.
    Art review. The Battle of Vienna 1683. Oil painting by Joseph Brandt in Munich, in: Deutsche Kunst-Zeitung Die Dioskuren, Year 18, No. 10, Berlin 1873, page 78
  • Fig. 1: Józef Brandt, ca. 1875 - Unknown: Portrait of Józef Brandt, ca. 1875: Photograph on albumin paper, 9.9 x 6.2 cm, National Library Warsaw/Biblioteka Narodowa w Warszawie, Inv. No. F646
  • Fig. 2: Józef Brandt in his studio, 1875/76 - Władysław Szerner (1836-1915): Jósef Brandt in his studio, 1875/76. Wood engraving by Jan Styfi (1841-1921), in: Kłosy, 1876, volume XXII, No. 574, page 405
  • Fig. 3: The studio of Józef Brandt, 1875/76 - Władysław Szerner (1836-1915): The studio of Józef Brandt in Munich, 1875/76. Wood engraving by Paweł Boczkowski (1860-1905), in: Tygodnik Illustrowany, 1876, volume II, No. 52, page 416 f. (excerpt)
  • Fig. 4: The studio of Josef v. Brandt, 1889 - Carl Teufel (1845-1912): The studio of J. v. Brandt, in: Carl Teufel: Ateliers Münchner Künstler, volume 1, Munich 1889, uncounted plate 9
  • Fig. 5: The studio of Josef v. Brandt, 1889 - Carl Teufel (1845-1912): The studio of Josef von Brandt, 1889. Photograph, Glass negative, 18 x 24 cm, Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, Aufnahme-No.: 121.569, Konvolut: Dr. Benno Filser Verlag
  • Fig. 6: The March of the Lisowskis, 1863 - The March of the Lisowskis, 1863. Oil on canvas, 44.5 x 69 cm, in auction trading (Agra Art, 2000)
  • Fig. 7: Jews leading Horses, 1865 - Jews leading Horses to the Market, ca.1865. Oil on wood, 21 x 43.3 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 5548
  • Fig. 8: Polish Peasants' Horse and Cart, 1865 - Polish Peasants' Horse and Cart, 1865. Oil on canvas, 31 x 44 cm. The art possessions of the city of Munich
  • Fig. 9: The Battle of Chocim, 1867 - The Battle of Chocim (1621), 1867. Oil on canvas, 190 x 337 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 5056
  • Fig. 10: Grazing Horses, 1869 - Grazing Horses, 1869. Oil on canvas, 23,2 x 42,6 cm, Museum Biberach, Braith-Mali-Museum, Biberach an der Riß, Inv. No. 11265
  • Fig. 11: Return from Vienna, 1869 - Return from Vienna – Baggage Train, 1869. Oil on canvas, 43,5 x 79,5 cm, Kunstmuseum Łódź/Muzeum Sztuki w Łodzi, Inv. No. MS/SP/M/206
  • Fig. 12: A Break, circa 1870 - A Break in a Small Town, circa 1870. Oil on canvas, 71,5 x 107 cm, Private ownership (from the auction trade)
  • Fig. 13: At the Tavern, undated - At the Tavern. A Polish Village with Ulans, undated. Oil on wood, 13.5 x 18.4 cm, Museum Biberach, Braith-Mali-Museum, Biberach an der Riß, Inv. No. 1989/11264
  • Fig. 14: Czarniecki near Kolding, 1870 - Czarniecki in the Battle of Kolding (1658), 1870. Oil on canvas, 95 x 206 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 410
  • Fig. 15: Waiting for the Boat, 1871 - Waiting for the Boat, 1871. Oil on canvas, 67,5 x 127 cm, privately owned (from auction trading)
  • Fig. 16: Cossacks at the Camp Fire, 1873 - Cossacks at the Camp Fire, 1873. Oil on canvas, 43 x 82 cm, privately owned
  • Fig. 17: The Battle of Vienna, 1873 - The Battle of Vienna, 1873. Oil on canvas, 136 x 318 cm, Museum of the Polish Army, Warsaw/Muzeum Wojska Polskiego w Warszawie, Inv. No. MWP 655
  • Fig. 18: Booty at the River, 1874 - Booty at the River, 1874. Oil on canvas, 69 x 160 cm, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Galerie Neue Meister, Inv. No. G 2401
  • Fig. 19: On the Steppe, 1874 - Welcome to the Steppe, 1874. Oil on canvas, 87.5 x 170 cm, privately owned
  • Fig. 20: A Break in the Steppe, undated - A Break in the Steppe, undated. Oil on canvas, 30.5 x 38 cm, Polenmuseum Rapperswil, Inv. No. 119
  • Fig. 21: Cossacks, 1874 - Cossacks, 1874. Oil on canvas, 33.4 x 46.6 cm, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau Munich
  • Fig. 22: Horse Breeding, 1876 - Horse Breeding in the Steppe, 1876. Oil on canvas, 61.5 x 112.5 cm, Polenmuseum Rapperswil, Inv. No. Dep. 89
  • Fig. 23: Polish Horseman, 1877 - Polish Horseman with his Horse in front of the Toll House, 1877. Water colour and opaque colouring on paper, 24.5 x 32.5 cm, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Inv. No. SZ Jv.Brandt 2
  • Fig. 24: Cossack Guard, 1878 - Cossack Guard, 1878. Oil on canvas, 25.2 x 33 cm, Museum Biberach, Braith-Mali-Museum, Biberach an der Riß, Inv. No. 1989/11266
  • Fig. 25: The Liberation of Prisoners, 1878 - The Liberation of Prisoners [from the hands of Tatars], 1878. Oil on canvas, 179 x 445 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie
  • Fig. 26: Alarm, circa 1880 - 1880 Alarm, circa 1880. Oil on canvas, 97.5 x 150 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 971
  • Fig. 27: Militia at the Ford, circa 1880 - Militia at the Ford, circa 1880. Oil on canvas, 74 x 119.5 cm, privately owned (from auction trading)
  • Fig. 28: Catching a Horse, circa 1880 - Catching a Horse, circa 1880. Oil on canvas, 83.5 x 73.5 cm. Nationale Kunstgalerie, Lviv
  • Fig. 29: Zaporozhian Camp, circa 1880 - Zaporozhian Camp or The Camp of the Tatars, circa 1880. Oil on canvas, 72,5 x 113 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 670
  • Fig. 30: Zaporozhian Cossack, undated - Zaporozhian Cossack, undated. Oil on canvas, mounted on cardboard, 74.9 x 123.1 cm, for auction (Sotheby’s)
  • Fig. 31: March with War Booty, circa 1880 - March with War Booty. Return from Vienna, circa 1880, Oil on canvas, 72 x 112 cm, privately owned
  • Fig. 32: Cavalry Parade, circa 1880 - Polish Cavalry Parade (Hussars), circa 1880. Oil on canvas, 86.5 x 62.8 cm, Polenmuseum Rapperswil, Inv. No. MPR 116
  • Fig. 33: Sketch of Cossacks, circa 1880 - Sketch of Cossacks, circa 1880. Oil on canvas, 61,5 x 48,5 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 1925
  • Fig. 34: A Cossack waiting for the Boat, 1881 - A Cossack waiting for the Boat, 1881 or earlier. Oil on canvas, 26 x 37,5 cm, privately owned (from auction trading)
  • Fig. 35: Setting out for the Hunt, 1883 - Setting out for the Hunt, 1883. Oil on canvas, 69 x 194,5 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig, Inv. No. G 537
  • Fig. 36: Market in Białka, circa 1885 - Market in Białka, circa 1885. Oil on canvas, 62 x 101 cm, Private collection
  • Fig. 37: Confrontation on the Bridge, ca. 1886 - Confrontation on the Bridge, ca. 1886. Oil on canvas, 100 x 200 cm, National Museum Krakow, Inv. No. MNK II-a-147
  • Fig. 38: Polish Farming Cart, undated - Polish Farming Cart on a Country Road, undated. Water colour and opaque colouring on paper, 20.3 x 41.6 cm, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Inv. No. SZ G. Brandt 3
  • Fig. 39: Preparing for the Hunt, 1886 - Preparing for the Hunt, 1886. Oil on canvas, 88 x 165 cm, privately owned
  • Fig. 40: Painter's Palette, 1887 - Palette of Polish Artists in Munich, 1887. By Józef Brandt bottom right: Cossack resting with his Horse, in: Die Kunst für alle. Malerei, Plastik, Graphik, Architektur, vol. 3, Munich 1887/88, after page 60
  • Fig. 41: Ensign, 1889 - Royal Ensign, 1889. Oil on canvas, 83 x 63 cm, privately owned (from auction trading)
  • Fig. 42: In Flight, ca. 1890 - In Flight, ca. 1890. Oil on canvas, 61 x 100.5 cm, for auction (Agra Art, 2012)
  • Fig. 43: Confrontation on the Dyke, ca. 1890 - Confrontation on the Dyke, ca. 1890. Oil on canvas, 70 x 110 cm, for auction (Agra Art, 2012)
  • Fig. 44: Our Dear Lady, ca. 1890 - Our Dear Lady of Poczajów (Praying in the Steppe; the Armenian Mother of God), ca. 1890. Oil on canvas, 151 x 303 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 970
  • Fig. 45: Sketch for Our Dear Lady, 1890 - Sketch for Our Dear Lady of Poczajów, circa 1890. Oil on canvas, 65 x 120 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 411
  • Fig. 46: Cossack Wedding, 1893 - Cossack Wedding, 1893. Oil on canvas, 243 x 156.5 cm, Upper Silesian Museum, Bytom/Muzeum Górnośląskie w Bytomiu, Inv. No. MGB/Sz 916
  • Fig. 47: Victorious Cossacks, 1893 - Victorious Cossacks (Victorious Return), 1893. Oil on canvas, 155.5 x 98.4 cm, for auction (Sotheby’s, 2008)
  • Fig. 48: The Capture, undated - The Capture of a Caucasian Leader, undated. Oil on canvas, 70 x 110.5 cm, for auction (Sotheby’s)
  • Fig. 49: After the Victory, 1893 - After the Victory, 1893. Oil on canvas, 60.5 x 121.5 cm, for auction (Agra Art, 2016)
  • Fig. 50: The Departure from Wilanów, 1897 - The Departure of Johann III. and Marysieńka Sobieska from Wilanów, 1897. Oil on canvas, 186 x 343 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 4374
  • Fig. 51: Queen Marysieńka, ca. 1897 - Queen Marysieńka leaving Wilanów, circa 1897. Oil on canvas, 200 x 400 cm, National Museum Kielce/Muzeum Narodowe w Kielcach, Inv. No. MNKi/M/374
  • Fig. 52: Preparatory study for Queen Marysieńka, 1897 - Preparatory study for the departure of Queen Marysieńka from Wilanów, circa 1897. Oil on wood, 34 x 65.6 cm, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau Munich, Inv. No. G10546
  • Fig. 53: Attack, ca. 1898 - Cavalry Attack. Polish Hussars on the Attack, circa 1898. Oil on canvas, 54.7 x 99.5 cm, for auction (Agra Art, 2017)
  • Fig. 54: In the Yard, ca. 1900 - In the Yard, ca. 1900. Oil on canvas, 80 x 120,5 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 4880
  • Fig. 55: Horse and Cart trying to escape, ca. 1900 - Horse and Cart trying to escape, ca. 1900. Oil on canvas, 60,5 x 100,5 cm, for auction (Agra Art, 2008)
  • Fig. 56: The Hunt, ca. 1900 - The Hunt, ca. 1900, Oil on canvas, 101 x 62 cm, Polenmuseum Rapperswil, Inv. No. MPR 117
  • Fig. 57: Cossack Horseman, ca. 1900 - Cossack Horseman, circa 1900. Water colour with opaque colours on paper, 27 x 39.3 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. Rys.Pol.11661
  • Fig. 58: Cossack guard, undated - Cossack Guard, undated. Oil on canvas, 26 x 37,5 cm, on auction (Sotheby’s, 2012)
  • Fig. 59: Testing a Horse, ca. 1900 - Testing a Horse, ca. 1900. Oil on canvas, 57,5 x 38 cm, privately owned (from auction trading)
  • Fig. 60: Tatar riding through a River, undated - Tatar riding through a River, undated. Quill, washed, 23.4 x 29 cm, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Inv. No. SZ Jv.Brandt 1
  • Fig. 61: Czarniecki on Horseback, ca. 1900 - Stefan Czarniecki on Horseback, circa 1900. Oil on canvas, 55 x 45 cm, for auction (Agra Art, 2013)
  • Fig. 62: Forage Gatherer, ca. 1905 - Forage Gatherer, ca. 1905. Oil on canvas, 92 x 66 cm, on auction (Agra Art, 2014)
  • Fig. 63: Trumpeter, ca. 1905 - Trumpeter, circa 1905. Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 60.5 cm, on auction (Agra Art; Lichfield County Auctions, 2014)
  • Fig. 64: Józef Brandt, ca. 1905 - Jadwiga Golcz (1866-1936): Portrait of the painter Józef Brandt, circa 1905. Photograph from a glass negative, 14.3 x 10.4 cm, National Museum Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. DI 91193/1

Józef Brandt
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Bolesław Szańkowski (1871/73-1953): Portrait of Józef Brandt, 1910.
Bolesław Szańkowski (1871/73-1953): Portrait of Józef Brandt, 1910. Oil on canvas, 162 x 112 cm, National Museum in Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 961
©
Muzeum cyfrowe / http://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl

During these years Brandt's paintings were as coveted as they were expensive. Until the turn of the century the Munich gallery Wimmer which represented him, sold most of his works to the USA. After 1900 he switched to Galerie Heinemann. The Georges Petit gallery dealt in his paintings in Paris.[72] From the turn of the century, however, Brandt (fig. 64), who had been painting mainly for the art market for the past twenty years, seemed burnt out. He continued to work as an artist, but for the most part his paintings were repetitions of motifs related to the Battle of Vienna, such as the “Battle for the Turkish Flag”[73] (circa 1905, National Museum in Krakow/Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie) or the wall-filling depiction of “The Bogurodzica Anthem”[74] (1909, National Museum in Breslau/Muzeum Narodowe w Wrocławiu). In doing so he made individual studies of victorious Hussars and Cossacks (fig. 57-59, 62-63). Brandt was now living on the estate at Orońsko amid a large family of children and grandchildren. In 1913 his health began to deteriorate. At the start of the First World War, German soldiers confiscated his horses, requisitioned food and rations and finally plundered all his works of art and everyday objects. In 1915 Russian soldiers forced him to leave the estate and he moved with his family to Radom. Brandt died of pneumonia on 12th June 1915.

 

Axel Feuß, November 2017

 

Further reading:

Adolf Rosenberg: Die Münchener Malerschule in ihrer Entwicklung seit 1871, Leipzig 1887, pages 46-48

Friedrich Pecht: Geschichte der Münchener Kunst im neunzehnten Jahrhundert, München 1888, pp. 420-424 („Die Polen, Magyaren und sonstigen Ausländer“), Digitale Sammlungen der Universitätsbibliothek Weimar, Digital version: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-g-591521 (called up on 21.11.2017)

Janusz Derwojed: Józef Brandt, Warsaw 1969

Münchner Maler im 19. Jahrhundert, Band 1, München 1981, p. 129 f.

Halina Ste̜pień: Artyści polscy w środowisku monachijskim. W latach 1828-1855 (Studia z historii sztuki / Instytut Sztuki, Polska Akademia Nauk, 44), Breslau/Wrocław 1990

Hans-Peter Bühler: Jäger, Kosaken und polnische Reiter. Josef von Brandt, Alfred von Wierusz-Kowalski, Franz Roubaud und der Münchner Polenkreis, Hildesheim/New York, 1993

Halina Ste̜pień / Maria Liczbińska: Artyści polscy w środowisku monachijskim. W latach 1828-1914. Materiały źródłowe (Studia z historii sztuki / Instytut Sztuki, Polska Akademia Nauk, 47), Warschau 1994

Irena Olchowska-Schmidt: Józef Brandt, Krakau 1996

J. Derwojed: Brandt, Józef, in: Saur Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, Band 13, München/Leipzig 1996, page 641

Halina Ste̜pień: Artyści polscy w środowisku monachijskim. W latach 1856-1914 (Studia z historii sztuki / Instytut Sztuki, Polska Akademia Nauk, 50), Warsaw 2003

Ewa Micke-Broniarek: Józef Brandt (2004), in: culture.pl (Polish/English), http://culture.pl/en/artist/jozef-brandt (called up on 24.11.2017)

Ewa Micke-Broniarek: Józef Brandt, Breslau/Wrocław 2005

Anna Bernat: Józef Brandt (1841-1915), Warsaw 2007

Halina Stępień : Die polnische Künstlerenklave in München (1828-1914), in: zeitenblicke 5 (2006), No. 2, http://www.zeitenblicke.de/2006/2/Stepien/index_html (called up on 24.11.2017)

Eliza Ptaszyńska (ed.): Ateny nad Izarą. Malarstwo monachijskie. Studia i szkice, Suwałki 2012

Jednodniówka – Eintagszeitung. Neuausgabe, herausgegeben von Zbigniew Fałtynowicz / Eliza Ptaszyńska, Muzeum Okręgowe w Suwałkach, Suwałki 2008; simultaneous with the exhibition catalogue “Signatur - anders geschrieben. Anwesenheit polnischer Künstler im Lichte von Archivalien”, Polnisches Kulturzentrum, München 2008

Monika Bartoszek (ed.): Józef Brandt (1841-1915). Między Monachium a Orońskiem/Between Munich and Orońsko, exhibition catalogue Orońsko 2015

Egzotyczna Europa. Kraj urodzenia na płótnach polskich monachijczyków/Das exotische Europa. Heimatvisionen auf den Gemälden der polnischen Künstler in München, Exhibition catalogue Suwałki 2015

 

[72] Bühler 1993 (see further reading), page 114

[73] Walka o sztandar turecki, ca. 1909. Oil on canvas, 76 x 130 cm, Nationalmuseum Krakau/Muzeum Narodow w Krakowie

[74] Bogurodzica, 1909. Oil on canvas, 160 x 302 cm, Nationalmuseum Breslau/Muzeum Narodowe w Wrocławiu

Bolesław Szańkowski (1871/73-1953): Portrait of Józef Brandt, 1910. Oil on canvas, 162 x 112 cm, National Museum in Warsaw/Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. No. MP 961
©
Muzeum cyfrowe / http://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl
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