Bakos Katalin - Manicka Anna szerk.: Párbeszéd fekete-fehérben, Lengyel és magyar grafika 1918–1939 (MNG, Warszawa–Budapest, 2009)

III. KATALÓGUS - 1. VÁROS. TÖMEG. GÉP. A MODERNIZMUS ARCAI - - Expresszionizmusok: formisták és a poznani Bunt csoport Lengyelországban, aktivisták Magyarországon

cut. It is also a pessimistic vision of the contemporary society, whose tongues were mixed, which is why a great cry of anger and despair is being let out from the throats of a rushing crowd. Jerzy Hulewicz was primarily a painter, but achieved perfection in the domain of artistic and functional graphic art. He took part in the Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) Uprising (1918-1919), and fought in the Polish Legions. In his early stage of artistic work, he produced two linocuts based on the same idea: a twice suffering man treated as an object. They are called The Cross [Krzyż], where Christ is not only crucified, but also a mysterious force swings and turns the cross around, and The Bell [Dzwon], where the clapper of the bell is a hung man, who hang himself and was also swung and knocked about. The Cross was inspired by the output of Franz Marc, and made reference to his woodcut Annunciation [Zwiastowanie] from 1912. The illustrations of Jerzy Hulewicz for Juliusz Sfowacki's Genesis from the Spirit are an example of how in Poland on the eve of regaining independence, in the face of the World War I one looked for a remedy for the absurdity and cruelty of every war and revolution. The Romantic text is written in a vivid and expressive language, and its conclusion is that the only answer to the ensuing events "will be the well-found Wisdom of my nation in the future, and in the purified Wisdom a unity of Emotions will be born, which will guide my country to her final attainment of the goal chosen for her in the creative plan of the Divine Kingdom on this globe." Hulewicz's woodcuts, showing the divine action and the miracle of creating the world from chaos, are at the same time a good example of art on the border of Abstract Expressionism. Jan Wroniecki was mainly a draughts man and a graphic artist. During the World War I, he fought on the Serbian and Bulgarian front, and at Verdun. He also took part in the Greater Poland Uprising and the Polish-Bolshevik War. His small linocut Salome strikes with a multiplicity of textures and patterns: the floor is chequered, the curtains - in zigzags, and the figure of the title heroine is hardly discernable from the background. One can assume that the music to which the daughter of Herodias danced was very loud... Stefan Szmaj was a versatile man - he was an ophthalmologist as well as an artist. During the World War I, he firstly found himself in the German Army, and later served as a physician in the Polish Army. He took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War. His Saint Sebastian, the Patron Saint of soldiers, was a topical piece during World War I. The tragedy of his fate was overwhelming, all the more so because the Saint chose his death himself and on the strength of a military order forced his own soldiers to shoot at him. Self-portraits are an important part of Szmaj's work; they must have been one of his favourite subjects, because there are many versions of the same view. Apart from this, when he was in Minsk in Belarus during the war against the Bolsheviks, Szmaj created a series called "Poplars" ["Topole"]. The symbolic meaning of the trembling poplar {Populus tremula) is similar to that of the cypress, it is a tree growing in the land of the dead. There is also a legend that Christ's cross was made of poplar wood, and this is why poplar leaves quiver in the wind. Therefore, this series refers to the cruelty of war, to death and passing. In spite of this, its meaning is relatively optimistic; the fact that Szmaj undertook this subject was probably connected with his childhood memories from the countryside in Wielkopolska. 1/1. STANISŁAW KUBICKI (1889-1942) The Tower of Babel (print from the original block in 1962), 1917 Paper, linocut; 23.7 x 24.8 cm Inv. No. Gr.W1826 MNW