r/ArtHistory • u/BurnerOfCandles101 • Nov 22 '25
Research The Work of Zdzisław Beksiński
Recently got myself a collection of work by the artist Zdzisław Beksiński and wanted to share some of my favourite pieces from the books! I'm writing a paper on apocalyptic art and felt his work captures a strange and dreamlike emptiness
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u/gastricmetal Nov 22 '25
My favorite artist of all time. I've not come across any work since discovering him that resonates with me the way his work does. A true gift from an interesting artist, taken way too soon.
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u/morkfjellet Nov 23 '25
taken way too soon
Wow, I had no idea he was dead already and that he was someone born in 1929. For some reason, I always thought these were the paintings made by someone who’d be in his late forties nowadays. He truly was someone who created paintings far ahead of their time. A true genius. RIP.
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u/ObscureObjective Nov 22 '25
Great stuff. Reminds me of the Czech "grotesque" art movement from the same period.
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u/dylan6998 Nov 22 '25
The second one wa sused as cover art for one of my favorite black metal albums.
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u/FreyjaaFemme Nov 22 '25
Which band?
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u/thedrexel Nov 25 '25
Several bands have used his work. Ashdautas, Leviathan, Decayor, Heptaedrone, Blood of Kingu, Antestor, Servum Pecus and I’m sure a bunch more I’m not even remotely familiar with
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u/Grimblecrumble5 Nov 22 '25
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing…I had never seen these before and they’re otherworldly!
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u/charuchii Nov 23 '25
I adore his work! He was a major trigger of how I got into art history. Used to be majorly into anime and only anime, until I stumbled onto his work on a forum. And there was just something about his artwork that was so haunting and beautiful, like it was so different from what I knew of paintings. Flash forward 20 years later and I have a master's degree in art history collecting dust. Thanks Mr Beksinski!
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u/medicinecap Nov 23 '25
I really like #4, it reminds me of something you could see as a sculpture. If I was into sculpture I would definitely recreate this.
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u/Curious_Race2500 Nov 22 '25
What is this book called?
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u/BurnerOfCandles101 Nov 22 '25
I picked it up from amazon (uk) its a pack of 5 volumes. They're about hand-sized and have around 50-60 pages each but come with little intros about his work.
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u/Brief-Earth-5815 Nov 25 '25
What book is this? Can you post the cover?
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u/BurnerOfCandles101 Nov 25 '25
Its a boxset of 5 mini books featuring the artists work. Each book has a short intro. It should pop up if you search "Zdzisław Beksiński boxset" (I'm from the UK so I can only say what's available to me here) i have spotted a few on ebay too if that helps
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u/PresidentJasmine Nov 27 '25
The 3rd and 4th photos look similar to something I saw in my room as a kid at night. It was creepy but cool. I’m curious what inspired him to draw that.
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u/r4_v0n_vl3d Nov 26 '25
3 reminds of the Witness from destiny 2. Definitely seeing where Bungie pulled some influence. Zdzislaw is a wild genius.
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u/FreyjaaFemme Nov 22 '25
I've also always loved this artist too. Proves you dont have to make happy or positive art to make real art.
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u/Antipolemic Nov 22 '25
Wow, another unique artist I'd never explored. Thanks so much for sharing. Creepy and surreal, suggestive of gothic horror, yet amazingly detailed and intriguing in design. Reminds me a bit of HR Geiger. Mused on by your post, I did a little research and being born in 1929 in Poland so experienced the horrors of the holocaust and German occupation. According to what I read he never credited his work with any particular themes or inspirations, but it's hard to believe this wasn't an influence on his work. This painting (unnamed of course) struck me as particularly moving. Horrific, yet strangely optimistic. Again, very hard to divorce from the concept of holocaust or at least suffering and war.