Museums

Jan Wałach Museum in Istebna

In Andziołówka, a hamlet of Istebna spread on the slopes of the Silesian Beskids, in the artist's former workshop operates the Jan Wałach Museum — dedicated to the graphic artist, painter and sculptor, a master of woodcut, who spent almost his whole life tied to this highland village.

A life like a woodcut

Wałach (1884–1979) was born in Istebna and studied at the School of Applied Arts in Zakopane (1902–1904), at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts under Józef Mehoffer and Julian Fałat (1904–1908) and in Paris. During the First World War he was a regimental painter, and fame was brought to him by woodcuts capturing highland types and village scenes; in 1937 he won a bronze medal for them at an exhibition in Paris. He designed stained glass (among others in Chybie, Goleszów and Jedlicze) and made crucifixes for the Cathedral of Christ the King in Katowice. After the war he worked in near oblivion at his Istebna workshop; a grand retrospective came only in 1999.

In the former workshop

The museum is housed in the artist's former workshop building in Andziołówka, about a kilometre from the inn on the road to Kubalonka. Until her death in 2015 it was cared for by the artist's daughter, Barbara Wałach. The collection includes paintings, graphics, sculptures and woodcuts; Wałach's works also adorn the Good Shepherd church in Istebna, by whose cemetery the artist rests.

Practicalities

Andziołówka, Istebna (Cieszyn district). It is a private institution — please confirm opening hours and prices by phone before your visit. Nearby: Wisła (5 km) and Barania Góra (8 km).