A farewell to the father. Jacek Malczewski in the memoirs of his son, Rafał

The aim of the article is to recreate the image of Jacek Malczewski as seen by his son, Rafał. The memoirs by Rafał Malczewski, published in the press in 1956, constitute the basis of the analysis. The correspondence of the Malczewski family was also used as supplementary material. The introduction discusses issues pertaining to the relationship between Jacek and Rafał, as well as the origins of the texts themselves. The analysis begins with the return to the author’s first memories related to his father. Rafał paints a picture of him through descriptions of space in which he lived, people he would meet, as well as through short daily-life anecdotes. Apart from characterising Jacek, Rafał attempts to define his painting. The purpose of recording the memoirs was to de-mythologise the reception of Jacek Malczewski’s art, and to present his figure as that of a man and artist evading fixed conventions.