Zdzisław Beksiński

Beksiński worked between 1929 and 2005 across painter, photographer, sculptor, architect and graphic artist. This article rests on 11 catalogued photographs, 10 published texts and 10 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

• Name — Zdzisław Beksiński • Born — 24 February 1929 • Birthplace — Sanok, Poland • Died — 21 February 2005 • Place of death — Warsaw, Poland • Awards — Order of Polonia Restituta • Education — Tadeusz Kościuszko University of Technology in Kraków • Field — Painting, sculpture, photography

• Illustration — Sculpture, 1960 Zdzisław Beksiński was born in Sanok, southern Poland. He studied architecture at Kraków Polytechnic in 1947, finishing his studies in 1952. He returned to Sanok in 1955, where he found work supervising construction sites and designing buses, but discovered that he did not enjoy it. During this period, he had an interest in montage photography, sculpting, and painting. When he first started sculpting, he often used his construction site materials for his medium. His early photography was a precursor to his later paintings, often depicting peculiar wrinkles, desolate landscapes, and still-life faces on rough surfaces. His paintings often depict anxiety, such as torn doll faces, or faces erased or obscured by bandages wrapped around the portrait. His main focus was on abstract painting, and his works in the 1960s were inspired by surrealism.

An exhibition of Beksiński's works organized by Janusz Bogucki in Warsaw in 1964 was his first major success. Beksiński soon became the leading figure in contemporary Polish art. In the late 1960s, Beksiński entered what he called his "fantastic period," which lasted into the mid-1980s. This is his best-known period, during which he created disturbing images, showing gloomy, nightmarish environments with detailed scenes of death, decay, landscapes filled with skeletons, deformed figures, and deserts. At the time, Beksiński said, "I wish to paint in such a manner as if I were photographing dreams." Despite the grim subjects, Beksiński claimed some of his works were misunderstood; in his opinion, they were rather optimistic or even humorous. For the most part, Beksiński was adamant that even he did not know the meaning of his artworks and was uninterested in possible interpretations; in keeping with this notion, he refused to provide titles for any of his drawings or paintings. Before moving to Warsaw in 1977, he destroyed a selection of his works in his own backyard, without leaving any documentation concerning them.

From 1963 to 1965, Beksiński wrote short stories. However, he was unhappy with the results and sealed them away, deciding to hone his skills in painting instead. They remained unpublished until after his death. In 2015, a collection of his short stories was published. The stories have an unfinished and chaotic nature; they vary from abstract onirist tales and philosophical self-reflections to metaphorical post-apocalyptic fiction and crime thriller stories. Beksiński's literary period is described as "short and intensive", as he wrote 40 short stories in fewer than two years, experimenting with form and narrative.

• Illustration — Digital photomontage, c. 2000 In the later part of the 1990s, he became interested in computers, the Internet, digital photography and photo manipulation, a medium that he focused on until his death.

• Illustration — Beksiński's family vault in Sanok Beksiński's wife, Zofia, died in 1998; a year later, on Christmas Eve 1999, his son Tomasz died by suicide by drug overdose. Beksiński discovered his son's body. Beksiński was murdered in his flat in Warsaw on 21 February 2005 by Robert Kupiec, the teenage son of his longtime caretaker. His cousin Łukasz was also involved in the murder. Robert and his cousin were arrested shortly after the crime. On 9 November 2006 Robert was sentenced by the Supreme Court of Warsaw to 25 years in prison, and Łukasz was sentenced to 5 years.

Although Beksiński's art was often grim, he himself was known to be a pleasant person who took enjoyment from conversation and had a keen sense of humor. He was modest and somewhat shy, avoiding public events such as the openings of his own exhibitions. He credited music as his main source of inspiration. He claimed not to be much influenced by literature, cinema or the work of other artists, and almost never visited museums or exhibitions. Beksiński avoided concrete analysis of the content of his work, saying "I don't want to say or convey anything. I just paint what comes to my mind". He had obsessive–compulsive disorder, which made him reluctant to travel; he referred to his condition as "neurotic diarrhea".

Zdzisław Beksiński was born on 24 February 1929 in Sanok. Beksiński held the nationality of Poland. Married to: Zofia Beksińska. Recorded father: Stanisław Beksiński. Recorded child: Tomasz Beksiński. Beksiński worked as painter, photographer, sculptor and architect, and the authority record catalogues a further 1 occupations under the same name, among them graphic artist. Beksiński worked in Polish. Beksiński died on 21 February 2005 in Warsaw. Beksiński is buried at Central Cemetery in Sanok.

• Illustration — Oil painting, 1978 • Illustration — Oil painting, 1984 Beksiński had no formal training as an artist. He was a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the Kraków Polytechnic, receiving an MSc in 1952. His paintings were mainly created using oil paint on hardboard panels that he personally prepared, although he also experimented with acrylic paints. Beksiński listened to classical music while painting.