Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Stanisław Kostka Potocki (; November 1755 – 14 September 1821) 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 ...

, politician, writer, public intellectual, and patron of the arts. He was involved in public education and active in the period that has been termed as the

Polish Enlightenment The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture (Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Gol ...

Life

Potocki was a son of General and

starost Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

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 ...

, Eustace Potocki and Anna Kątska, and was a brother of Ignacy Potocki. Other brothers included Jerzy Michał Potocki and Jan Nepomucen Eryk. They were taken care of by the state after the death of their parents in 1768. The boys were educated at the Collegium Nobilium in Warsaw and in 1772 Stanisław went to the military academy in Turin. He travelled through Europe and on returning, he married Princess Aleksandra Lubomirska, the daughter of Great Marshal of the Crown, Prince Stanisław Lubomirski, on 2 June 1776. His brother Ignacy was married to Elżbieta, the sister of Aleksandra. The couples lived in Olesin near Pulawy. He visited Rome in 1780, where he was painted by

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 was an alumnus of the Collegium Nobilium in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, and later studied Polonistics, literature and arts in

Wilanów Wilanów () is a dzielnica, district of the city of Warsaw, Poland. It is home to historic Wilanów Palace, the "Polish Palace of Versailles, Versailles," and second home to various List of Polish rulers, Polish kings. Wilanów is home to many v ...

. He became Great Podstoli of the Crown in 1781–1784. He began to construct a new palace in Kurów and reconstructed the palace in Leszno. In 1784 he became head of the Polish Freemasonry. He was persuaded to be a witness during the Dogrum affair (1784-85) but found the process unfair and moved to Carlsbad to rest. He also travelled in Italy, collecting artworks. In 1786 he ran for parliamentary elections for Sejm. In 1792, he became an Artillery General of the Crown and participated in the War in Defense of the Constitution. He was a deputy of

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

and one of the leaders of the Patriotic Party on the Four-Year Sejm. He served briefly in the war with Russia in 1792 and then went to live in Saxony. He was expelled from Dresden in 1794 and imprisoned by the Austrian police. He was released in 1795 and he went to Italy. Potocki was a co-founder of the Society of Friends of Science (''Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk'', ''or TPN'') in Warsaw in 1800. From 1807 he was a member of the Governing Commission (''Komisja Rządząca''), chairman of the Education Chamber (''Izba Edukacyjna''), and from 1810 director of the Commission of National Education (''Komisja Edukacji Narodowej'') in the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

. In 1809 he became chairman of the Council of State (''Rada Stanu'') and the Council of Ministers (''Rada Ministrów''). In 1818–20 he was chairman of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Potocki organized archaeological excavations in Italy, inter alia in

Laurentum Laurentum was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman city of Latium situated between Ostia Antica, Ostia and Lavinium, on the west coast of the Italian Peninsula southwest of Rome. Roman writers regarded it as the original capital of Italy, before Lavin ...

in 1779 and

Nola Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian worship. ...

in 1785–1786. He collected art, mainly paintings, graphics and antique ceramics. His collection exhibited in

in 1805, initiating one of the first museums in Poland. Potocki died on 14 September 1821 and was buried in the church of Wilanów.

Awards

* Knight of the Order of the White Eagle, awarded in 1781. * Knight of the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

* Knight of the

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, notable as the fi ...

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Works

* ''Świstek krytyczny'' ("Pamiętnik Warszawski", 1816–18) * ''Podróż do Ciemnogrodu'' (''A Journey to Dunceville'', t. 1–4, 1820)

References

External links

Stanislaw Kostka Potocki at the Wilanow Palace Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potocki, Stanislaw Kostka 1755 births 1821 deaths Writers from Lublin Counts of Poland Polish male writers 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian politicians Polish publicists Members of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Generals of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish generals Politicians from the Duchy of Warsaw Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Stanislaw Kostka Potocki Signers of the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791 Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Politicians from Lublin Polish recipients of the Legion of Honour 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian writers

Life

Awards

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links