He was born in
Kraków and began his studies at the
Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków with
Wojciech Stattler and
Władysław Łuszczkiewicz. Later, he attended the
Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (1862-1863) and the
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (1863-1867). In 1877, he was appointed a professor of drawing at his alma mater, the Kraków Academy. While there, he made copies of works by
Jan Matejko that would be turned into
woodcuts, and he helped Matejko plot the perspective on his huge paintings. He also provided illustrations for
Tygodnik Illustrowany and other periodicals. In 1886, he was elected President of the
Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts. In 1888, he painted "Our Lady of the Polish Crown" for the altar of a church in
Stryj and, together with Matejko, created portraits of Saints
Kinga and
Adalbert at a church in
Stary Wiśnicz. Many of his students would become well-known artists; including
Stanisław Wyspiański,
Piotr Stachiewicz,
Jan Wojnarski,
Ludwik Stasiak,
Artur Markowicz,
Wojciech Weiss,
Ludwik Misky,
Józef Rapacki,
Stefan Filipkiewicz,
Władysław Benda and
Zefiryn Ćwikliński. Cynk died in Kraków on 10 October 1912. == References ==