ŚLEWIŃSKI, Władisław

Polish painter. He was born into the gentry and administered his estate in Poland before travelling to Paris in 1888. Once there he studied at the Académie Colarossi where he met Gauguin. The impression this encounter made on him and Gauguin’s encouragement prompted Ślewiński to dedicate himself to art. He submitted to Gauguin’s artistic and personal influence, spending time with him in Paris and, from 1889, in Pont-Aven and Le Pouldu in Brittany. Seascapes painted during this period include Cliffs in Brittany (Upper Silesian Museum, Bytom). In 1891 Gauguin painted a portrait of Ślewiński (National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo) and presented it to him.

While in Paris Ślewiński frequented the café Chez Madame Charlotte in the Rue de la Grande Chaumière, where he also met August Strindberg, Alphonse Mucha and the Polish critic Zenon Przesmycki (1861-1944), and he took part in the discussions on art held there under Gauguin’s chairmanship. In the spring of 1894 Ślewiński entertained Gauguin and his mistress Anna the Javanese in the house in Bas Pouldu he had settled in from 1891. In the evenings he often played host to the group of artists later known as the school of Pont-Aven. During this period Ślewiński exhibited in Paris, with some success, both at the Salon des Indépendants in 1895 and 1896 (including a pastel portrait of August Strindberg; National Museum, Warsaw) and the Galerie Georges Thomas in 1897 and 1898.

In 1905-10 he lived in Cracow and Poronin in the Carpathians, and he traveled extensively. His last years he spent in Paris and Brittany.