Portrait of Archbishop Michal Poniatowski

unknown

Basic information

ID: Ж-4168
Author: unknown
Name: Portrait of Archbishop Michal Poniatowski
Date of creation: 18th c.
Technique: oil painting
Material: canvas oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 93.5 x 81

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: portraiture
Plot: Portrait
Exposition: Potocki Palace

Information about author

Author: unknown
Country

Object description

The portrait depicts Archbishop Michal Poniatowski (1736–1794) wearing the Order of the White Eagle – the highest honour of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Michal Poniatowski was the son of Stanislaw Poniatowski, the castellan of Krakow, and Konstancja from the Czartoryski family. He was the youngest brother of King Stanislaw August. He studied at Warsaw College and pursued theology and canon law in Rome. In 1760, he was ordained as a priest. He worked as a secretary for his uncle Michal Czartoryski, the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania. Shortly after assuming the position of Bishop of Plock, he became the Coadjutor of Krakow, and by the end of 1784, he received a royal nomination as Archbishop of Gniezno. He also became the commander of the abbey in Tyniec and was a notable patron of the University of Krakow. Michal Poniatowski built a palace in Jablonna, where he resided. From 1789 to 1791, he visited Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Paris, London, Brussels, Leuven, The Hague, and Dresden. The hierarch remained actively involved in Poland's political affairs until the end of his life, serving as a Permanent Council member and the head of the Commission of National Education.

Portrayed person