Born in Ludwinów near Krakow and living in Podgórze, Aleksander Kotsis was one of the most valued Polish painters working in the mid-19th century. His work is associated with artistic circles in Krakow, Vienna and Munich. Kotsis's art represents the direction of 19th-century realism, and its analogies can be found in the works of the so-called painters of the people, e.g. Jean-François Millet (1814-1875). What is also worth-noting is the Romantic perception of the world. The exhibition at the National Museum in Krakow has been prepared for the 185th anniversary of the artist's birth. It presents oil paintings, watercolours, drawings and sketches from private collections and from museum collections, including the National Museums in Gdańsk, Kielce, Krakow, Poznań, Szczecin, Warsaw and Wrocław, the Silesian Museum in Katowice, the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź and the Borys Voznytsky Lviv Art Gallery.
Aleksander Kotsis' work is associated with artistic circles in Krakow, Vienna and Munich. Kotsis's art represents the direction of 19th-century realism, and its analogies can be found in the works of the so-called painters of the people, e.g. Jean-François Millet (1814-1875). What is also worth-noting is the Romantic perception of the world. Kotsis was inspired by the shades of everyday life in Galician towns and the villages of Lesser Poland and Podhale: human joys and afflictions, the tragedy of the existence of the poor and the excluded, the tenderness and transience of interpersonal relations and children's curiosity about the world. The beauty of the landscape near Krakow and the Tatra Mountains further south was also an important source of the artist's fascination.
