Collection

Portrait of Bishop Mikolaj Wyzycki

Vasyl Petranovych

Basic information

ID: Ж-3992
Author: Vasyl Petranovych
Name: Portrait of Bishop Mikolaj Wyzycki
Date of creation: 18th c.
Technique: oil painting
Material: canvas oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 59.8 x 46.3

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: portraiture
Provenance: Lviv Historical Museum
Exposition: Olesko Castle

Information about author

Author: Vasyl Petranovych
Artist's lifetime: 1680–1759
Biography: Vasyl Petranovych (1680–1759) was a court artist of Konstanty Sobieski. It made him independent of casual earnings. He was a well-known artist, public figure – the mayor (wójt) of Zhovkva, and a representative of the Zhovkva painting school. He found himself in traditional religious painting and portraiture. The artist painted icons, portraits, copies after European masters, as well as decorative and wall paintings, in particular he painted the interiors of the Zhovkva Castle. The influence of European schools is present in his works. No signed work by Vasyl Petranovych has been found, but there are many records with indications of the names of paintings or large works on which he worked with his students.

Object description

Mikolaj Ignacy Wyzycki (?–1757) was a nobleman, religious figure, and the Bishop of Lviv. He was a son of Jan Wyzycki, an elder of Braclaw, and his wife Zaboklicka, a voivode of Podolsk. The portrait is one of the best works by Vasyl Petranovych. The image of the portrayed person was identified only after the restoration when the layers of paint were removed and an inscription in the right-top corner became visible. The painter realistically conveyed the bulky figure of Mikolaj Wyzycki with a saggy belly. He did not try to hide imperfect features of Mikolaj's face, namely a heavy chin, full lips, thin sharp nose, and small cunning eyes. The raised arched eyebrows give energy to the image. The pink-ocher color of the face tones with the green clothes. The bright red lips are dominant on the overall dark background of the portrait. In 1736, Mikolaj Wyzycki was awarded with the Order of the White Eagle by Augustine ІІІ, and this is the Order we see in the portrait. The composition of the portrait is concise and holistic. Volodymyr Ovsiichuk believed that the inscription in the right top corner of the portrait had nothing to do with the artist who painted Wyzycki but was made to express respect for the depicted man. It is believed that the portrait was commissioned by the parish administrator Jerzy Macki for the Zhovkva Church.

Portrayed person

The name of the person portrayed: Mikolaj Ignacy Wyzycki
Lifetime of the person portrayed: ?–1757

Portrait of Bishop Mikolaj Wyzycki

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