Szymon Czechowicz (July 1689 – 21 July 1775) was a prominent Polish painter of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

, considered one of the most accomplished painters of 18th century sacral painting in Poland. He specialized in sublime effigies of painted figures. His establishment of a school of painting gives him a great influence on Polish art.

Life and professional career

Initially trained by the court painter of Franciszek Maksymilian Ossoliński, in 1711 he went to

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, ...

, where was admitted to

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; ...

. His tutor was

Benedetto Luti Benedetto Luti (17 November 1666 – 17 June 1724) was an Italian Baroque painter, draftsman, and pastelist. Early life Luti was born in Florence on 17 November 1666. He trained under Anton Domenico Gabbiani before moving to Rome in 1690. Career ...

. During his apprenticeship in Rome he practiced copying works of famous artists, such as

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

(designs of

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

(''Crucifixion'', today in the St. Stanisław's Church in Rome; ''Massacre of the Innocents'', Lviv Gallery of Art),

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

(''Christ among the Pharisees''), Federico Barocci (''Deposition'', Lviv Gallery of Art). In 1716 he was awarded by the Accademia for two of his drawings, ''Samson vanquishing the lion'' and ''Victorious return from the expedition''. While still in Rome he painted some altar paintings for churches in Poland – ''Vision of St. Anthony'', ''The Descent from the Cross'', ''Protection of the Mother of God over Kraków'' for the Piarists Church 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 ...

(1729), and ''Assumption of the Virgin Mary'' for the Cathedral in

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

(1730).

In 1731 he went back to Poland, where in Warsaw he competed with Johann Samuel Mock to get the position of court painter of

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

. Shortly afterward he became a renowned

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

and religious painter. Among his clients were Polish and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n magnates and powerful clergymen – Franciszek Maksymilian Ossoliński, Grand Treasurer of the Crown (between 1731–34 he painted his portrait, today in the Armoury of the Castle in Liw), Jan Aleksander Lipski,

Bishop of Kraków A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

, Jan Fryderyk Sapieha, Grand Chancellor of Lithuania (in about 1740 he painted his portrait, today in the Lithuanian Art Museum in

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 ...

, and at his initiative some religious paintings for St. Anne's Church and SS. Peter and Paul's Church in Kraków in 1741),

Jan Tarło Jan Tarło may refer to the following Polish noblemen: * Jan Tarło (d. 1550), standard-bearer of Lwów * Jan Tarło (d. 1572), cup-bearer of the Crown, starost of Pilzno * Jan Tarło (1527–1587), voivode of Lublin, starost of Łomża and Pilzno * ...

voivode of Sandomierz Sandomierz Voivodeship (, ) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Poland region and the Lesser Poland Province. Originally Sandomie ...

(after 1743 paintings intended for parish church in Opole Lubelskie), Sułkowski family (paintings for the City Church in

Leszno Leszno (, , ) is a historic city in western Poland, seat of Leszno County within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Leszno is a former residential cit ...

), Jan Klemens Branicki, Grand Crown Hetman (in 1750 he made 7 paintings for the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in Tykocin, and in 1760 two more for parish church in Tyczyn), Wacław Rzewuski, Grand Crown Hetman (between 1762–67 paintings for the castle chapel in

Pidhirtsi Pidhirtsi (; ) is a village of about 1,000 inhabitants in Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast of Ukraine, located about 80 km east of Lviv, 17 km south of Brody, 60 km north west of Ternopil. It belongs to Zabol ...

). In his portraits he was influenced by the Sarmatian portrait, though he put emphasis on the psychology of his subject. He worked in Warsaw, Kraków,

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, Pidhirtsi,

Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

and Vilnius. From about 1750, he used delicate colours closely related with

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

. Czechowicz established his own school of painting, where he taught free of charge. Some of his paintings were probably accomplished by his pupils – Franciszek Smuglewicz, Tadeusz Konicz, Jan Ścisło, Jan Bogumił Plersch and Antoni Albertrandi. In his religious paintings he followed the patterns of the mature Roman Baroque, especially

Carlo Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (18 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian Baroque painter and Drawing, draughtsman, active principallly in Rome where he was the leading painter in the second half of the 17th century. He was a fresco and canvas painte ...

, Benedetto Luti and

Sebastiano Conca Sebastiano Conca (8 January 1680 – 1 September 1764) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born at Gaeta, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, and apprenticed in Naples under Francesco Solimena. In 1706, along with his brother Giovanni, wh ...

, while his portraits were inspired by Saxon school of portrait. Czechowicz died in 1775 in Warsaw and was buried in the Capucine Church.

Gallery

File:Szymon Czechowicz - Saint Elizabeth - MP 3100 MNW - National Museum in Warsaw.jpg, ''Saint

Elizabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (, , ; 7 July 120717 November 1231), also known as Elisabeth of Thuringia, was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary and the landgravine of Thuringia. Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. After her hus ...

'' File:Szymon Czechowicz - Mary Magdalene - MP 3103 MNW - National Museum in Warsaw.jpg, ''The Penitent Magdalene'' File:Czechowicz St. John Nepomuk.jpg, ''Martyrdom of Saint John Nepomuk'' File:Szymon Czechowicz - Św. Elżbieta Portugalska 1750.jpg, ''Saint

Elizabeth of Portugal Elizabeth of Portugal (''Elisabet'' in Catalan, ''Isabel'' in Aragonese, Portuguese and Spanish; 1271 – 4 July 1336), also known as Elizabeth of Aragon, was Queen of Portugal from 1282 to 1325 as the wife of King Denis. She is venerated as ...

'', 1750 File:Szymon Czechowicz - Cudowne rozmnożenie chleba.jpg, ''The miraculous multiplication of bread'' File:Szymon Czechowicz - Męczeństwo św. Katarzyny Aleksandryjskiej 1749.jpg, ''Saint

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...

'', 1749 File:Szymon Czechowicz - Św. Gertruda z Helfty.jpg, ''Saint Gertrude of Helfta'' File:Szymon Czechowicz - Święta Jadwiga Śląska pod krzyżem.jpg, ''Saint

Hedwig of Silesia Hedwig of Silesia (also Hedwig of Andechs (, , ; 1174 – 15 October 1243), a member of the Bavarians, Bavarian comital Counts of Andechs, House of Andechs, was Duchess of Duchy of Silesia, Silesia from 1201 and of Duchy of Greater Poland, G ...

References

External links

*
Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Czechowicz, Szymon 1689 births 1775 deaths Artists from Kraków Baroque painters 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian painters 18th-century male artists Polish male painters Artists from Białystok Catholic painters