Ludomir Ludwik Dominik Benedyktowicz (15 August 1844, in Świniary – 1/14 December 1926, in

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

) was a Polish landscape painter, soldier, writer, and amateur chess player.

Biography

He attended primary school in Warsaw then, in 1861, following in his father's footsteps, he went to the "Institute of Forest Management Practices" in Brok to study forestry with its founder, Professor

Wojciech Jastrzębowski Wojciech Jastrzębowski (19 April 1799 – 30 December 1882) was a Polish scientist, naturalist and inventor, professor of botany, physics, zoology and horticulture at Instytut Rolniczo-Leśny in Marymont in Warsaw, and insurgent of the November ...

.Brief biography
by Jacek Frankowski @ Album Polski. He interrupted his studies to join the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

, becoming a fighter in a partisan unit commanded by . During a skirmish with a

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

unit near

Stare Kaczkowo Stare Kaczkowo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Brok, within Ostrów Mazowiecka County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Brok, south of Ostrów Mazowiecka, and north-east of ...

, his right hand was cut off by a sword and his left arm was shattered by a bullet. He was later evacuated to the rectory in

Ostrów Mazowiecka Ostrów Mazowiecka is a town in eastern Poland with 23,486 inhabitants (2004). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Ostrołęka Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Ostrów Mazowiecka County. History Ostr ...

, where his arm had to be amputated. It was no longer possible to study forestry, so he decided to study art, beginning at the Warsaw School of Drawing with

Wojciech Gerson Wojciech Gerson (; July 1, 1831 – February 25, 1901) was a leading Polish painter of the mid-19th century, and one of the foremost representatives of the Polish school of Realism during the foreign Partitions of Poland. He served as long-time ...

. He painted with a metal ring of his own devising; attached to his right forearm, with screw-on clips to hold a brush, pen or piece of charcoal. Eventually, persecution of the uprising's participants intensified so, on the strength of his work with Gerson, he went to Munich and was allowed to enroll at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

. When he returned to Poland, he visited the gravesite of fellow insurgents who had been killed in the battle he survived. As a result, he was arrested on suspicion of "agitation" and briefly detained in the

Warsaw Citadel Warsaw Citadel (Polish: Cytadela Warszawska) is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster imperial Russian control of the city. I ...

. After being released for lack of evidence, he moved to

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 ...

, in the

Austrian Partition The Austrian Partition ( pl, zabór austriacki) comprise the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired by the Habsburg monarchy during the Partitions of Poland in the late 18th century. The three partition (politics), p ...

, and studied composition with

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 ...

. In 1876, he married and opened his own studio. He lived there for forty years, then moved to Lwów after the death of his wife and lived in a nursing home for veterans. During World War I, he served as a reserve Lieutenant and was awarded the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...

. In addition to his art, he produced three volumes of poetry; one each for the 40th, 50th, and 60th anniversaries of the January Uprising. He also wrote a book about Stanisław Witkiewicz (with whom he frequently argued) and his role as a critic. In 1893, as an amateur chess player, he was involved in the creation of the , together with

Hieronim Czarnowski Hieronim Ignacy Czarnowski (January 1834 – 28 December 1902) was a Polish chess master and activist. He lived in Warsaw (then Russian Empire), where he played, among others, with Alexander Petrov and Szymon Winawer. After the failure of the Jan ...

, and served as its second President. In 1925, he was named an honorary member of "Hetman", a chess club in Lwów that included such notable players as Ignacy Popiel and

Kalikst Morawski Kalikst von Morawski (1859 – after 17 September 1939) was a Polish chess master. Born in a village Boryszkowce (''Боришківці''), Galicia (then Austria-Hungary, next Poland, now Ukraine), he studied law in the Lviv University from 1877 ...

References

Writings

* ''Stanisław Witkiewicz jako krytyk: jego pojęcia, zasady i teorye w malarstwie. Rozbiór krytyczny'' (Stanisław Witkiewicz as a critic...) Spólka Wydawnicza Polska, 1902 ("Nowa biblioteka uniwersalna" series
Full text
@ Google Books.

External links

Photograph of Benedyktowicz
in uniform, during World War I @ NAC. {{DEFAULTSORT:Benedyktowicz, Ludomir 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists January Uprising participants 1844 births 1926 deaths Polish landscape painters People without hands Polish chess players People from Siedlce County Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Polish art critics Polish male painters