Wiesław Jerzy Domasłowski (1926 - 2021)
Andrzej Romański/Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika, Torun

Polish chemist and conservator of monuments, professor at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń he was born and spent his childhood in Warsaw. Then he was sent to forced labor in Germany. After returning to his country he moved to Gdynia then to Toruń where he studied chemistry.

From 1969 to 2000 he was the head of the Department of Conservation of Architectural Elements and Details at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.

He was one of the main lecturers of the Stone Conservation Course since it’s inception in 1976 and during the second course held in 1978. The course was organized by ICCROM under the auspices of UNESCO at the request of the Consultative Committee for Venice. Giorgio Torraca was the course coordinator in those first years.
In 1989–1991 he was a visiting professor at the Fachhochschule in Cologne, where he organised a stone conservation specialisation.

The main topic of his scientific research was the conservation of historic stone buildings, as well as the use of artificial resins for conservation purposes. He carried out many conservation projects in Poland and abroad - including Bulgaria, Egypt (Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari), Cambodia (Angkor Wat), Macedonia (Roman ceramic kiln in Ohrid), Chile (colossi on Easter Island) and Germany. He has published over 100 research papers, supervised over 150 MA theses and 13 doctoral theses.

Professor Wiesław Domasłowski was an enthusiastic teacher and a dedicated university lecturer as well as an outstanding expert in the field of stone conservation. He was professionally active for a long time, willingly sharing his knowledge with art restorers, architects and other heritage professionals. Professor Domasłowski was a very elegant, obliging, disciplined and extremely responsible man, with a great sense of humor and self-distance. Several generations of art restorers and students use his knowledge and experience to develop his ideas, successfully conserving many valuable monuments in Poland and around the world.

His wife, Wacława Szmidel - Domasłowska, graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and was an excellent art conservator, specializing in the conservation of paintings and polychrome sculpture. For her conservation achievements in 2016, she was awarded the silver medal of Merit for Culture "Gloria Artis" by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in Poland.

Professor Wiesław Domasłowski and Wacława Szmidel - Domasłowska died in February 2021 in Toruń.