Henryk Hipolit Rodakowski (; 1823–1894) was a Polish painter.
Biography
He came from a well-known family of
lawyers
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...
. Continuing the family tradition between 1841 and 1845, he studied law in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. Later he studied painting under
Joseph Danhauser (1805–1845) and
Franz Eybl (1806–1880). In the years 1846 to 1867 he lived in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where he continued his studies with
Léon Cogniet. In 1852 he experienced his first major success by painting a portrait of General
Henryk Dembiński, which won the first prize. His studio was visited by the famous painter
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...
.
In 1861 he married the love of his youth, Kamila Blühdorn, née von Salzgeber, with whom he had two children. His great-grandson was
Jacek Woźniakowski (1920–2012), art historian, writer and co-founder of publishing house "Znak".
In 1866 he was a member of the Polish Historical and Literary Society in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. A year later, he left Paris and returned to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. He lived in Pałahicze near
Stanisławów. At the end of his life he settled in
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 ...
.
In 1893 he became director and president of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts and chairman of the Committee of the National Museum. On December 24, 1894, he was nominated for the director of
Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, but died unexpectedly four days later. He was buried in
Rakowice Cemetery in
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 ...
.
He was a recipient of the
Legion of Honour
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 ...
.
He was befriended by the painter and activist
Leon Kaplinski.
Paintings
Image:RodakowskiHenryk.Marszalek.1859.jpg, ''Marshal'', 1859
Image:Rodakowski Artist's wife.jpg, ''Portrait of artist's wife'', 1865
Image:Rodakowski Leonia Blühdorn.jpg, ''Leonia Blühdorn'', 1871
Image:Rodakowski_Chicken_War.png, ''Chicken War
Chicken War or Hen War () is the colloquial name for a 1537 anti-Jagiellon dynasty, royalist and anti-Absolute monarchy, absolutist ''rokosz'' (rebellion) by the Poland, Polish nobility.
The derisive name was coined by the ''Magnates of Poland a ...
'', 1872
Image:Rodakowski Landscape from Bortniki.jpg, ''Landscape from Bortniki upon Dniester'', 1878
Image:Jan Dzierżysław Tarnowski.PNG, ''Jan Dzierżysław Tarnowski'', 1889
External links
WorksBiography (Extended)Short Biography
1823 births
1894 deaths
19th-century Polish painters
19th-century Polish male artists
Polish male painters
Polish recipients of the Legion of Honour
Painters from the Austrian Empire
Painters from Austria-Hungary
{{poland-painter-stub