He wanted to be “just an artist”. On the 100th anniversary of Jerzy Nowosielski’s birth

Abstract

The article reveals the main milestones of the creative biography of the Polish icon painter Jerzy Nowosielski, whose centenary of birth is celebrated this year, and the explicit keys are supposed to be acquired with the purpose of clearly understanding his work as an impulse towards spiritual reality that transforms the world. The subject of the analysis has become predominantly the artist’s thoughts about Orthodoxy, art, and his main objectives, the essential issues of the modern icon, the prospects and purpose of icon painting, which have been represented both in the form of essays and sketches, and in numerous interviews. Novoselski’s work is considered as the realization of the mission of the icon-painting tradition and creating a modern icon in accordance with existing canons. Owing to the artist’s views on icon painting, the originality of his work and creativity are disclosed in many respects, in which the boundaries between painting and icon are blurred. At the same time, Novoselski’s work was caused by a misunderstanding of his coreligionists, which, however, would not prevent the artist from realizing his creative plans.