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 ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

, politician, writer, public intellectual and patron of the arts.

Life

Potocki was a son of General and starost of

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

, Eustachy Potocki and Anna Kątska, and was a brother of Ignacy Potocki. He married Princess Aleksandra Lubomirska, the daughter of Great Marshal of the Crown, Prince Stanisław Lubomisrki, on 2 June 1776. 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 Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away f ...

. He was an alumnus of the Collegium Nobilium 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 ...

, and later studied

Polonistics Polish studies, or Polonistics ( pl, filologia polska, or ''polonistyka'') is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates the Polish language and Polish literature in both historic and present-day forms. In the United Sta ...

, literature and arts in

Wilanów Wilanów () is a district of the city of Warsaw, Poland. It is home to historic Wilanów Palace, the "Polish Versailles," and second home to various Polish kings. History The first mentions of a settlement in the area can be traced to the 13t ...

. He became Great Podstoli of the Crown in 1781–1784. In 1792, he became an Artillery General of the Crown and participated in the

War in Defense of the Constitution War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. He was a deputy of

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...

and one of the leaders of the Patriotic Party on the Four-Year Sejm. From 1792 to 1797 he lived abroad. 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 ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

. 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 Roman city of Latium situated between 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 Lavinium assumed that role after ...

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 wo ...

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 ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poni ...

* Knight of the

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de 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 re ...

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

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 of the Duchy of Warsaw Recipients of the Legion of Honour 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

Life

Awards

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links