(b Warsaw, 25 May 1948). Polish painter. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (1965–71) under Stefan Gierowski. After a short period of abstract painting he began to create his ‘autobiographical paintings’, which he described as ‘subjected to perceived reality’ (1980 exh. cat.). At first Korolkiewicz painted rather naive, large-scale portraits of a little boy in childhood situations such as playing on a slide. He also depicted interiors and landscapes with photographic precision by means of transparencies. In 1978 he painted Breakfast (Warsaw, N. Mus.), a pensive portrait of himself at a table with a half-eaten meal. This work exemplifies Korolkiewicz’s debt to Photorealism and his interest in depicting real situations, people and places, but, because of the distressing silence, eerie light and lack of activity, it also gives a surrealist image of the world. The Garden of the Romantic (1978; Kraków, N. Mus.) initiated the series of Gardens, detailed images of nature and light effects. After martial law was imposed in Poland on 13 December 1981 Korolkiewicz clearly expressed his protest in several paintings including one that took the date as its title. From his studio in Warsaw he observed, photographed and then painted the unembellished reality of the surrounding houses and backyards. The scenes he depicted often appeared more staged than real, however, with vivid, contrasting colours and refined brushstrokes: his kitsch-like interiors are often crowded with objects while the people portrayed seem frozen.

• Korolkiewicz, Lucasz
  • Poland, §III, 6: Painting and graphic arts, after c 1900