Bolesław Michał Rusiecki (; (23 November 1824,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

— 31 January 1913,

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

) was a Polish-Lithuanian painter and art collector.

Biography

Rusiecki was initially a student at the "Wileński Instytut Szlachecki" (institute for the nobility), then studied medicine at the

University of Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

. His father was the painter, Kanuty Rusiecki. From 1843 to 1850, he audited classes at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, taught by

Karl Bryullov Karl Pavlovich Bryullov ( Bryullo; ; – ) was a Russian painter and draughtsman during the Romantic period, remembered among the greatest visual artists in the history of Russian art. Biography Karl Bryullov was born on 12 (23) December 179 ...

and

Fyodor Bruni Fedele Giovanni Baroffi Bruni,. russified as Fyodor Antonovich Bruni (10 June 1799 – 30 August 1875) was a List of Russian artists, Russian painter and draughtsman of Swiss Italian descent, active during the Romanticism, Romantic period, best kn ...

. Upon completing them, he was awarded the title of "Free Artist". He was named an Academician in 1853 for his

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

painting, "Połączenie Willi z Niemnem“ (The

Confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the

Viliya The river Neris () or Vilija (, ) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman) from the right bank, at Kaunas, as its mai ...

into the

Neman Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

) In 1857, he and his wife Stefania, née Karpowicz, went on an extended trip abroad; visiting several cities in Poland, as well as Dresden, Prague, Vienna and

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

. From 1858 to 1861, they lived in Rome. Upon returning, they settled at the family estate near Bialystok, but after Stefanija's death in 1866, at the age of only thirty-seven, he moved into Vilnius and taught drawing at the gymnasium. During this period, he created several religious paintings; notably an image of Saint Stanislaus, for

Vilnius Cathedral The Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius, also known as Vilnius Cathedral is the main Catholic cathedral in Lithuania. It is situated in Vilnius Old Town, just off Cathedral Square. Dedicated to the Christian saints ...

, and one of

Saint Casimir Casimir Jagiellon (; ; ; ; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes Longinus, a Polish chronicler, diplo ...

, for St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Grodno. Most of his works were portraits or landscapes. He was also a collector of art and related materials, including archaeological artefacts. In addition, he became a member of a committee devoted to creating a monument for the writer and poet,

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

. Pursuant to that, he went to

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 ...

to obtain a bust of Mickiewicz; sculpted by and cast in Paris. The monument itself was designed by the architect, , and it was installed in 1898, at the Church of St. Johns, Vilnius. The project had been met with opposition, despite having been suggested by Mickiewicz's son, and it was dedicated without a ceremony in 1899. Toward the end of his life, he bequeathed his art collection, archives and library to the Society of the Friends of Science, and donated 10,000 Rubles for the construction of a building to house them. His works may be seen at the

Lithuanian National Museum of Art Lithuanian National Museum of Art () is the largest national museum in Lithuania collecting, restoring, and conserving art as well as historical objects of cultural value while presenting artefacts of national importance in an astonishing number o ...

, the

National Museum, Kraków National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, and the

National Museum, Warsaw The National Museum in Warsaw (, MNW) is a national museum in Warsaw, one of the largest museums in Poland and the largest in the capital. It comprises a rich collection of ancient art (Art of ancient Egypt, Egyptian, Art in ancient Greece, Greek, ...

References

External links

"Paintings by the artist Boleslaw Mykolas Ruseckas from the collections of the Lithuanian Art Museum"
@ Parodas {{DEFAULTSORT:Rusiecki, Boleslaw 1824 births 1913 deaths Painters from the Russian Empire Lithuanian people of Polish descent Lithuanian portrait painters Religious artists People from Rome Artists from Vilnius

Biography

References

Further reading

External links