Andrzej Jerzy Mniszech (1823–1905) was a Polish painter and art collector. His father was Karol Filip Wandalin

Mniszech The House of Mniszech (plural: Mniszchowie, historical feminine forms: Mniszchówna (unmarried), Mniszchowa (married or widow)) was a Polish magnate and noble family bearing the Mniszech Coat of Arms. Notable members * Andrzej Jerzy Mniszech ...

(1794–1844), and his mother Eleonora Cetner (1798–1871). His paternal grandfather was

Michał Jerzy Mniszech Count Michał Jerzy Wandalin Mniszech (1742–1806) was a Polish nobleman. Michal became Colonel in 1757, Cześnik of the Crown in 1777, Great Secretary of Lithuania in 1778, Chief of the Royal Chancellery in 1780. He served also as Marshal ...

, a Polish nobleman who was

Grand Marshal of the Crown Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

during the reign of

Stanisław II Augustus Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, Cali ...

. He spent his youth in the family palace in

Wiśniowiec Vyshnivets ( uk, Вишнівець, translit. ''Vyshnivets’''; pl, Wiśniowiec) is an urban-type settlement in Kremenets Raion (district) of the Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Vyshnivets settleme ...

and in Paris. In 1846 he inherited a lot of debt, and when he moved with his wife, Anna Elżbieta Potocka (1827–1885) and their son Leon (1849–1901) to Paris in 1854, he took with him a large part of the private family collection from Wiśniowiec, especially paintings. The palace the couple acquired in 1861 at 16 Rue Daru in Paris was owned by his wife, and after her death in 1885, it passed to their son Leon. The entire collection counted about 500 paintings, engravings, drawings, ceramics and furniture. Mniszech collected mainly Dutch masters of the 17th century and French art of the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

period. He was one of the first amateur collectors of

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, , ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group ...

. The collection was dispersed twice: in 1902 following his son Leon's death, and in 1910 when the collection went up for auction. He was active in Paris during the years 1854–1905. He started drawing lessons with his brother, Jerzy, in Wiśniowiec. In the 1860s he continued in Paris, studying with

Jean Gigoux Jean François Gigoux (6 January 1806, Besançon – 11 December 1894, Paris) was a French painter, lithographer, illustrator and art collector. Biography His father, Claude Étienne Gigoux, was a blacksmith, originally from Seveux (Haute-Saô ...

and Leon Cogniet. He painted mainly portraits often using the triptych form.Portret kobiety z 1873 i portret Gejszy
/ref> In October 2007 his painting, ''Portrait of a Geisha'', sold in

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

, New York, for $85,000.

References

19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists 1823 births 1905 deaths Andrzej Jerzy People from Ternopil Oblast Polish art collectors Polish male painters {{poland-painter-stub