DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.29195#0022
Anonymous painter, portrait of August Aleksander Czartoryski;
oils on canvas; mid-18'11 century, Wilanow Palace Museum
A full-figure presentation of the Prince clad in a full suit of armour with his right hand
resting on a helmet, and draped with a red ermine-lined cloak, on a background of war
trophies in a landscape of huge trees against a blue sky partly covered by dark clouds
in sharp contrast to the Prince’s ponytail wig. The Prince is wearing the blue sash of the
Polish Order of the White Eagle, with its star decorating his doak. Gravity and seren-
ity emanates from his face, which is shown in a three-quarter view. Highlights on the
armour, the beautifully painted cloak, the subject’s noble pose, and the somewhat misty
landscape make the picture an interesting work of art.
Prince August Aleksander Czartoryski (1697-1782) received a meticulous education.
In 1715 he toured France, Italy, and Germany, finally settling in Malta with the Order
of St. John. In 1716 he took part in the defence of Corfu. After a while he transferred
and served in the Austrian fleet, under the command of Prince Eugene of Savoy. He was
promoted to the rank of colonel, and in 1718, following the Battle of Belgrade against
the Turks, received a sword of honour. He returned to Poland after 1720, but made fre-
quent visits to Austria in the following years. It was his ambition to play a salient part in
the affairs of his native country, where state policy was falling into anarchy and its army
was disintegrating. In the first years after his return home his main concern was to gain
influence and look after his estates, though with varying success. On 1st June 1729 he
was commissioned to serve as the commander in the colonel’s rank of the First Infantry
Guards of the Kingdom of Poland; and on 14th June of the same year he was appointed
Major-General of the Forces of the Kingdom of Poland. In June 1730 he took part in the
military exercises of the Saxon and Polish armies at Miihlberg, inspected by King Augustus II.
On22ndJuly 1731 the Order of the White Eagle was conferred on him. On 11th November 1731,
four months after his marriage to Maria Zofia nee Sieniawska, he was appointed Voivode of
Ruthenia. During the interregnum of 1733 he supported the candidacy of Stanislaw Leszczynski
to the throne, and spent some time in Gdansk owing to this. On 29th June 1734 he submitted
to Augustus III, and was rewarded with the conferral of the Saxon Order of St. Hubert (Kuras
2010, pp. 16-19). With time the Prince became one of Augustus III’s most trusted ministers and
counsellors, but when rumours went round in 1745 of the latter’s abdication, he was considered
a candidate to the throne.
When relations with the King grew worse and worse, Prince Czartoryski started think-
ing of a compatriot monarch - his son Adam Kazimierz. Despite being out of favour with
the King, Czartoryski’s star shone brightest in 1762-3, as the historian Konopczyriski
writes (1938, pp. 70-71); he was promised Russian backing in his attempt to secure the
crown for his son. But the interregnum of 1763-4 brought Czartoryski a bitter disappoint-
ment: although he had bought the favour of Kayserling the Russian envoy, he could not
persuade his son to stand for election and was forced to watch Poniatowski, the nephew he
did not care for at all, ascend the throne for his money. He wept bitterly over the outcome
of the election, and on the following day, in a fit of grief, this illustrious, serene old man
grabbed his son Adam by the chest and, pointing at the king-elect, muttered sotto voce,
“You fool, you did not want the crown when you could have had it; you 11 see how well it
will suit him. Now it’s too late.” Thereupon, for the entire coronadon sejni, he was genu-
inely ill or feigned illness. After some time the Prince was reconciled to the new monarch
and lavished a lot of money on a celebration of his name-day on 81*1 May 1766. There is
not much exaggeration in the numerous, extremely laudatory opinions on the man who
created the power of the House of Czartoryski. As Konopczyriski writes (1938, p. 74), only
the nephew who became king harboured rancorous feelings for him, unable to get over the
fact that his uncle and patron Czartoryski was worthier of the crown than he.
August
Aleksander
Czartoryski
oils on canvas; mid-18'11 century, Wilanow Palace Museum
A full-figure presentation of the Prince clad in a full suit of armour with his right hand
resting on a helmet, and draped with a red ermine-lined cloak, on a background of war
trophies in a landscape of huge trees against a blue sky partly covered by dark clouds
in sharp contrast to the Prince’s ponytail wig. The Prince is wearing the blue sash of the
Polish Order of the White Eagle, with its star decorating his doak. Gravity and seren-
ity emanates from his face, which is shown in a three-quarter view. Highlights on the
armour, the beautifully painted cloak, the subject’s noble pose, and the somewhat misty
landscape make the picture an interesting work of art.
Prince August Aleksander Czartoryski (1697-1782) received a meticulous education.
In 1715 he toured France, Italy, and Germany, finally settling in Malta with the Order
of St. John. In 1716 he took part in the defence of Corfu. After a while he transferred
and served in the Austrian fleet, under the command of Prince Eugene of Savoy. He was
promoted to the rank of colonel, and in 1718, following the Battle of Belgrade against
the Turks, received a sword of honour. He returned to Poland after 1720, but made fre-
quent visits to Austria in the following years. It was his ambition to play a salient part in
the affairs of his native country, where state policy was falling into anarchy and its army
was disintegrating. In the first years after his return home his main concern was to gain
influence and look after his estates, though with varying success. On 1st June 1729 he
was commissioned to serve as the commander in the colonel’s rank of the First Infantry
Guards of the Kingdom of Poland; and on 14th June of the same year he was appointed
Major-General of the Forces of the Kingdom of Poland. In June 1730 he took part in the
military exercises of the Saxon and Polish armies at Miihlberg, inspected by King Augustus II.
On22ndJuly 1731 the Order of the White Eagle was conferred on him. On 11th November 1731,
four months after his marriage to Maria Zofia nee Sieniawska, he was appointed Voivode of
Ruthenia. During the interregnum of 1733 he supported the candidacy of Stanislaw Leszczynski
to the throne, and spent some time in Gdansk owing to this. On 29th June 1734 he submitted
to Augustus III, and was rewarded with the conferral of the Saxon Order of St. Hubert (Kuras
2010, pp. 16-19). With time the Prince became one of Augustus III’s most trusted ministers and
counsellors, but when rumours went round in 1745 of the latter’s abdication, he was considered
a candidate to the throne.
When relations with the King grew worse and worse, Prince Czartoryski started think-
ing of a compatriot monarch - his son Adam Kazimierz. Despite being out of favour with
the King, Czartoryski’s star shone brightest in 1762-3, as the historian Konopczyriski
writes (1938, pp. 70-71); he was promised Russian backing in his attempt to secure the
crown for his son. But the interregnum of 1763-4 brought Czartoryski a bitter disappoint-
ment: although he had bought the favour of Kayserling the Russian envoy, he could not
persuade his son to stand for election and was forced to watch Poniatowski, the nephew he
did not care for at all, ascend the throne for his money. He wept bitterly over the outcome
of the election, and on the following day, in a fit of grief, this illustrious, serene old man
grabbed his son Adam by the chest and, pointing at the king-elect, muttered sotto voce,
“You fool, you did not want the crown when you could have had it; you 11 see how well it
will suit him. Now it’s too late.” Thereupon, for the entire coronadon sejni, he was genu-
inely ill or feigned illness. After some time the Prince was reconciled to the new monarch
and lavished a lot of money on a celebration of his name-day on 81*1 May 1766. There is
not much exaggeration in the numerous, extremely laudatory opinions on the man who
created the power of the House of Czartoryski. As Konopczyriski writes (1938, p. 74), only
the nephew who became king harboured rancorous feelings for him, unable to get over the
fact that his uncle and patron Czartoryski was worthier of the crown than he.
August
Aleksander
Czartoryski