This artist, who always keeps painting at the center of his life and makes concepts such as fear, anxiety, death and extinction the main theme of his works, “How fascinated is it when you look at a painting?” Undoubtedly, he is one of the painters who gives the most clear answer to the question.
Let’s take a journey towards the works of Zdzisław Beksiński, which are sometimes called “cursed” and attract attention with every detail.
We do not have much information about Zdzisław Beksiński’s childhood, who was born in Sanok, Poland in 1929.
However, it is one of the clearest information we can obtain about him that he studied architecture at the Kraków University of Technology in 1952, and that he returned to his hometown when he graduated. Zdzisław, who designed busses and worked as site manager at Sanok, was quite unhappy with these jobs.
While he was working, he was also engaged in sculpture and photography, and his works of that period were in fact foreshadowing the style he would use in his future paintings.
Determined to focus on painting rather than photography in the early 1960s, Zdzisław started a business where he edited his photographs.
He had no one to take as an inspiration, and he had not received any painting training before starting this business. However, he had a great interest in music since childhood and therefore listened to rock and classical music while working. When he was highly influenced by these music, his paintings began to take shape with the influence of what he heard.
Paintings of Zdzisław Beksiński, who successfully achieved a qualification that can be described as an artist with his successful work; it found its place in the light of concepts such as horror, fear, extinction and anxiety.
He himself called the period of his paintings, which lasted until the mid-1980s, “fantastic,” and to him, his paintings had no meaning. The reason why his works are anonymous was precisely because of this thought. He believed that this allowed those who viewed his paintings to make their own interpretations.
Zdzisław’s works, which looked as if they had emerged from hell and stood before us, seemed to take the viewers to the realm of dreams.
Aiming to go deep into the realm of dreams, the painter himself stated that he tried to paint his paintings as if he had taken a photograph of dreams. These extraordinary works often revealed images that we all escaped or hidden somewhere inside.
He was also not one to act on his work to the liking of critics or fans. The painter was not in favor of the popularity of the art world during the period, but was in favor of painting as he came from within himself.
This freedom he offered himself made it difficult for his works to be accepted by the art circles, but despite this, he began to gain recognition in the 1980s. Besides, Piotr Dmochowski’s contribution to his fame was quite large. Piotr was very influential in the announcement of the works of the painter, whom he liked very much, to the West, especially to France, Japan and America.
So what prompted the artist to paint such fearful and terrifying paintings?
Zdzisław’s life was full of tragedies and in 1977 he moved to Warsaw with his wife Zofia and son Tomasz. Exactly 21 years later, his wife passed away due to cancer, and his son was hosting a radio show in a famous place.
Just like his father, Tomasz was multifaceted, and besides his job, he also worked as a music critic and film translator. But he committed suicide one year after his mother’s death, and these two deaths, one after the other, shook the painter.
According to his close circle, Zdzisław Beksiński had a very lively and humorous personality, contrary to the themes of his paintings. However, his son’s suicide left him very lonely and withdrawn. He didn’t like crowds very much, and even refused to attend his own exhibitions.
The painter continued to paint until his death and never gave up on this passion.
Zdzisław Beksiński, whose death was rather shocking and sad, had a son named Robert, a caregiver who worked for him. Reportedly, 19-year-old Robert asked the painter for a loan of $100, but Zdzisław refused to give it.
The babysitter’s son, based on the rejection of this offer, stabbed the famous painter many times and ended his life. The artist passed away on February 21, 2015, and Robert, who was caught at the scene, was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The paintings that Zdzisław Beksiński left behind after his death aroused admiration and inspired many artists. For example, it is possible to encounter the traces of this artist in the horror films “Parasomnia” (2008) and “The Empty Man” (2020).
In addition, the effects of this famous painter can be seen in many places, from horror games such as Scorn and The Medium to album covers of Antestor and Samsara Blues Experiment. You can watch the 2016 film “The Last Family” to get more detailed information about the artist’s private life.
You can also check out the rest of the artist’s rather creepy works:
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