Kanuty Rusiecki ( lt, Kanutas Ruseckas; 1800–1860) was a Polish-Lithuanian painter.

Biography

He was born into an impoverished noble Polish-Lithuanian family in Lithuania and his father was a magistrate. He is said to have displayed his artistic talent at an early age, making impromptu models in wax. In 1816, he began his studies at the

University of Vilnius Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

. Initially, he studied law and mathematics, but eventually followed his true interests and, in 1818, switched to the study of art, under the tutelage of

Jan Rustem Jan Rustem ( hy, Յան Ռուստամ; 1762 – 21 June 1835) was a painter of Armenian ethnicity who lived and worked in the territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Primarily a portrait painter, he was commissioned to execute ...

and

Kazimierz Jelski ) , honorific_suffix = , image = Партрэт К. Ельскага.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = , birth_name = , birth_date = , birth_place = Ejsymonty near Grodno, ...

.Timeline
@ the Lietuvos Nacionalinė Martyno Mažvydo Biblioteka. During his stay at the University, he was a member of the

Philomaths The Philomaths, or Philomath Society ( pl, Filomaci or ''Towarzystwo Filomatów''; from the Greek φιλομαθεῖς "lovers of knowledge"), was a secret student organization that existed from 1817 to 1823 at the Imperial University of Vilniu ...

, a secret society of Polish students. With letters of recommendation and his father's financial support (and following a secret marriage), he went to Paris and enrolled at the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Science ...

from 1821 to 1822, studying with

Guillaume Guillon-Lethière Guillaume Guillon-Lethière (; 10 January 1760 – 22 April 1832) was a French Neoclassicism, neoclassical Painting, painter. Life Born free in Guadeloupe in 1760 to a French colonial official named Pierre Guillon and a "mulatto" mother, Le ...

. He then spent a year at the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...

in Rome, where he worked with

Vincenzo Camuccini Vincenzo Camuccini (22 February 1771 – 2 September 1844) was an Italian painter of Neoclassic histories and religious paintings. He was considered the premier academic painter of his time in Rome. Biography Camuccini was born in Rome, and fir ...

and attended the sculpture workshop of

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...

. He also served as the informal leader of the Polish art community there and presented an exhibition of Polish Romantic painters. Between studies, he toured extensively, painting portraits and landscapes throughout Italy. Beginning in 1831, he gave private drawing lessons in Vilnius. Three years later, he became a Professor at the "Wileński Instytut Szlachecki" (institute for the nobility) and taught there until his death. In 1856, he joined with

Wincenty Dmochowski Wincenty Dmochowski or Dmóchowski ( lt, Vincentas Dmachauskas, be, Vincent Dmachoŭski; born 1805/1807, Naharodavičy, Dzyatlava District, died 6 March 1862, Vilnius) was a Polish-Lithuanian painter born in modern-day Belarus Belarus,, ...

and

Kazimierz Jelski ) , honorific_suffix = , image = Партрэт К. Ельскага.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = , birth_name = , birth_date = , birth_place = Ejsymonty near Grodno, ...

in an effort to create an independent art school. He painted altar pictures and restored

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es in many small churches throughout Lithuania, as well as at the

Vilnius Cathedral The Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius ( lt, Vilniaus Šv. Stanislovo ir Šv. Vladislovo arkikatedra bazilika; pl, Bazylika archikatedralna św. Stanisława Biskupa i św. Władysława, historical: ''Kościół Kated ...

. Most of his canvases were in private collections that have been dispersed and are now difficult to trace. Although fairly numerous, all but a few of his known paintings are those that were left in his studio at the time of his death. They were preserved by his son Bolesław, who was also a painter, and later bequeathed to various museums in Poland, Lithuania and what is now

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

.Rusiecki and Wańkowicz
by Beata Garnyte @ Nasza Gazeta.

References

External links

"Italija Lietuvos dailininkų gyvenime" (Lithuanian Artists Lives in Italy)
by Marius Vyšniauskas @ Kamane (scroll down for Rusiecki)

"Kanuty Rusiecki’s works to go on display at Mir Castle" {{DEFAULTSORT:Rusiecki, Kanuty 1800 births 1860 deaths Polish painters Lithuanian painters Lithuanian people of Polish descent People from Panevėžys District Municipality

Biography

References

Further reading

External links