On this day we remember Ludwika Nitschowa, Polish sculptor and pedagogue who died on March 28, 1989.

She was born Dec. 6, 1889, in Poland. Ludwika Kraskowska(her maiden name) studied under Tadeusz Breyer 1923-26) at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. From her teacher Nitschowa learned how to combine the Mloda Polska (Young Poland) symbolic style with a monumental, static form reminiscent of classicistic technique. Her exhibits were featured in Polish Art Gallery Zacheta, in Brussels and Paris. Ludwika married Piotr Nitsche, Polish serologist (Warsaw and Jagiellonian Universities). Maestra Nitschowa is the author of such monuments as Maria Sklodowska-Curie, a great artistic attraction which you can see at the PMA, Copernicus, Chopin (in Poland, but also in Quadalajara and Manchester). The last statue unveiled in Warsaw before the Polish capital and Poland were invaded by Nazi Germany in 1939 was perhaps the most famous piece of art by Ludwika Nitschowa. The legendary mayor of Warsaw, Stefan Starzynski-already in 1936-initiated the erection of the Warsaw Mermaid (pol. Syrenka)monument. Ludwika Nitschowa was selected to carve this very beloved woman-mermaid symbol of Varsovians and completed it in 1939. Nitschowa bravely did not desert her city, Warsaw, during WWII. She survived the war and enjoyed a career of immense creativity teaching at her alma mater-Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts.
Beatrix Czerkawski

Photo shows PMA Sculpture collection Maria Sklodowska-Curie by Ludwika Nitschowa, bronze, pre-1939.

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