Wojciech KOSSAK (1856-1942), Fragment of the "Berezina" panorama, ca. 1896

Oil, duplicated canvas; 144 x 218 cm;
Signed l. d.: W. KOSSAK.

The history of the creation of painted panoramas goes back as far as the 18th century, and by the end of the 19th century they were already very popular. The tradition initially flourished in Great Britain, Switzerland or the Netherlands. Its reception on Polish soil was characterized by strong patriotic overtones, where, under the pretext of recognition of the partitioners, the valor and courage of Polish soldiers was emphasized, in the case of the Battle of Berezina serving under the Napoleonic banner and memorable national uprisings.
After the huge success of Panorama Raclawicka, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Kosciuszko Insurrection and first presented in 1894, Wojciech Kossak secured fame and notoriety as an outstanding battle artist. As early as September 1894, a consortium was formed under the direction of Julian Fałat and Wojciech Kossak to paint another panorama. The crossing of Napoleon's troops over the Berezina River, November 28, 1812, was chosen as the subject. The painters created a compositional design divided into four parts: Bridges on Studzianka, Stachowa Hill,
The charge of the cavalrymen, the burning of the banners against the background of the village of Bryl, and the Cemetery, the bivouac of the old guard against the background in the distance of Vesolovo and the muds of the Berezina. Wojciech Kossak was responsible for the rich figural field, while Fałat undertook to paint the landscape covered with snow as he understood it. Michał Wywiórski, Antoni Piotrowski, Kazimierz Pułaski and Jan Stanisławski were invited to collaborate. The work on the piece lasted 16 months. The first stage took place in Wojciech Kossak's studio in Krakow, the next in Berlin, where the first presentation of the monumental composition also took place on April 1, 1896. The panorama achieved great success. It was also exhibited in Warsaw, Kyiv and Moscow, each time attracting thousands of people. Unfortunately, as in many other cases, due to waning interest in the panoramas and a dispute between Julian Fałat and Wojciech Kossak, the work was cut into parts. Beginning in 1907, Kossak underpainted and completed its parts, also altering parts of the landscape so as to eliminate as much as possible of the fragments painted by Fałat. He could already sell the separate paintings created in this way as fully his works.