Count Edward Aleksander Raczyński (1847–1926) was a Polish

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

, landowner, patron of the arts, and founder of the Raczyński Art Gallery in

Rogalin Rogalin is a village in western Poland, situated on the river Warta. It lies approximately east of the town of Mosina, and south of the metropolitan city of Poznań.Jerzy Pietrzak (1986)
Edward Aleksander Raczyński.
Polski Słownik Biograficzny.

Biography

Raczyński was an adventurer and world traveller. After the death of his father in 1864, at the age of 17 he escaped to Turkey for a few months with a friend, Roger Ziolecki, after his guardians attempted to send him to Wroclaw; he was later badly wounded in the 1867

Battle of Mentana The Battle of Mentana was fought on November 3, 1867, near the village of Mentana, located north-east of Rome (then in the Papal States, now modern Lazio), between French-papal troops and the Italian volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who wer ...

, then in 1869 went to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, then back to France in 1870 to take part in a war, and in 1874 settled in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

at the residence of his aunt countess Katarzyna Potocka. He became a star of the local society, and was featured in

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Poles, Polish painting, painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works includ ...

Battle of Grunwald (painting) The ''Battle of Grunwald'' is a painting by Jan Matejko depicting the Battle of Grunwald and the victory of the allied Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the Teutonic Order in 1410. The canvas dates to 1878 and is on ...

in the lower right-hand section, as the young bearded man with the white bandage on his head wound.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raczynski, Edward 1847 births 1926 deaths Nobility from Dresden Counts of Poland Polish art collectors

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...