Bronislaw Chromy, COLARDS, 1990s.

135,0 x 201,0cm - patinated bronze 135 x 201 x 70 cm - full dimensions of the sculpture



The sculpture Cyclists is one of Bronislaw Chromy's most famous works from the 1990s. The theme of sports was very strongly present in his work - both through autonomous spatial compositions and through Chromy's designs for sports medals - the artist was the most respected in Poland and widely recognized designer of such medals, of which he left behind more than 800.

Compositions related to sports themes, however, he most fully realized in three-dimensional spatial works. The theme of the Cyclists appeared in several of Chromy's compositions, in different scales - from small forms 40 cm high to the largest, exceeding 2 meters - as in the composition we present in our auction. One of the compositions from this series, can be admired at the Olympic Center in Warsaw, others are in museums and private collections. The artist captured the dynamics of a cycling race in his sculpture with remarkable accuracy through the overlapping, supernaturally enlarged bicycle wheels, the leaning silhouettes of the riders and the elongated proportions of their bodies. The 1970s to 1990s were a time of great success for Polish cyclists, which encouraged this theme in art as well.



♣ An additional fee will be added to the Purchase Price based on the right of the artist and his heirs to receive remuneration in accordance with the Law of February 4, 1994 - on Copyright and Related Rights (droit de suite).

Bronislaw Chromy (Leńcze near Lanckorona 1925 - Krakow 2017) studied at the Department of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, where in 1950-56 he was a student and graduate of Xawery Dunikowski. Initially he taught at the Department of Graphics - a branch of the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, then in Cracow. In 1981-84 he served as pro-rector, from 1983 he was a professor in the Department of Sculpture, from 1986 - in the Department of Graphics. He created many monuments and monumental sculptures, among them such well-known ones as Pietà Oświęcimska (1963), Wawel Dragon in Cracow (1969), Crucified in the Ark of the Lord Church in Nowa Huta (1977), Monument to John Paul II in Tarnow (1981), Monument to Polish Fighting Soldiers in Cracow (1992) and others. He also practiced intimate sculpture and medals, designed commemorative plaques, tombstones, statuettes and trophies, such as the Lajkonik for the winners of the Cracow Short Film Festival, the Pegasus presented at art film reviews in Zakopane and others. Although his art was dominated by martyrological and religious themes, in smaller forms he reached for animalistic subjects, e.g. "Owls" from the Planty, "Sheep" from the square in front of the Agricultural Academy, as well as a monument to the dog Dżok, a symbol of canine fidelity (located on the Vistula boulevards near Wawel).

In March 2009 Bronislaw Chromy was awarded the Gold Medal "Meritorious for Culture Gloria Artis". He has also participated in many group exhibitions.

Prof. Bronislaw Chromy's works can be found in the collections of, among others, the National Museum in Warsaw, the National Museum in Cracow, the National Museum in Poznan, the Museum of Medal Making in Wroclaw, the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, the Silesian Museum in Katowice, and museums in Auschwitz, Paris, Copenhagen, Moscow, Skopje, Helsinki, Barcelona, Dijon, Ravenna, Hasselt, Bochum and Arezzo. In addition, in private collections at home abroad, including Austria, Japan, Australia, the USA and Canada.