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Wojciech GiermaziakHenryk Beck – The World Seen Through The Eyes of a Physician
The sentence in the title is the header of an album
published in 2016 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of birth of Henryk Beck, released by the Stanisław
Konopka Central Medical Library in Warsaw. The album,
which contains over 1653 watercolour paintings from the Library’s collections,
is, in a way, a chronicle of events from the author’s life. The Central Medical
Library holds the greatest number of preserved watercolours of this outstanding
physician. In this publication, spanning nearly 1000 pages and divided into
years throughout which he produced artistic works, individual occurrences from Henryk Beck’s life are reflected as if in a mirror,
entailing his closest family, friends, passions, but also professional
activity, medical tools, colleagues and, ultimately, the nightmare of World War
II. The professor’s watercolours and drawings are imbued
with metaphors, symbols, often also caricature and grotesque. Many of the works
are surreal, and each one depicts a single event. Beck’s works from the prewar
period are saturated with a great sense of humour and esprit. Their nature
changes with the onset of the World War II. What comes to the fore is the motif
of death, but the watercolours from this period are still soaked with Beck’s
characteristic humour and satire. His postwar output is an account of the
gradual return to normalcy. In it, he shows his work in Warsaw, the move to Wrocław, the figures of professors and the rebirth of
his professional life. Henryk Beck drew and painted on paper, blotting
paper, coloured cardboard, but he also used prescription forms and book pages.
His sketches were done with pencil; he mostly painted with watercolours that
were not much diluted with water, thus achieving intense colours. He also used
mixed techniques, often employing black and red ink and gouache. Sometimes he
used pen and ink, usually combined with watercolours and gouache. Other times
he also made collages with newspaper clippings, post stamps, cut-outs. The majority of Henryk
Beck’s works have not been exhibited publicly yet. The album in question is the
first world publication of all of this author’s preserved works. Wojciech Giermaziak
Doctor of Natural Sciences - Head of the Stanisław
Konopka Central Medical Library |
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