Aleksander Kokular (9 August 1793,

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 ...

– 6 April 1846, Warsaw) was a Polish painter, art collector and teacher. He was one of the co-founders of the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw and a prominent

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. Portraits (contemporary and historical) and mythological scenes were his specialties.

Biography

He was born to a merchant family and first studied painting at the

Warsaw Lyceum The Warsaw Lyceum (; ) was a secondary school that existed in Warsaw, under the Kingdom of Prussia and under the Kingdom of Poland, from 1804 to its closing in 1831 by Imperial Russia following the Polish November 1830 Uprising. History The War ...

under the supervision of

Zygmunt Vogel Zygmunt Vogel (15 June 1764, Voŭčyn, Wołczyn – 20 April 1826, Warsaw) was a Polish illustrator, educator, and painter in the Classicism, classical style. He was sometimes called ''Ptaszek'' (Polish language, Polish for "Bird"): a referenc ...

. In 1814, he enrolled 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. ...

, where he studied with

Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder (, ; 31 December 1751 – 11 February 1830) was an Austrian-Italian historical and portrait painter. He settled in the Russian Empire after the third and final partition of Poland, enticed by an extremely g ...

, then spent a year at the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca () is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its first ''principe'' or director; ...

in Rome.Brief biography
from the ''Polski Słownik Biograficzny'' @ the Muzeum Pałac w Wilanowie. He returned to Warsaw in 1818 and became a teacher. For a year, he taught

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

at a

piarist The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the Catholic Church founded in 1617 by Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz ...

boarding school, then became a teacher at the Warsaw Lyceum in 1821. He went back to Rome on a government scholarship from 1824 to 1826,Biography and appreciation
from the ''Biographical Album of distinguished Polish men and women of the nineteenth century'' @ Polish Wikisource. where he came under the influence of

Vincenzo Camuccini Vincenzo Camuccini (22 February 1771 – 2 September 1844) was an Italian Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter. He was considered the premier academic painter of his time in Rome. Biography Early life and education Camuccini was born in Rome, ...

. After his return, he remained at the Lyceum until it was closed by the Russian government in 1831. From 1835 to 1841, he operated a private art school from his home and, from 1838 to 1840, was a lecturer at the "Alexandria Institute for Young Ladies". Then, from 1841 to 1844, he was a teacher at the newly-established Royal Gymnasium. In 1844, he joined with Jan Feliks Piwarski to establish the "School of Fine Arts" and taught there until his death, two years later.

Cyprian Kamil Norwid Cyprian Kamil Norwid (; – 23 May 1883) was a Polish poet, dramatist, painter, sculptor, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the four most important Polish Romantic poets, though scholars still debate whether he is more aptly descr ...

was his best-known pupil. The school was closed in 1864, because its students had participated in the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

. It was reopened in 1904 and, since 1932, has been known as the

Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw () is a public university of visual arts and applied arts located in the Polish capital. The academy traces its history back to the Department of Arts founded at the Warsaw University in the Duchy of Warsaw in 18 ...

. Among his most familiar contemporary portraits are those of Tsar Nicholas I, Count

Ivan Paskevich Count Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Serene Prince of Warsaw ( – ) was a Russian military leader who was the ''namiestnik'' of Poland. Paskevich is known for leading Russian forces in Poland during the November Uprising and for a s ...

, Count

Aleksander Stanisław Potocki Count Aleksander Stanisław Potocki (, 1778–1845) was a szlachta, Polish noble, landowner and politician. He was the senator-castellan of the Congress Poland, Polish Kingdom in 1824 and chamberlain of Napoleon, Napoleon I. He was awarded Or ...

and the composer,

Maria Szymanowska Maria Szymanowska (Polish pronunciation: ; born Marianna Agata Wołowska; Warsaw, 14 December 1789 – 25 July 1831, St. Petersburg, Russia) was a Polish composer and one of the first professional virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. She tour ...

. Among his historical portraits, one depicting the marriage of Jadwiga and

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...

is notable. He also did church paintings in

Siedlce Siedlce () ( ) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). The city is situated between two small rivers, the Muchawka and the Helenka, and lies along the European route E30, around east of Warsaw. It is ...

Suwałki Suwałki (; ; or סוּוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. A relatively young ci ...

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka River, Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was Cen ...

and

Brześć Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the adminis ...

. His collection consisted mostly of contemporary works, although he restored and sold antique paintings from the collection of Count Potocki.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kokular, Aleksander 1793 births 1846 deaths 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists Polish portrait painters Polish history painters Artists from Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Polish male painters Painters from the Russian Empire

Biography

References

Further reading

External links