DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23229#0109
CHOPIN AMONG ARTISTS AND SCHOLARS
sen paid a long visit in Warsaw in the autumn of 1820 in order to sign
the contract, and gave several lessons to students of sculpture at the
Royal University of Warsaw. Soon Pawet Malihski (1790-1853) and Jakub
Tatarkiewicz (1798-1854), among others, became Thorvaldsen's pupils in
Rome136. How close the mutual relations between the University and the
Association were is clearly evident in the fact that the University's most
eminent professors-cum-artists, e.g. Brodowski, would paint portraits
of the outstanding members of the Association, e.g. Niemcewicz, while
Malihski executed the sculptural decoration of the new seat of the Asso-
ciation at Krakowskie Przedmiescie137.
In discussing the close contacts of the University (and, to a lesser extent,
also of the Warsaw Lycee) with the Association, it would be an error to
omit to at least mention the attitude of the students to Staszic and Po-
tocki, the two most eminent figures of the intellectual life of Warsaw in the
first decades of the 19th century.
The role of Potocki and Staszic
in organising education in Warsaw
Among the many descriptions of Count Potocki, the Minister of Pub-
lic Enlightenment, the one by his daughter-in-law Anna Potocka nee
Tyszkiewicz is particularly insightful:
In that era, so rich in men of profound minds and brave hearts, the
count was one of the greatest. His brother Ignacy and the count himself
profoundly contributed to the making of the 3rd May Constitution and
both were victims of their devotion to the cause; in punishment for the
noble impulse of their hearts, which had them strive for the freedom and
independence of the fatherland, each was locked in the dungeons, one
in Russia, the other in Austria, in Spielberg. It is very rarely that one sees
two brothers so richly gifted by nature; in addition to the pleasantest
aspect possible, each had an elevated mind, an education to match,
and an astoundingly good memory; they constantly frequented the best
salons, yet they knew everything and had time for everything. Count
Stanistaw, moreover, possessed a knowledge of the fine arts I have
never encountered in any other amateur. To him we owe some very
interesting research in that field, and some important scholarly studies
(the generally known translation of Winkelmann's great volume among
them). Being in love with his studies, he found relaxation after his la-
bours in supervising the work of artists and men of letters, to whom
he generously gave his protection. In whomever a budding talent or a
youthful inspiration blossomed, they could always count on his helpful
advice and material support. Under the influence of his repeated Italian
journeys he developed that noble adoration of beauty which is Nature's
gift she so rarely grants, and which can be likened to an additional
Detail of Fig. 21.
115
sen paid a long visit in Warsaw in the autumn of 1820 in order to sign
the contract, and gave several lessons to students of sculpture at the
Royal University of Warsaw. Soon Pawet Malihski (1790-1853) and Jakub
Tatarkiewicz (1798-1854), among others, became Thorvaldsen's pupils in
Rome136. How close the mutual relations between the University and the
Association were is clearly evident in the fact that the University's most
eminent professors-cum-artists, e.g. Brodowski, would paint portraits
of the outstanding members of the Association, e.g. Niemcewicz, while
Malihski executed the sculptural decoration of the new seat of the Asso-
ciation at Krakowskie Przedmiescie137.
In discussing the close contacts of the University (and, to a lesser extent,
also of the Warsaw Lycee) with the Association, it would be an error to
omit to at least mention the attitude of the students to Staszic and Po-
tocki, the two most eminent figures of the intellectual life of Warsaw in the
first decades of the 19th century.
The role of Potocki and Staszic
in organising education in Warsaw
Among the many descriptions of Count Potocki, the Minister of Pub-
lic Enlightenment, the one by his daughter-in-law Anna Potocka nee
Tyszkiewicz is particularly insightful:
In that era, so rich in men of profound minds and brave hearts, the
count was one of the greatest. His brother Ignacy and the count himself
profoundly contributed to the making of the 3rd May Constitution and
both were victims of their devotion to the cause; in punishment for the
noble impulse of their hearts, which had them strive for the freedom and
independence of the fatherland, each was locked in the dungeons, one
in Russia, the other in Austria, in Spielberg. It is very rarely that one sees
two brothers so richly gifted by nature; in addition to the pleasantest
aspect possible, each had an elevated mind, an education to match,
and an astoundingly good memory; they constantly frequented the best
salons, yet they knew everything and had time for everything. Count
Stanistaw, moreover, possessed a knowledge of the fine arts I have
never encountered in any other amateur. To him we owe some very
interesting research in that field, and some important scholarly studies
(the generally known translation of Winkelmann's great volume among
them). Being in love with his studies, he found relaxation after his la-
bours in supervising the work of artists and men of letters, to whom
he generously gave his protection. In whomever a budding talent or a
youthful inspiration blossomed, they could always count on his helpful
advice and material support. Under the influence of his repeated Italian
journeys he developed that noble adoration of beauty which is Nature's
gift she so rarely grants, and which can be likened to an additional
Detail of Fig. 21.
115