Count Edward Aleksander Raczyński (1847–1926) was a Polish
nobleman
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
, landowner, patron of the arts, and founder of the Raczyński Art Gallery in
Rogalin
Rogalin is a village in western Poland, situated on the river Warta. It lies approximately east of the town of Mosina, and south of the metropolitan city of Poznań.Jerzy Pietrzak (1986) Edward Aleksander Raczyński. Polski Słownik Biograficzny.
Biography
Raczyński was an adventurer and world traveller. After the death of his father in 1864, at the age of 17 he escaped to Turkey for a few months with a friend, Roger Ziolecki, after his guardians attempted to send him to Wroclaw; he was later badly wounded in the 1867
Battle of Mentana
The Battle of Mentana was fought on November 3, 1867, near the village of Mentana, located north-east of Rome (then in the Papal States, now modern Lazio), between French-Papal troops and the Italian volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi. Gariba ...
, then in 1869 went to
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, then back to France in 1870 to take part in a war, and in 1874 settled 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 ...
at the residence of his aunt countess Katarzyna
Potocka
The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Potocki family is one of the wealthiest and ...
.
He became a star of the local society, and was featured in
Jan Matejko
Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...
's
Battle of Grunwald (painting)
The ''Battle of Grunwald'' is a painting by Jan Matejko depicting the Battle of Grunwald and the victory of the allied Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the Teutonic Order in 1410. The canvas dates to 1878 and is on ...
in the lower right-hand section, as the young bearded man with the white bandage on his head wound.
Edward
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...