 Waclaw
Szymanowski
(1859-1930), the Polish sculptor, created his massive Chopin
monument in Paris around 1902, before it was placed at
Lazienki Park in Warsaw in 1926.¹
Various sources describe the sculpture
as
"Art.Nouveau",
depicting Chopin "sitting under a
willow tree seeking inspiration from nature", or "the
stylized willow echoes a pianist's hand and fingers". |
Orpheus under an uprooted tree / Ovid
However, Icons of Europe has concluded that the sculpture
more likely refers to Orpheus sitting under a 'tree uprooted
by the power of his music'.
The Roman poet Ovid describes in his famous story of Orpheus and Eurydice:²
"And list'ning trees
their rooted stations leave;
Themselves transplanting, all around they grow,
And various shades their various kinds bestow.
Here, tall Chaonian oaks their branches spread,
While weeping poplars there erect their head."
NOTE
Icons of Europe conveyed this observation
in 2006 and 2008 to
the
National Museum
in Warsaw and the
Fryderyk Chopin Institute.
Paul Niggl (Musiker Medaillen, 1965) also sees Waclaw Szymanowski
depicting Chopin as "sitting under a wind-swept tree" (medal in panel).
It appears today that Polish sources at least no longer refer to
Chopin
as sitting under a "Polish willow tree".
IHT article, September 2009
An article in the International Herald Tribune "Meeting
ghosts of Chopin's past" on 25 September 2009 included a photo
of the above monument (online
on 23 September with a different title).
Surprisingly, the author, Michael Kimmelman, chief art
critic and a columnist for The New York Times, makes no
comment on the meaning of the Chopin sculpture or on its background.
We sent the following letter to the editor of IHT the same
day (but not published):
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Sir,
Chopin’s legacy
Michael Kimmelman’s
article “Meeting ghosts of Chopin’s past” (Culture:
Sept. 25) takes a narrow view of Chopin’s legacy, as it
pursues his trail in terms of any buildings or “ghosts
of the past” still visible in Warsaw.
The article does not
mention that the composer’s music and life are seen to
have inspired the development of a Chopin.cult in Europe during the second half of the 19th
century. Sculptors, painters, composers and poets
participated in this movement, whose origin will be clarified
in Icons of Europe's
new book.
An example, pictured
in the article without any comment, is the large Chopin
monument in Lazienki Park which Waclaw Szymanowski
created in Paris around 1909 long before its placement
in Warsaw. We have concluded that it portrays
Chopin / Orpheus
sitting under an uprooted tree as described by the Roman
poet Ovid.
Chopin’s legacy
encompasses his music and the emotion and inspiration it
stirs in people. |
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"Chopin’s legacy
encompasses his music and the emotion and inspiration it
stirs in people."
Icons of Europe
Medal by Szymanowski, 1926
"Sitzende Gestalt (Chopin?)
mit wehendem Gewand vor einem Sturm bewegten Baum."
[sic]
Niggl n° 506
SURPASS TRIBUTES TO
ANY OTHER COMPOSER
"The elaborate and often Orphic artworks paying tribute to
Chopin in Poland and Paris, created well into the 20th
century - paintings, sculpture, poems, music, medals, the
Zelazowa Wola park, surpass
commemorations of any other composer" (Icons of Europe).
However, some scholars do not wish to explore
this theme. Why?
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¹ Waclaw Szymanowski studied in Paris in
1875-1880 under Cyprian Godebski,
who “specialized in bronze busts of celebrities … and allegorical
statuettes”.
The father-in-law of Cyprian Godebski (1835-1909), the cellist
Adrien-François
Servais knew Franchomme. Godebski's daughter Misia became a
renowned
Muse and patron of the arts in Paris (like Princess Winnaretta de
Polignac).
² Source: Metamorphoses, Book X,
The Story of Orpheus and Eurydice
by the
Roman poet Ovid (born 43 BC).
The Polish composer
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) also found inspiration
in the Orpheus legend (e.g. "Orpheus, aloof from the love of women"). |
OPPORTUNITY TO DOCUMENT ARTWORKS IN TRIBUTE TO CHOPIN
"The elaborate and often Orphic artworks created in tribute to
Chopin well into
the 20th century in Paris, Poland and USA
- paintings, sculpture, poems, music,
medals, Zelazowa Wola park -
surpass commemorations of any other composer."
"It would obviously be in the interest of Chopin's legacy to identify these
artworks
much
better and explain their provenance and meaning" -
Icons of Europe |
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