The Artwork Of Zdzislaw Beksinski Is Literally The Stuff Of Nightmares

April A Taylor
Updated April 22, 2024 19 items
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The morbid polish paintings of Zdzislaw Beksinski are, in many cases, the stuff of nightmares. In fact, the inspiration for most of this renowned artist's work came from a desire to "paint in such a manner as if I were photographing dreams." This approach led to some truly scary Zdzislaw Beksinski art that rivals the very best of other dark artists such as H.R. Giger and Hieronymus Bosch. Unfortunately, the darkness touched much more than just Beksinski's work. While most characterize the artist as having been humorous and pleasant, his life story contains several tragedies that likely inspired him to produce so many pieces of grim, twisted imagery. In 1998, cancer claimed the life of Beksinski's wife, Zofia. His son, Tomasz, committed suicide just one year later. To express his demons, Beksinski created numerous paintings, photographs, and sculptures that rival artistic depictions of hell in terms of gore, color schemes, and general terror. None are titled, allowing your imagination to run wild with gruesome possibilities.

He become so prolific that now a dedicated Zdzislaw Beksinski Gallery exists in Poland containing 600 pieces of art. Sadly, what many see as a curse over the vast collection of Zdzislaw Beksinski paintings struck again in 2005. Beksinski's life came to an untimely end due to the murderous actions of his trusted caretaker's 19-year-old son, who stabbed him to death, allegedly over a hundred dollars. But whether or not a curse exists over his work is beside the point; gazing into any of Bekinski's garish and surreal paintings will make you believe in a plethora of horrors far worse than any curse.