AFAIK his son killed himself many many years after those paintings were created by his father, and at any rate his father seems to pretty much always have been painting this kind of nightmare-themed image.
Beksinski (the painter) was murdered a few years after his son killed himself, for an unrelated issue (iirc petty theft attempt by someone he knew). I think he died less than a decade ago.
BTW - he already tried to commit suicide for the first time when he was 16.
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Coming back to cuisine - I don't know what do you think warpus, but I think that what differs Polish "casual cuisine" from those from other countries, is the important role mushrooms play in Polish cuisine. Apart from mushrooms (prepared in different ways) also cabbage and many various types of meat and vegetables.
Marinated / pickled vegetables, as well as dried fruits also come to my mind when I think about basic features of traditional Polish "casual cuisine".
Fish - especially sea fish - I think are less important in traditional Polish cuisine, since Poland was not really a maritime country, historically speaking.
I'm getting pretty hungry now. I just think there's a reason why "Polish restaurant" isn't really something people try to open outside of Poland. You see Peruvian restaurants, French, Italian, Japanese, and so on.. but Polish not so much. There's a reason for that and it's not that our food sucks, but I can't exactly put it into words either.. but hey, at least I tried.
It is stereotyping I think. When people see "Polish restaurant" they think "sausage and vodka", or something like this.
The problem is that even most of Polish people are actually not aware of what exactly is "Polish cuisine".
Especially when we speak about that "elite" cuisine, history of which dates back to the 16th century or earlier.
That "elite" branch of traditional cuisine was simply forgotten and it will take some time until it becomes popular again. But IMO it is not only specific for Poland - this is the case in most of European countries, while only several countries (like Italy, Spain and France) are really famous for their excellent cuisines.
For example when I think "English cuisine", I can see only pudding, oat straw, bacon and eggs... Sorry English people!
I don't think it's anything stereotypical, it's just that we do not have many dishes in Polish cuisine that lend well to the "restaurant experience".. French cuisine is.. fine.. and sophisticated, so that works.. Italian is similar. German restaurants aren't really seen on a wide scale for a similar reason I find - they don't really have many dishes that would be as easily marketable as a pizza or spaghetti or whatever. Mind you I don't really see many French restaurants either - except for the upper scale stuff aimed at snobs.
Polish food is just not something you go out of your way to eat.. it's basically just food.. you know, stuff your mom used to make. Breaded pork cutlet with potatoes, gravy, and sauerkraut, with mushroom soup as appetizer. It can be delicious, but when you go to a restaurant you want more of a.. you know.. stuff with cheese in or on it. Stuff that doesn't make you fart too much once you go to sleep.
- Żywiec beer is a pretty well established company and a brand of beer which I can wholeheartedly reccomend ! ^^
Beksinski fun-fact (those artist types are a little weird to say the least ): Since his wife died - He was totally addicted to coca-cola and he ate only canned beef
The Christmas in Poland is practically a pierogi fest ! ^^ Pierogi are probably the best thing that Poland has to offer. Weird thing about some dishes names are :
Pierogi Ruskie (Russian Pierogi ) - though they dont make them like that in Russia
or (another x-mas dish)
Karp po Grecku (Carp the Greek Way) - though they not doing it like that in Greece
or Beans the Breton Way ... etc
There are also many types of pierogi TM !
It's basically pierogi with (everything you can imagine in them) or even leniwe pierogi (lazy pierogi with nothing in them ! )
Man ! We poles really love our pierogi !!!!!!
Speaking about Polish composers; Chopin and Penderecki are surely best known. But the first Medieval Polish composer known by name was Wincenty from Kielce (he is often known as Wincenty from Kielcza, but historian Z. Brzeziński says that Kielcza did not yet exist at the turns of 12th and 13th centuries).
Wincenty is sometimes credited with the oldest known sentence written in Polish (however, this sentence is known only from a much later quotation which can be found in a 15th century chronicle by Jan Długosz, because Wincenty's own chronicle is missing - which is why not all historians agree that credit should go to Wincenty and they give credit for this to abbot Peter, author of Book of Henryków and its sentence on page 24, written in year 1270).
Here anthem "Gaude Mater Polonia" ("Rejoice, oh Mother Poland") by Wincenty from Kielce (born ca. 1200 died after 1262):
Then we have quite a lot of composers preceding the times of Chopin.
One of our most prominent Baroque composers was Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki (ca. 1666 - 1734). He was born in Upper Silesia, which was at that time an ethnic Polish region within the Kingdom of Bohemia. His parents - Adam and Anna Gorczyca - were a family of rich free peasants (yokels), owning their own folwark. He was born around 1665 - 1667 in village Rozbark at the outskirts of city Bytom. His education started in the local parochial school. Since 1678 he studied liberal arts and philosophy at Prague University. After 1683 he studied theology in Vienna, where he got a bachelor's degree in theology. In 1689 he came to Cracow in the Kingdom of Poland, where he took minor holy orders in 1690. In 1691 he was granted a subdeaconship, in 1692 a deaconship and on 22.03.1692 he took holy orders. Soon after taking holy orders he was sent for 2 years to Chełmno (Latin: Culmen, German: Kulm) in Polish Pomerelia, where he became a lecturer and professor in the Chełmno Academy. In 1694 he returned to Cracow and became a cathedral vicar, he lived at the Wawel Hill in Cracow. In 1698 he became Magister capellae musices Ecclesiae Cathedralis Cracoviensis - since that time until his death his main activity and passion was music. His music career was flourishing and developing until his death on 30.04.1734 in Cracow. GGG composed music for the coronation of King Augustus III Wettin in January 1734.
Thanks Kaiserguard for this piece of Penderecki's art.
And here a modern Polish folk metal / Slavic pagan metal band Percival - this band is going to contribute some (all?) soundtrack for announced game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (the Witcher is a series of games by Polish CD Project, which is based on novels by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski):
When it comes to Polish painters, I like the art by Mariusz Kozik - we can call him a military painter, he mostly paints battle scenes and warriors from various periods and countries (his works have also been used in strategy and military-related games - including SEGA's & CA's Total War: ROME II):
If you have roof windows there is 40% chance they were produced by Polish company and 15% that by Fakro.
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But Poland's export to the USA is minimal. Most of Polish export goes to other EU countries, to Russia and to Asia:
Data for year 2011 below:
To EU as a whole - 78% of Polish export, including:
- to Germany: 26%
- to Britain: 6,4%
- to Czech Rep.: 6,2%
- to France: 6,1%
- to Italy: 5,3%
- to Holland: 5,1%
- to Sweden: 2,8%
- to other EU countries: 20,1%
To Russia - 4,45%
To Asia - 5,76%
To the rest of the world - 11,79%
And when it comes to structure of Polish export in 2011:
1. Electromechanical products - 40,5% (including 12,61% for cars and parts for cars; 11,23% for electric machines and tools)
2. Chemical industry products - 15,8%
3. Cast iron, iron, steel, copper and derivate products of these resources - over 10%
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