Fikcja i rzeczywistość atelier : pracownia artystyczna w oczach XIX-wiecznych literatów

For the Romantics the artist’s studio was a special place, a hallowed ground in the Romantic cult of art and its creators. In the 19th century visiting such ‘temples of art’ became almost obligatory for the aspiring middle class public. However, the latter half of the century saw a steady erosion of the feelings of awe and wonder on the part of visitors (or pilgrim guests) intent on sampling a quasi-religious experience. Increasingly, the authenticity of a site knowingly exposed to a prying public and the genuineness of one’s encounter with art under such circumstance were called into question. Another line of critical inquiry preferred to treat the studio interior as a projection or expression of artistic creativity and a place worthy of close inspection for insights into its occupant’s personality. Journalists, art critics and travelling writers like Hippolyte Taine, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Stefania Chłędowska and Maria Konopnicka were keenly alert to the link between the artist’s workroom (the way it is furnished, whether it impresses the onlooker by its purposeful arrangement of objects or a 'theatrical' design) and the quality of his work. This essay examines the relationship between the myth and the realities of the artist’s studio in a selection of 19th-century literary records, journalism and travel accounts. The attitudes and opinions expressed there are discussed in connection with the twin moral issues of the price of artistic independence and the cost of popularity.