Casimir Dunin Markievicz ( pl, Kazimierz Dunin-Markiewicz , 15 March 1874 – 2 December 1932), known as Count Markievicz, was a Polish playwright, theatre director, and painter, and the husband of the Irish revolutionary

Constance Markievicz Constance Georgine Markievicz ( pl, Markiewicz ; ' Gore-Booth; 4 February 1868 – 15 July 1927), also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, socialist, and the fir ...

Early life and marriage

The Dunin Markievicz family held land in

Malopolska Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...

Province (today

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

), and had an estate in a town of Zywotow ( pl, Żywotówka; now ) where Casimir grew up. Markievicz attended the State Gymnasium in

Kherson Kherson (, ) is a port city of Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers appr ...

, and studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at the University in Kyiv which at that time still held a vast Polish minority.Timothy Snyder. (2003). ''The Reconstruction of Nations.'' New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 120-122 In 1895, he transferred to the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

in Paris. While in Paris, he met and married Jadwiga Splawa-Neyman. They had two sons, Stanislas and Ryszard, but the marriage did not last. Jadwiga returned to Ukraine where she and Ryszard died in 1899. He met Constance Gore-Booth in 1899, and the two mixed in the bohemian Paris society of the time. In Paris, Markievicz styled himself as "

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Markievicz". When Constance's family enquired as to the validity of the title, they were informed through

Pyotr Rachkovsky Pyotr Ivanovich Rachkovsky (russian: Пётр Иванович Рачковский; 1853 – 1 November 1910) was chief of Okhrana, the secret service in Imperial Russia. He was based in Paris from 1885 to 1902. Activities in 1880s–1890s Aft ...

of the Russian Secret Police that he had taken the title "without right", and that there had never been a "Count Markievicz" in Poland. However, the Department of Genealogy in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

said that he was entitled to claim to be a member of the ''

Szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

'', of whom there were several hundred thousand in 1900. Markievicz and Gore-Booth married in London in 1900, and their daughter, Maeve, was born the following year. From 1902 the couple lived in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. He continued to be known as "Count Markievicz" (and Constance as "Countess Markievicz"), and in the 1911 census gave his occupation as "Count (Russian nobility)". Stanislas later said in a letter that his father had not been a count.

Artistic life

Markievicz was part of the literary circle that centred on

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...

J.M. Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly r ...

, and the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

. In 1910 he formed his own theatre company, the Independent Dramatic Company, which staged plays written by himself and starring his wife, Constance.

Return to Poland

In 1913, Markievicz moved back to Poland, and never returned to live in Ireland. However, he did correspond with his wife in Dublin and he was by her side when she died in 1927. Towards the end of his life Markievicz was active in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, as well as a correspondent for British magazines, such as the ''Londoner Daily News''. He also wrote the screenplay of a 1920

Polish film The history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as the history of cinematography, and it has universally recognized achievements, even though Polish films tend to be less commercially available than films from several other European nations. Af ...

, ''Powrót'', directed by

Aleksander Hertz Aleksander Hertz (1879–1928) was a Polish film producer and director. Hertz was an influential figure in early Polish cinema, directing films such as the historical '' Countess Walewska'' in 1914. He founded the "Sfinks" film company. Hertz was ...

.. His paintings included portraits, landscapes, and

genre painting Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached ...

. The largest part of his art collection is held in Dublin, some remain in Poland (

National Museum, Kraków The National Museum in Kraków ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie), popularly abbreviated as MNK, is the largest museum in Poland, and the main branch of Poland's National Museum, which has several independent branches with permanent collections arou ...

, and in private collections). His talent lent itself particularly to the large

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

portraits of two Polish statesmen:

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Piłsudski and

Stanisław Wojciechowski Stanisław Wojciechowski (; 15 March 1869 – 9 April 1953) was a Polish politician and scholar who served as President of Poland between 1922 and 1926, during the Second Polish Republic. He was elected president in 1922, following the assassin ...

. A catalogue for his works is still pending. He died in

Republic of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, in December 1932.

Plays

(Source: ''Productions of the Irish Theatre Movement, 1899-1916'') *''Seymour's Redemption'',

, 9 March 1908 *''The Dilettante'', Abbey Theatre, 3 December 1908 *''Home Sweet Home'' (with Nora Fitzpatrick), Abbey Theatre, 3 December 1908 *''The Memory of the Dead'', Abbey Theatre, 14 April 1910 *''Mary'', Abbey Theatre, 14 April 1910 *''Rival Stars'', Gaiety Theatre, 11 December 1911

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markievicz, Casimir 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists 20th-century Polish dramatists and playwrights Polish male dramatists and playwrights Duninowie Artists from Warsaw Artist authors Polish nobility People from Vinnytsia Oblast People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent 1874 births 1932 deaths Polish male painters