DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41455#0040
Henryk
Rodakowski
1823 Lvov - 1894 Cracow
Henryk Rodakowski was born to the family of a
landowner who was at the same time a practis-
ing lawyer. From 1833, he attended Theresian-
um, a Viennese school for the elite, coming back to his
father’s estates at Zablotow and Palahicze for the holi-
days. As a teenager, he tried his hand at drawing and
watercolours. In 1841, Rodakowski finished school and
began law studies in Vienna, which he completed four
years later. From 1843, he learnt painting under Josef
Danhauser and after the latter’s death in 1843, under
Franz Eybl and Friedrich Amerling. In those years he
painted mainly portrait studies in watercolours. In 1846,
Rodakowski moved to Paris and entered the studio of
Leon Cogniet - an artist who represented a moderate
Romantic orientation, the so-called juste milieu.
Paris remained Rodakowski’s main place of residence
until 1867. In 1850, the artist left Cogniet’s atelier and
went to Lvov for a while, where he began an indepen-
dent artistic career. He still painted portraits of his family
members, as well as landscapes, architecture and ani-
mal studies. In 1851 he drew the attention of the critics
for the first time. A year later he painted Portrait of Gen-
eral Henryk Dpbiriski, which he intended to show in
Paris at the Salon. This painting received an enthusiastic
welcome from French and Polish critics alike and was
awarded a first-class gold medal. In the autumn of 1852,
Rodakowski made a trip to Galicia in order to collect
materials for a monumental composition entitled The
Battle of Chocim. In the following year, he succeeded
again at the Salon, where he exhibited Portrait of the
Artist’s Mother. This painting was highly praised by Eu-
gene Delacroix. In Paris, Rodakowski had many ac-
quaintances among the Polish and French aristocratic,
intellectual and artistic elites.
At the World Exhibition of 1853, Rodakowski displayed
three works, which were awarded a third-class gold med-
al. The organizers rejected The Battle of Chocim, the
fruit of long and painstaking work. Dispirited, the artist
destroyed the canvas a couple of years later, so now one
can only have a vague idea of what it was like, based on
the surviving descriptions and numerous studies.
In the second half of the 1850s, Rodakowski became a
close acquaintance of the poet Cyprian Kamil Norwid
and befriended Juliusz Kossak and Leon Kapliriski. He
exhibited regularly at the Salon, but never managed to
repeat his early success. In 1861 he married an old flame
from his Viennese days, Camilla von Salzgeber, now the
widow of the banker August Bliihdorn. In the same year
he received the cross of the Legion of Honour.
In 1867, Rodakowski moved to Galicia, along with his
family, and took residence at Palahicze. There he paint-
ed a series of watercolours, which formed the so-called
Palahicze Album, and commenced work on a historical
composition entitled Chicken War. In 1870, he was plan-
ning to return to Paris, but the Franco-Prussian War de-
tained him in the south of France. Then he spent a cou-
ple of months in Italy, before finally reaching Paris in
the summer of 1872,-in time to display - with considera-
ble success - his Chicken War and Portrait of Leonia
Bliihdorn (his stepdaughter).
Towards the end of 1872, Rodakowski settled in Lvov,
where his first and only individual exhibition was held
the following year. It was then that the artist became an
active member of the Lvov Society of Fine Arts, gave
lectures on painting, and acted as a judge at the World
Art Exhibition in Vienna. In those years he painted mostly
portraits of eminent public figures of Galicia, and in the
years 1881-1888 he executed an allegorical frieze on
the Local Parliament building in Lvov.
Between 1883 and 1889, Rodakowski lived in his newly-
acquired estate of Bortniki, paying occasional visits to
the art patron Karol Lanckoronski in Rozdol. At Bortniki,
he entertained, among others, Julian Klaczko and Jacek
Malczewski. In 1889, the artist made a short trip to Paris
and then sold Bortniki and moved to Vienna, where he
maintained contacts with Lanckoronski and other figures
from the Polish milieu. In 1891, he painted his last pic-
ture: Portrait of the Artist’s Daughter Maria. In 1892, he
visited Zakopane and a year later moved to Cracow, where
he assumed the role of the chief authority on art after the
death of Matejko. In 1894, Rodakowski was elected Di-
rector of the Society of Fine Arts and President of the
National Museum Committee; he was also involved in
preparing the National Exhibition in Lvov. Having ac-
cepted the post of Head of the School of Fine Arts, he set
about reorganizing this institution, but died four days after
receiving the official appointment.
36
Rodakowski
1823 Lvov - 1894 Cracow
Henryk Rodakowski was born to the family of a
landowner who was at the same time a practis-
ing lawyer. From 1833, he attended Theresian-
um, a Viennese school for the elite, coming back to his
father’s estates at Zablotow and Palahicze for the holi-
days. As a teenager, he tried his hand at drawing and
watercolours. In 1841, Rodakowski finished school and
began law studies in Vienna, which he completed four
years later. From 1843, he learnt painting under Josef
Danhauser and after the latter’s death in 1843, under
Franz Eybl and Friedrich Amerling. In those years he
painted mainly portrait studies in watercolours. In 1846,
Rodakowski moved to Paris and entered the studio of
Leon Cogniet - an artist who represented a moderate
Romantic orientation, the so-called juste milieu.
Paris remained Rodakowski’s main place of residence
until 1867. In 1850, the artist left Cogniet’s atelier and
went to Lvov for a while, where he began an indepen-
dent artistic career. He still painted portraits of his family
members, as well as landscapes, architecture and ani-
mal studies. In 1851 he drew the attention of the critics
for the first time. A year later he painted Portrait of Gen-
eral Henryk Dpbiriski, which he intended to show in
Paris at the Salon. This painting received an enthusiastic
welcome from French and Polish critics alike and was
awarded a first-class gold medal. In the autumn of 1852,
Rodakowski made a trip to Galicia in order to collect
materials for a monumental composition entitled The
Battle of Chocim. In the following year, he succeeded
again at the Salon, where he exhibited Portrait of the
Artist’s Mother. This painting was highly praised by Eu-
gene Delacroix. In Paris, Rodakowski had many ac-
quaintances among the Polish and French aristocratic,
intellectual and artistic elites.
At the World Exhibition of 1853, Rodakowski displayed
three works, which were awarded a third-class gold med-
al. The organizers rejected The Battle of Chocim, the
fruit of long and painstaking work. Dispirited, the artist
destroyed the canvas a couple of years later, so now one
can only have a vague idea of what it was like, based on
the surviving descriptions and numerous studies.
In the second half of the 1850s, Rodakowski became a
close acquaintance of the poet Cyprian Kamil Norwid
and befriended Juliusz Kossak and Leon Kapliriski. He
exhibited regularly at the Salon, but never managed to
repeat his early success. In 1861 he married an old flame
from his Viennese days, Camilla von Salzgeber, now the
widow of the banker August Bliihdorn. In the same year
he received the cross of the Legion of Honour.
In 1867, Rodakowski moved to Galicia, along with his
family, and took residence at Palahicze. There he paint-
ed a series of watercolours, which formed the so-called
Palahicze Album, and commenced work on a historical
composition entitled Chicken War. In 1870, he was plan-
ning to return to Paris, but the Franco-Prussian War de-
tained him in the south of France. Then he spent a cou-
ple of months in Italy, before finally reaching Paris in
the summer of 1872,-in time to display - with considera-
ble success - his Chicken War and Portrait of Leonia
Bliihdorn (his stepdaughter).
Towards the end of 1872, Rodakowski settled in Lvov,
where his first and only individual exhibition was held
the following year. It was then that the artist became an
active member of the Lvov Society of Fine Arts, gave
lectures on painting, and acted as a judge at the World
Art Exhibition in Vienna. In those years he painted mostly
portraits of eminent public figures of Galicia, and in the
years 1881-1888 he executed an allegorical frieze on
the Local Parliament building in Lvov.
Between 1883 and 1889, Rodakowski lived in his newly-
acquired estate of Bortniki, paying occasional visits to
the art patron Karol Lanckoronski in Rozdol. At Bortniki,
he entertained, among others, Julian Klaczko and Jacek
Malczewski. In 1889, the artist made a short trip to Paris
and then sold Bortniki and moved to Vienna, where he
maintained contacts with Lanckoronski and other figures
from the Polish milieu. In 1891, he painted his last pic-
ture: Portrait of the Artist’s Daughter Maria. In 1892, he
visited Zakopane and a year later moved to Cracow, where
he assumed the role of the chief authority on art after the
death of Matejko. In 1894, Rodakowski was elected Di-
rector of the Society of Fine Arts and President of the
National Museum Committee; he was also involved in
preparing the National Exhibition in Lvov. Having ac-
cepted the post of Head of the School of Fine Arts, he set
about reorganizing this institution, but died four days after
receiving the official appointment.
36