Polish Artist Beksinski Found Murdered

WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish contemporary artist Zdzisław Beksiński (like: "G-suave" Beck- SHEEN- ski), famed for his haunting fantasy paintings, has been found murdered at his home, police said Tuesday.

Police said they found multiple wounds on Beksiński's body, discovered at his flat in a prestigious Warsaw neighborhood.

"His body was found late last night by his family. He had several wounds, some on his chest, which could have been caused by for example a dagger," police spokeswoman Zuzanna Talar said.

The 75-year-old artist became famous around Europe and Japan in the 1970s and 80s for his paintings that depicted disfigured objects or people against a background of hazy romantic light.

"He was one of the best known artists of Poland. He created a language, a climate of horror and secrecy in his paintings. He engaged people's imagination and it was very convincing," said Katarzyna Nowakowska-Sito, curator of modern art at Warsaw's National Museum.

Beksiński, born in the south-east town of Sanok in 1929, was also a photographer and sculptor, and drew pictures often compared to the work of Austrian Ernst Fuchs, founder of a fantastic-realism school.

More of his dark and twisted artwork here.