Piotr MICHAŁOWSKI (1800–1855), General Legeditsch on Horseback, 1848–1850

oil on canvas; 53 x 44 cm;

on the reverse—partially preserved—labels on the stretcher:
1. paper affixed to the canvas: Retrospective Exhibition, Kraków Committee / Decl. No. 48, No. 366. / Piotr Michałowski / “Austrian General on a white [crossed out] Legeditsch / on a white
horse... (the rest of the inscription is damaged; handwritten in ink);
2. Printed label from the exhibition at the Society of Fine Arts in Kraków in 1913: /.../ WO /.../ IN KRAKÓW IN / 1913 1941 / Artist: Piotr Michałowski / Work
titled Portrait of General Lege/.../ commanding / in Kraków (pen).

Provenance:
1894: owned by Adam Łempicki, Michałowski’s son-in-law in Krzysztoforzyce;
1813 in the collection of Róża Michałowska (née Łempicka), the artist’s granddaughter;
1932: owned by Józef Kuczyński in Kraków;
subsequently in a private collection.

The painting is listed, described, and reproduced in:
- J. Bołoz-Antoniewicz, Catalog of the Exhibition of Polish Art from 1764 to 1886, Lviv 1894, cat. no. 761;
- J. Mycielski, A Century of Painting in Poland, 1760–1860. On the Occasion of the Retrospective Exhibition of Polish Painting in Lviv in 1894, Kraków 1897, p. 378;
- Illustrated Catalog of the Exhibition “The Horse in Polish Painting and Sculpture” at the Society of Friends of the Fine Arts in Kraków, Kraków, July 1913, cat. no. 79;
- M. Sterling, Piotr Michałowski 1800–1855, “Biblioteka Polska” Publishing Institute, Warsaw 1932, p. 84;
- “Głos Plastyków” 1934, nos. 9–12, ill. on p. 113;
- J. Sienkiewicz (in collaboration with J. Zanoziński and J. Michałowski), Piotr Michałowski, Warsaw 1959, p. 61, cat. no. 37, ill. 37;
- J.K. Ostrowski, Piotr Michałowski, KAW, Warsaw 1985, pp. 98, 100;
- Dictionary of Polish and Foreign Artists Active in Poland, [Piotr Michałowski; entry by J.K. Ostrowski], vol. 5; Warsaw 1993, p. 517;
- Piotr Michałowski 1800–1855. An Exhibition of the Artist’s Works on the 200th Anniversary of His Birth, (catalog compiled by A. Zeńczak, B. Studziżba; introductory articles by M. K. Ostrowski, J. Szpor),
National Museum in Kraków, Kraków 2000, Appendix: Un exhibited paintings; p. 212, cat. no. XVI, ill.

Piotr Michałowski’s paintings are among the finest examples of 19th-century Polish Romantic painting. The artist painted portraits of important figures, often in the equestrian style, and documented historical events, particularly those related to the Napoleonic Wars. Despite his classical subjects, his work is an excellent example of the formal freedom and sweeping brushwork characteristic of Piotr Michałowski’s style.
It was precisely this painterly expressiveness that he acquired in the Paris studio of Nicolas-Toussaint Charlet, also an admirer of the Napoleonic legend. The motif of the horseman, particularly one on a rearing horse, may have been drawn from the paintings of Théodore Géricault. Michałowski visited Paris as early as 1832 and remained there until 1835. Shortly thereafter, he settled on the Krzyżtoporzyce estate near Kraków, and later in Bolestraszyce near Przemyśl.
As a landowner, Piotr Michałowski introduced a progressive agricultural management program there; he was also a government official.
In 1848, he joined the Kraków Landowners’ Committee, which advocated for the abolition of serfdom through redemption. That same year, he assumed the position of president of the Administrative Council of the Kraków District. It was then that his path crossed with that of Ignacy von Legeditsch, whose portrait likely dates from 1848–1850.
Legeditsch had fought in the Napoleonic Wars and served as a general in the Imperial-Royal Cavalry; from 1841 to 1848, he commanded a brigade stationed in Tarnów, Rzeszów, and Jasło. Thanks to this acquaintance, Piotr Michałowski was able to help people at risk of arrest for their political activities.
The portrait of General Ignaz von Legeditsch—both expressive and significant to the artist—was painted on a previously used canvas; beneath it lies another portrait of a man. Reusing a single canvas was characteristic of Piotr Michałowski, especially since he was very demanding of his own works.