Henryk (Henoch) Barczyński (Barciński) (1896-1941) in 1919-1920 was a member of the avant-garde group Yung-Yidish. The young creators, i.a. Marek Szwarc, Jankiel Adler, Icchak Brauner, and Moishe Broderson, met in Lodz, where Barczyński studied at Jakub Kacenbogen’s school of drawing. From 1919 till 1926, he studied in Dresden with Otto Gussman and Robert Sterl.
In his art he remained faithful to Expressionism. After many years he still believed that it was "the culmination of every – with no exemption – field of art. The real art based on Expressionism is great and it makes us forget about the technical measures used by the artist to expose the thought captured in the form" (H. Barczyński, Problem współczesnej sztuki…, Forma, 1936, no. 4, p. 15). When writing those words, the artist was living in Lodz. He spent over a decade in Germany, until the growing anti-Semitism and the taking of the office of Chancellor by Adolf Hitler forced him to leave. After his return in 1934, he presented his works at an exhibition at the Jewish Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts [Polish: Żydowskie Towarzystwo Krzewienia Sztuk Pięknych] in Warsaw. "An outstanding exhibition of the German refugee" (Nasz Przegląd, 1934, no 33, p. 1) attracted the public as well as the critique: "The ten yers of his painting […] are a fight for the harmony of form and colour" – as wrote Michał Weinzieher – "The artistic ideology of Barczyński evolved: from the nowadays outmoded Expressionism, through Chagallism and post-Cezannian art to moderate post-Impressionism" (M. Weinzieher, Wystawa H. Barczyńskiego. Żyd. Tow. Krzew. Sztuk Pięknych, Nasz Przegląd, 1934, no. 42, p.7). The painter himself would say that "imposing a form on an artist is absurd" (H. Barczyński, Problem współczesnej sztuki…), granting himself the right to experiment with different themes and forms. He painted genre scenes as well as the post-Impressionistic landscapes of France, one of which can be seen in the POLIN Museum collection.
After World War II broke out, he was living in Tomaszów Mazowiecki. The trace of him being in the ghetto can be found in the letters from Lutek Orenbach to Edith Blau: "Lately Mr Barczyński, you know, the painter, has been visiting us. He tells stories about Madrid or Paris, Prague or Dresden […] He’s such a nice chap. Sitting by the window painting some alley of Tomaszów…" (Sen o teatrze. Listy z tomaszowskiego getta, Tomaszów Mazowiecki 2018, p. 75).
Donated by Wiesław Uchański
Renata Piątkowska
