Józef Unierzyski

?Józef Unierzyski (born December 20, 1863, in Milewo; died December 29, 1948, in Kraków) was a Polish painter and drawing professor at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków from 1891. He was a student and son-in-law of Jan Matejko, having married Matejko's daughter, Helena.?

Unierzyski began his artistic studies at the Warsaw Drawing Class under Wojciech Gerson and Aleksander Kamiński. In 1883, a scholarship from the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts enabled him to continue his education in Munich and at the "Scuola Libera" of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. From 1884 to 1889, he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków, where he was a pupil of Jan Matejko.

Starting October 15, 1889, Unierzyski served as an assistant at the Kraków School of Fine Arts. He became a full assistant on April 14, 1891, and was appointed teacher of the ninth class on December 1, 1892. On May 6, 1897, he was confirmed as a teacher. Between the academic years 1895/1896 and 1908/1909, he led a drawing school. At his own request, he retired on June 16, 1909, but returned to teach evening drawing classes from October 1, 1915, to June 30, 1916.?

Throughout his career, Unierzyski remained faithful to academic painting, showing little interest in modernist trends. He created religious and mythological works, portraits, historical scenes, and allegorical-symbolic compositions. His most renowned painting, "Descent from the Cross" (1887), is housed in the National Museum in Kraków.?