Wojciech Gerson

Wojciech Gerson (July 1, 1831 – February 25, 1901) was a leading Polish painter of mid-19th century, and one of the foremost representatives of the Polish school of Realism during the foreign Partitions of Poland. He served as long-time professor of the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and taught future luminaries of Polish neo-romanticism including Józef Chełmoński, Leon Wyczółkowski, Władysław Podkowiński and Józef Pankiewicz among others. He also wrote art-reviews and published a book of anatomy for the artists. A large number of his artwork has been stolen by Nazi Germany in World War II, and never recovered.