Poland 20 Zlotych 2009 Władysław Strzemiński, Polish Painters of the Turn of 19th and 20th Centuries - Silver

He was born in Mińsk Białoruski in 1893 and died in Łódź in 1952. Between 1911 and 1914 he studied in the Military Engineering School in Petersburg. While in the military service during the First World War, he was heavily wounded in 1916; he lost his arm and leg. In the hospital, he met Katarzyna Kobro – a distinguished sculptor who later became his wife. It was under her influence that he became interested in fine art. However, he never graduated art school. He devoted all his life to educating and teaching, working at schools, and later lecturing at universities, including the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. Between 1922 and 23 and 1925 and 26 he cooperated with the “Zwrotnica” magazine where he published, among other things, “Notes on Russian Art.” He was one of the originators of creation of the Group of Cubists, Constructivists and Suprematists called “Blok.” He published numerous texts connected with the theory of art and participated in avant-garde manifestations. In 1927 Strzemiński formulated the theory of unism in painting and between 1931 and 1933 he extended it into sculpting, architecture and printing techniques. According to his theory, a picture constitutes a surface separated from the surroundings by the frames and entirely closed in itself. This surface expresses absolutely nothing, is devoid of any contrasts (colors and shapes) and each square centimeter is equally important. Władysław Strzemiński – art theorist, painter and the creator of the Theory of Unism. The coins of the Polish painters of the 19th/20th century series devoted to this extraordinary artist have just been released. Obverse: On the left a stylized image of “Unistic Composition 13” by Władysław Strzemiński of 1934. Below to the right the image of an eagle established as an emblem of the Republic of Poland. Around the eagle an inscription: 20 ZŁ (PLN 20) and after a separating period an inscription: RZECZPOSPOL ITA POL SKA (THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND) and the signature of emission date: 2009. Under the eagle’s left leg the symbol of the mint: M/W. Reverse: In the background of the “Spatial Composition” by Władysław Strzemiński of 1929, on the left a stylized image of the Władysław Strzemiński’s face profile, to the right a stylized image of the palette and three paintbrushes. On the palette there are paints: red, yellow, green and blue. Below the palette an inscription: 1893–1952. At the top an inscription: WŁADYSŁAW STRZE MIŃSKI. At the bottom an inscription: WŁADYSŁAW STRZEMIŃSKI in the alphabet created by the artist. Coin designer: Ewa Tyc-Karpińska