January Suchodolski (; September 19, 1797 – March 20, 1875) was a Polish painter and Army officer, and a member of 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 Thr ...

Life

Suchodolski - Biwak ulanow polskich pod Wagram

Suchodolski was born in Grodno and was the brother of Rajnold Suchodolski. He joined the Warsaw Cadet Corps in 1810. In 1812 he stood guard on the Hotel Angielski in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

when

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

stayed there incognito, during his escape from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. In 1823 he became adjutant to Wincenty Krasiński a former officer in Napoleon's Army who at the time was with the Royal Regiment of Grenadier Guards. Through Krasiński's connections he got access to the Palace's art galleries, gaining exposure to military paintings particularly those of Horace Vernet. He also gained access to Poland's leading artistic and intellectual circles meeting Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Woronicz, Koźmian,

Franciszek Salezy Dmochowski Franciszek Salezy Dmochowski (1801–1871) was a Polish writer, poet, translator, critic, journalist and publisher. He studied at the University of Warsaw. He took part in the distribution of illegal ''bibuła'' press and publications in partition ...

, Antoni Edward Odyniec, and Morawski. During this period he started painting pictures with military themes, particularly battles from the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the P ...

and the Napoleonic wars including those in which Krasiński was involved in during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

. He got to know Antoni Brodowski and succeeded in an art competition with compositions called "Taking the banner of Muhammad in Vienna" and "Death of Ladislaus of Varna". In 1830 Suchodolski and his brother Rajnold took part in the November Uprising. January fought at the First Battle of Wawer, the

Battle of Olszynka Grochowska The Battle of Olszynka Grochowska was fought on 25 February 1831 in the woods near Grochów, on the eastern outskirts of Warsaw. The Polish army, commanded by Józef Chłopicki, succeeded in preventing its Russian counterpart, under Hans Karl ...

and the Battle of Iganie. In his spare time he sketched the scenes of soldiers and made portraits of his colleagues. Following the defeat of the uprising — in which his brother Rajnold died — January went to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

where he became a pupil of Horace Vernet from 1832 to 1837. Here he socialised with Zygmunt Krasiński, Wincenty's son,

Juliusz Słowacki Juliusz Słowacki (; french: Jules Slowacki; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of mod ...

, Thorwaldsen, Johann Friedrich Overbeck, Peter von Cornelius, and Louis Léopold Robert. He returned to Warsaw in 1837 and was soon offered membership of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts for his painting "Siege of Akhaltsikhe". He was then invited to St Petersburg by Tsar Nicholas I to paint famous battles of the Russian Army. After returning to Poland, he next went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

in 1844. In 1852 he moved to Kraków, where he met Wincenty Pol. He provided some illustrations for Pol's poem 'Mohorta'. In 1860 Suchodolski joined the committee of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts and helped set up the Museum of Fine Arts in Warsaw.January Suchodolski – żołnierz i malarz w jednej osobie
accessed 17 March 2012 January Suchodolski died in Bojmie (near

Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...

) on March 20, 1875.

Gallery

File:National Museum in Poznan - Przejście przez Berezynę.JPG, Retreat from

Berezyna Byerazino ( be, Беразіно́, Bierazino), or Berezino (russian: Березино́, pl, Berezyna, lt, Berezinas), also known as Biarezan (Бярэзань, yi, בערעזין, Berezin), is a town on the Berezina River in Minsk Region o ...

, File:La batalla de Tudela, por January Suchodolski.jpg,

Battle of Tudela The Battle of Tudela (23 November 1808) saw an Imperial French army led by Marshal Jean Lannes attack a Spanish army under General Castaños. The battle resulted in the complete victory of the Imperial forces over their adversaries. The com ...

File:Charge polonaise à Somosierra 2.jpg, Polish uhlans charge through Somosierra Pass - Battle of Somosierra File:Chłopicki 1831.JPG, General Chłopicki with Polish Army November Uprising 1831 File:Death of Poniatowski.jpg, Death of Prince Józef Poniatowski in the Battle of Leipzig File:January Suchodolski - Akhaltsikhe siege.jpg, Siege of Akhaltsikhe 1828 File:Battle for Palm Tree Hill.jpg, Battle for Palm Tree Hill,

Saint Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to ref ...

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on ...

1845 File:Stefan Czarniecki during Polish-Russian War.png, Stefan Czarniecki during Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) File:January Suchodolski - Ochakiv siege.jpg, Siege of Ochakov (1788) 1853 File:Jasna Góra 1655.jpg,

Siege of Jasna Góra The siege of Jasna Góra (also known less accurately as the ''Battle of Częstochowa'', pl , Oblężenie Jasnej Góry) took place in the winter of 1655 during the Second Northern War, or 'The Deluge' – as the Swedish invasion of ...

(1655) 1845

Life

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading