Aleksander Raczyński (1822,

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

- 16 November 1889, Lwów) was a Polish portrait painter.

Biography

He had his first art lessons in his hometown with

Jan Maszkowski Jan Kanty Ignacy Maszkowski (1794–1865) was a Polish painter; known for portraits, history and genre paintings. Life and work He displayed artistic skills from an early age. A local landowner named Jozef Levitzky took note and helped him enroll ...

.Brief biography
@ the Museum of King Jan III's Palace at Wilanów. After 1846, he studied at the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

and the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. In the second half of the 19th centur ...

. Later, he attended the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

in Paris. During his student years, he created a large number of humorous drawings and cartoons depicting the life of the artistic community. They are now in the collection of the

Ossolineum Ossoliński National Institute (, ZNiO), or the Ossolineum is a Polish cultural Foundation (non-profit), foundation, publishing house, archival institute and a research centre of national significance founded in 1817 in Lwów (now Lviv). Located ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

. In 1857, he travelled to Italy and, upon his return, settled permanently in Lwów. where he opened a portrait studio. Among his best-known sitters were

Wincenty Pol Wincenty Pol (; 20 April 1807 – 2 December 1872) was a Polish poet and geographer. Life Pol was born in Lublin (then in Galicia), to Franz Pohl (or Poll), a German in the Austrian service, and his wife Eleonora Longchamps de Berier, from a ...

Aleksander Fredro Aleksander Fredro (20 June 1793 – 15 July 1876) was a Polish poet, playwright and Polish authors, author active during Romanticism in Poland, Polish Romanticism in the Partitions of Poland, period of partitions by neighboring empires. His works ...

, Józef Dwernicki,

Maciej Rybiński Maciej Rybiński (; born 24 February 1784 in Slavuta in Wołyń, died 17 January 1874 in Paris) was a Polish general, who was the last chief of State of November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish ...

and Gregory Yakhimovich. He often painted from photographs. His friend,

Artur Grottger Artur Grottger (11 November 1837 – 13 December 1867) was a Polish Romantic painter and graphic artist, one of the most prominent artists of the mid 19th century under the partitions of Poland, despite a life cut short by incurable illness. B ...

, provided the landscape backgrounds for many of Raczyński's portraits. He also painted sacred and historical subjects, as well as contemporary scenes from the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. In 1855, he engraved the

Coats-of-Arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievem ...

for a new edition of the ''Herbarz Polski'' (Polish Armorial) by

Kasper Niesiecki Kasper Niesiecki (31 December 1682 – 9 July 1744), also known as Kacper Niesiecki, was a Polish heraldist, Jesuit, lexicographer, writer, theologian and preacher. Biography Niesiecki was born in Greater Poland to a burgher family. In 1699 h ...

. He was also a founder and frequent exhibitor at the "Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Lwów" and served as Director of the Technical Academy (now

Lviv Polytechnic Lviv Polytechnic National University () is a public university in Lviv, Ukraine, founded in 1816. According to the Times Higher Education, as of 2024, it ranks first as a technical institution of higher education and second among all instit ...

). His works may be seen at the Lviv National Art Gallery and the

King John III Palace Museum, Wilanów The Museum of King John III's Palace at Wilanów () is a museum in Warsaw, Poland considered to be one of the oldest in the country and the repository of the country's royal and artistic heritage. The collection consists of valuables collected by s ...

Selected paintings

File:General Maciej Rybiński by Aleksander Raczyński.png, General

File:RaczynskiAleksander.ZuawiWWalce.1858.jpg,

Zouave The Zouaves () were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army and other units modelled on it, which served between 1830 and 1962, and served in French North Africa. The zouaves were among the most decorated units of the French Army ...

s in Battle File:Aleksander Raczyński - In the servants’ chamber - MP 5113 MNW - National Museum in Warsaw.jpg, In the Servants' Chamber File:Aleksander Raczyński - Hunter - MP 2234 MNW - National Museum in Warsaw.jpg, Hunter File:Aleksander Raczyński - Portret kobiety 1857.jpg, Portrait of a Woman

References

External links

1822 births 1889 deaths Polish portrait painters 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists Artists from Lviv Polish male painters {{Poland-painter-stub