Józef Peszka (19 February 1767, in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

– 14 September 1831, in Kraków) was a Polish painter and art professor; known mostly for his portraits and watercolor landscapes.

Biography

His first drawing lessons were with , an Austrian painter living in Kraków. He then studied painting in Warsaw with Franciszek Smuglewicz.Brief biography and list of works
from the '' Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'' @ German WikiSource. After doing a portrait of

Hugo Kołłątaj Hugo Stumberg Kołłątaj, also spelled ''Kołłątay'' (1 April 1750 – 28 February 1812), was a prominent Polish constitutional reformer and educationalist, and one of the most prominent figures of the Enlightenment in Poland, Polish Enlighten ...

, he was introduced to members of the

Great Sejm The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm (Polish language, Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...

and earned a commission to do portraits of other prominent political figures; work which kept him occupied until 1792.Brief biography
@ Sztuka Zaprasza. After that, until 1812, he took numerous trips throughout

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and Russia, where he created watercolor and sepia toned landscapes with

staffage In painting, staffage () are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often c ...

as well as some vedute. He spent some time with his former mentor, Smuglewicz, at

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

. From 1807 to 1810, he lingered in Niasvizh where he served as a court painter to Prince

Michał Hieronim Radziwiłł Prince Michał Hieronim Radziwiłł (; 1744–1831) was a Polish nobleman, politician, diplomat and member of the Polish–Lithuanian Radziwiłł family. He was an '' ordynat'' of Kleck, Olyka and Niasvizh, Great Sword-bearer of Lithuania f ...

. In 1813, he returned to Kraków and taught art at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

. In 1818, he helped organize the newly established School of Fine Arts and became a Professor there. In 1831, a few months before his death, he was named Director. During that time, he concentrated on painting portraits; mostly of military heroes, wealthy businessmen and their families and figures of the

Polish Enlightenment The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture (Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Gol ...

. He also did some historical scenes, which show the influence of Smuglewicz, and some scenes from Classical mythology.

Selected paintings

File:Stanisław Małachowski - Peszka.jpg,

Stanisław Małachowski Count Stanisław Małachowski, of the Nałęcz coat-of-arms (; 1736–1809) was a Polish statesman, the first List of Polish Prime Ministers, Prime Minister of Poland, a member of the Poland, Polish government's Permanent Council (Rada Nieustaj� ...

File:Lida. Ліда (J. Pieška, 1800).jpg, View of

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

File:Viciebsk, Rynak-Vialikaja. Віцебск, Рынак-Вялікая (J. Pieška, 1800).jpg, Street Scene in

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

File:Peszka Three muses.JPG, Three Muses

References

External links

Paintings by Peszka
in the

National Museum, Kraków National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peszka, Jozef 1767 births 1831 deaths 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian painters 18th-century male artists 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists 19th-century Polish educators Academic staff of Jagiellonian University Polish landscape painters Polish portrait painters Polish watercolourists Artists from Kraków Polish male painters