Collection

Martyrdom of Jesus Christ

Szymon Czechowicz

  • Martyrdom of Jesus Christ 2
  • Martyrdom of Jesus Christ 3
Basic information
ID
Ж-4641
Author
Szymon Czechowicz
Name
Martyrdom of Jesus Christ
Date of creation
c.1767 (?)
Country
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Technique
oil painting
Material
canvas oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm)
107 x 282
Information about author
Author
Szymon Czechowicz
Artist's lifetime
1689–1775
Biography
Szymon Czechowicz was born in an impoverished noble family in Krakow on July 28, 1689. He became an orphan at a young age. Thanks to the support of his patron and philanthropist Franciszek Ossolinski, the artist went to Rome, where he studied painting at the Academy of St. Luke under the guidance of Carlo Maratti. The first professional works of the artist were copies after famous painters, such as Rubens, Van Dyck and others; the artist drew upon their iconographic compositions. In 1765, at the invitation of Waclaw Rzewuski, he arrived at Pidhirtsi Castle in the Lviv region; by 1767, Czechowicz created 107 works that became part of the castle interior and a kind of the first museum of the artist. During the last period of his life, Szymon Czechowicz worked in Lithuania and Warsaw, where he opened his own art studio. The artist died on July 21, 1775. He was considered to be one of the best artists of the Baroque era in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Among the artist's creative legacy there are portraits and monumental paintings on sacred themes.
Object description
A kneeling monk in a dark brown robe is depicted in the left part of the painting; white pilgrim sack is slung over his right shoulder. In front of him, two angels-children raise the figure of Christ the child on a cloud, who blesses the monk with his right hand. In the lower right corner of the painting, there is a landscape with a castle (monastery) and a high stone bridge. The background of the painting is depicted in dark colors.