Wałach, Jan

Born and lived in Istebna-Andziołówka [NNE of Istebna]; A well-known painter, who also played Gajdy; He attended a gymnasium in Cieszyn, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, under professor Józef Mehoffer, one of the most characteristic painters of "Młoda Polska" [Young Poland, a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, roughly covering the period 1890-1918; ws]; Jan completed his studies in Paris at the Académie Julian, the private painting school of the renowned Rodolphe Julian, at the École des Beaux-Arts, and at the studio of Fernando Cormon (among whose students were also Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and Henri de Toulouse-lautrec); He played the piszczałka wielkopostna [Lent’s fife], violin and bagpipe; His Gajdy was made for him by Jan Kawulok "uod Wojtosza"; It is this instrument that appears quite often in his paintings; He started the music tradition in his family, followed by his 3 sons: Stanisław, who played the Gajdy and violin; Franciszek (?-?) and Józef (?-?) played the violin; Of his grandchildren, Zbigniew (*1961; son of Franciszek) plays¹ the Gajdy and violin, and Rafał (son of Józef) played the Gajdy; Of his great-grandchildren, Jan (*1985; son of Zbigniew) plays¹ the violin, and Martin (*1989; son of Rafał) plays¹ the Gajdy and double bass; ¹NB¹: in 2014 [ws]; NB²: ➺ Jan Juroszek "Przigóniok", Michał Karch, Pw. [Paweł?] Krężelok, and Jan Wolny; NB³: ➺ Family tree.