Unless you're an art connoisseur, you've probably never heard the name Zdzislaw Beksinski. A Polish artist that started out as a sculptor and photographer, Beksinski eventually developed a passion for painting, and oftentimes created his paintings using oil paints on hardboard panels. Though his work has been described as 'Baroque' and 'Gothic,' the words nightmarish and hellish also come to mind, when you look at his stunning oil paintings.
The late 1960s through mid-1980s marked Beksinksi's self-proclaimed 'fantastic period,' wherein he aimed to "paint in such a manner as if I were photographing dreams." Nightmares is more like it, as the pieces in Beksinski's 'fantastic period' depict highly detailed and incredibly hellish landscapes, rife with imagery that's plucked straight out of the worst nightmares of someone who has really really bad nightmares.
Unfortunately, Beksinski was murdered in 2005, at the age of 75, after refusing to loan $100 to his caretaker's teenage son. It was the brutal end to a tragic story for the artist, which began when his wife died in 1998, and his son committed suicide in 1999.
Check out a handful of Beksinski's incredible paintings below, which we spotted over on Lazer Horse, and head over to the Dmochowski Gallery for a virtual gallery tour of all of his work.
