Józef Oleszkiewicz ( lt, Juozapas Oleškevičius, russian: Юзеф Иванович Олешкевич; c.1777, in

Šiluva Šiluva is a small town of less than 700 inhabitants in Lithuania. It is located in the region of Samogitia. It is a major site of Catholic pilgrimage in Lithuania. History Šiluva was first mentioned in 1457 in relation to the building of th ...

– 5 October 1830, 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 ...

) was a Polish-Lithuanian painter, known primarily for his portraits and his eccentric behavior.

Biography

Oleszkiewicz came from an impoverished noble family; his father was a musician. With assistance from a family friend, he became a student 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 ...

in 1797. He studied anatomy and physiology but switched to drawing and painting, taking classes with

Franciszek Smuglewicz Franciszek Smuglewicz ( lt, Pranciškus Smuglevičius; 6 October 1745 – 18 September 1807) was a Polish-Lithuanian draughtsman and painter. Smuglewicz is considered a progenitor of Lithuanian art in the modern era. He was precursor of his ...

and

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 ...

.Biography
@ Žemaitija. He also copied paintings at the homes of wealthy people who knew his family. In 1801, he attracted the attention of Count

Aleksander Chodkiewicz Aleksander Chodkiewicz ( lt, Aleksandras Chodkevičius, , ; ca. 1475 – 28 May 1549) was a Ruthenian noble from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia, founder of the Supraśl Orthodox Monastery. He inherited vast possessions fr ...

, a playwright, chemist and (later) a general, who was also a budding patron of the arts. Chodkiewicz provided him with the necessary funds to study abroad. In 1803, he went to Paris and enrolled at 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 ...

, where he studied with Jean-Simon Berthélemy and

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

. He returned to Vilnius in 1806 and had great success with several historical paintings at an exhibition there in 1809. After failing to obtain a Professorship at the university, he went to

. His painting of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna providing for the poor won him the title of "Academician" from the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

in 1812.Short biography of Oleszkiewicz
@ WIEM. Oleszkiewicz soon became a much sought-after portrait painter, but he also created historical, religious and allegorical works. In regard to the latter, he was a prominent

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, eventually becoming part of the upper hierarchy at the lodges in Saint Petersburg and Vilnius, until they were outlawed in 1822. His interests extended to

theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

and the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...

. He was also a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

and an early advocate of

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

, lived in a house full of cats, and gave most of his large income to the poor, in person.Excerpt about Oleszkiewicz
from ''Adam Mickiewicz: The Life of a Romantic'', by Roman Robert Koropeckyj @ Google Books. After predicting what would be the worst flood in Saint Petersburg's history, in 1824, he gained a reputation as a soothsayer, although floods there were certainly not uncommon. Later, he was the inspiration for "The Sorcerer"; a character who appears in Part III of the poetic drama ''

Dziady Dziady ( Belarusian: , Russian: , Ukrainian: , pl, Dziady; lit. "grandfathers, eldfathers", sometimes translated as Forefathers' Eve) is a term in Slavic folklore for the spirits of the ancestors and a collection of pre-Christian rites, rituals ...

'' by

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

. Despite being a vegetarian, it appears that he died from complications related to

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

Selected portraits

File:Marcin Poczobutt-Odlanicki 1.PNG, ''

Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt ( lt, Martynas Počobutas; 30 October 1728 near Grodno – 7 February 1810 in Daugavpils) was a Polish–Lithuanian Jesuit, astronomer and mathematician. He was professor of Vilnius University for over 50 years ...

'' File:Maria Volkonskaya (Pushkin museum).jpg, '' Mariya Volkonskaya'' File:Michał Kleafas Aginski. Міхал Клеафас Агінскі (J. Alaškievič, XIX).jpg, ''

Michał Kleofas Ogiński Michał Kleofas Ogiński (25 September 176515 October 1833) was a Polish diplomat and politician, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania, and a senator of Tsar Alexander I. He was also a composer of early Romantic music. Early life Ogiński was born i ...

'' File:Oleszkiewicz-Michał Kutzow.jpg, ''

Mikhail Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...

'' File:Adam Mickiewicz by Józef Oleszkiewicz.jpg, ''

References

External links

by Alwida Bajor. Oleszkiewicz and his relationship to Mickiewicz, from ''Magazyn Wileński''.
An appreciation
by Boris Krepak from Культура (in Belarusian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oleszkiewicz, Jozef 1777 births 1830 deaths 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire Russian painters Russian male painters Polish emigrants to Russia Portrait painters Russian Freemasons Lithuanian people of Polish descent People from Raseiniai District Municipality Vilnius University alumni École des Beaux-Arts alumni Polish male painters

Biography

Selected portraits

References

Further reading

External links