Konopacka inspiration for others

Portret Haliny Konopackiej

Konopacka inspiration for others

Konopacka's portrait

One of the painters who placed Halina Konopacka on his paintings was Wacław Piotrowski, a creator from Warsaw whose most famous works were created in the 1920s. His most outstanding portrait is a sketch entitled "Portrait of Halina Konopacka." The author presented the athlete on him during a shot put with the use of carbon drawing technique. This work was exhibited at the Amsterdam Municipal Museum at the exhibition "Sport in painting", during the 9th Summer Olympic Games held in the Dutch capital in the summer of 1928. Piotrowski showed only the sportswoman at work, eliminating the bullet she is pushing; the circle in which it is located, as well as the background of the athletic stadium. This treatment caused that the entire attention of the recipient is focused on the heroine. Through the application of oval lines, the creator suggests the rotational technique used by Konopacki, consisting in the execution of a push after at least one dynamic rotation around its own axis. In addition, this sketch is the first contemporary artistic vision that touches the subject of Polish women's athletics. Another fact worth noting is the fact that the heroine became the first woman who won Olympic gold in this discipline, because the female competition was held in Amsterdam for the first time. The Konopacka's versatility is also evidenced by the fact that at the aforementioned Olympics it won the discus throwing competition, and not as the artist put it into a shot put. After all, this painting brought even greater publicity to the champion and contributed to the award of the Miss IX Summer Olympic Award. In addition, he made famous the founder - Wacław Piotrowski.
Popiersie Haliny Konopackiej

Konopacka inspiration for others

Bust of Halina Konopacka

The figure of Halina Konopacka was also inspired by sculptors. After the triumph of our sportswoman at the Olympic Games, Zofia Trzcińska-Kamińska - an outstanding sculptor and medalist, professionally active both in the interwar and post-war times, she decided to create a bust of the then world sport star. Unfortunately, this work was forgotten after many years. It is also worth presenting a work that is difficult to find today - a monochrome, black sculpture depicting the silhouette of a discus from a certain perspective. Her head is slightly tilted. The way Konopacka's eyes are presented causes the viewer to have the impression that they are looking at the disk discarded by her. This is also evidenced by her posture and gently tilted arms, as if returning to her natural position after the throw. It is very important to remind the art connoisseurs of this work by presenting the history of Halina Konopacka's life. I think it is worth popularizing because of its originality.

Polki, które zadziwiły świat

Konopacka inspiration for others

From joy to life

In 2018 it was 90 years since the triumph of Halina Konopacka in the discus throw competition at the 9th Summer Olympics. In connection with this, on November 11, President Andrzej Duda honored her posthumously with the Order of the White Eagle - the highest state decoration of the Republic of Poland. A few months earlier a book by Maria Rotkiewicz was published, entitled "Z radości życia", constituting a specific biography and consolidating the biography of our master. On the two hundred and fifty-six pages of the story, enriched with authentic photographs, the author realistically reproduces the climate prevailing in the Second Polish Republic, and, as we read in the description, "evokes the broad context of the epoch in which our heroine, figures from the world of sport, culture and politics lived Second Polish Republic ". It is a kind of textbook for people studying Konopacka life. Included in it are his most important moments before the Second World War, recorded the greatest sports successes, as well as presented other passions Konopacka. The author calls the protagonist of her story "the first lady of Polish sport, the heroine of the collective imagination, a heroic woman who adored the joys of life and enthusiasm." The book also presents the foundations of Polish olimpism, as it was at that time that the era of Polish successes at the pre-war Summer Olympics began. It is worth mentioning that four years after Konopacka's success at the competition in Los Angeles, the Poles won two gold medals - Janusz Kusociński in the 10,000-meter run, and Stanisław Walasiewicz for 100 meters. Our compatriots also won one silver and four bronze medals.

Z radości życia

Konopacka inspiration for others

Polish woman, who amazed the world

Not only the creators of the interwar period appreciated the first Polish Olympic champion. Also in contemporary cultural texts you can read about the heroine. In the book "Polish women who amazed the world" published in 2016, Joanna Puchalska could not miss the extensive biography of Halina Konopacka. The author reminded and recorded 13 outstanding personalities whose intelligence, entrepreneurship and talent made our country famous. The mere juxtaposition of Konopacka with Maria Skłodowska-Curie and Regina Pilsztyn emphasizes that for eternity she signed up in the history of Poland. On pages devoted to discobol, readers will get acquainted with her biography, and thus will learn about the most important facts about the career, interests, passions and events in the life of the family heroine. Undoubtedly, Konopacka can be considered an extraordinary woman, possessing features that distinguished her from other outstanding female personalities in the Second Polish Republic. They will always remember her, however, as the first Polish Olympic champion.