Eligiusz Niewiadomski "Anioł miłości", 1903, 1903, oil on canvas. Photo courtesy of the National Museum in Warsaw
On the 16th of December, 1922 the first President of the II Republic of Poland Gabriel Narutowicz was killed when painter and critic Eligiusz Niewiadomski shot him during an exhibition opening at the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw
The attack came two days after power was transferred from Commander-in-Chief Józef Piłsudski to the new President. The election of Narutowicz had already been fraught with a great deal of protest regarding his atheist beliefs, his membership in a Masonic Lodge and his popularity among Poland's minority groups. The President had been paying an afternoon visit to the museum for the opening of the Annual Salon. As he stood before a winter landscape painted by Teodor Ziomek, Niewiadomski shot him three times and the President died on the spot. Niewiadomski was sentenced to death by the District Court in Warsaw and executed in January 1923.
Against a biographical backdrop that is jarringly reminiscent of the assassination of President Lincoln in the United States several decades before, Niewiadomski was considered at best a mediocre painter. He'd studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg, graduating in 1894. He continued his studies in Paris, tutored by such illustrious professors as Wojciech Gerson. Aside from his painting, he gained a reputation as a respected critic. He also contributed a great deal to the establishment of the Fine Arts School in Warsaw, bringing many well-known Polish painters to Warsaw to lecture there.
The obvious question is how such a well-educated and respected individual, conscientious citizen and former soldier (in the war for independence in 1920) could carry out such a violent act on a member of the government. As a nationalist sympathiser, Niewiadomski was purportedly bitter at the fact that the head of state was rumoured to be a freemason and an atheist, in addition to having spent 32 years in Switzerland. Based on Niewiadomski's admission at the trial, the choice to kill Narutowicz was slightly arbitrary - he'd intended to kill Piłsudski, the Commander-in-Chief, whom he blamed for the anarchy he believed rampant in the government at that time, the empty coffers of the treasury and cronyism in top posts.
The assassination of President Narutowicz is the most bloody event in the history of the Zachęta National Gallery. The subject was taken up in the autumn of 2011 as part of a recent show of works relating to various acts of censorship, violence, threats and censorship at this particular institution, curated by Goshka Macuga. Macuga even attempted to include a painting by Niewiadomski - "Chrystus" / "Christ" - a religious painting made in a relatively traditional style - however, its current owner did not want the painting shown in such a controversial context and refused. "Christ" is among the few works that Niewiadomski was known for, others include "Anioł Miłości" / "Angel of Love" and the interiors of the Saint Bartholomew church in Konin.
Niewiadomski's act of violence has served as the inspiration for the works of other contemporary artists and filmmakers, such as Jerzego Kawalerowicz's "Śmierć prezydenta" / "Death of a President" in 1977 roku and Wilhelm Sasnal's painting "Narutowicz" in 2003. Israeli artist Yael Bartana also references this act in "And Europe will be stunned...", shown at the 2011 Venice Biennale.
Author: Agnieszka Le Nart based on the Polish text on Culture.pl