Gallery

Portrait of Katarzyna Radziwiłł, née Sobieska (1634 - 1694) 

Unknown author, in the style of Nicolaes Maes (1632-1693)

ca. 1665-1680

The collection of Maciej Radziwiłł

 

Katarzyna Radziwiłł née Sobieska was the sister of King John III Sobieski of Poland. In 1650, she married Władysław Dominik Zasławski and, after his death, decided to marry Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł, at that time Cupbearer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and future Deputy Chancellor and Field Hetman of Lithuania. From then on, her fate was closely linked to the public activities of her husband and brother. 

After Radziwiłł's death in 1680, she remained with her young sons (Karol Stanisław and Jerzy Józef), supported by her royal brother and Andrzej Chryzostom Załuski, Bishop of Kyiv. She lived in Warsaw, Zhovkva and Yavoriv. Her relations with her sister-in-law Marie Casimire were far from perfect, and in 1691 she left the Sobieski court. She was very pious, making many religious and charitable donations, but did her best to avoid publicity. She took particular care of Nesvizh, where she was buried after her death. 

 

 

Coffin portrait of Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł (1669-1719) 

Unknown artist

1719

The collection of Maciej Radziwiłł

 

 

Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł was the youngest son of Michał Kazimierz and Katarzyna Radziwiłł, née Sobieska. After the death of his elder brother Jerzy, he became 8th Entail

of Nesvizh and the 6th Entail of Olyka.

He participated in the assemblies and councils of the senate, and held positions in the tribunals, including the rank of a Marshal.  He took part in a dispute with the Sapieha family over the so-called Neuburg estate. In 1698, he was nominated a chancellor. During the Great Northern War, he stood by Vettin, although Sweden’s allies considered offering him the crown after Augustus II would be dethroned. He was a wealthy man, who often drowned in debts, and enjoyed popularity among the nobles - not least because of his penchant for liquor.  His wife, Anna Katarzyna, née Sanguszko, gave him 14 children, several of whom died in childhood.

 

 

 

Portrait of King Stanisław August Poniatowski in the attire of Henry IV

Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755 -1842)

1797 

collection of the Trzy Trąby Foundation

(painting presented in Poland for the first time)

 

 

During her stay of several years in St Petersburg, Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun painted two portraits of King Stanisław August, one depicting the king in a red coat lined with ermine fur, the other a portrait in the historic attire of King Henry IV of France. Both works were painted in 1797.  The portrait of the king in the attire of Henry IV was commissioned by Stanisław August's niece, Urszula Mniszech, née Zamoyska, for the palace in Wiśniowiec. In 1805, the painting was donated by Michał Jerzy Mniszech to the Kremenets High School. It is currently located in the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum of Art in Kyiv.

The portrait of the king on display is an author's replica, likely painted as the initial attempt, which was confirmed by extensive conservation studies. The portrait of Stanisław August from the collection of the Trzy Traby Foundation, came from the family of second husband of Elżbieta Radziwiłł (b. 1917), Jan D'Ornellas Tomaszewski of the Bończa coat of arms (1903-2000), whose grandfather was a prominent doctor and part of the St Petersburg elite in the second half of the 19th century. It was likely him who purchased the painting for the family collection. His parents, Jerzy Karol and Maria d'Ornellas (daughter of the Portuguese ambassador to St Petersburg), moved to Madeira in the early 20th century, taking with them a sizeable part of the collection, including the portrait of King Stanisław August in the attire of Henry IV.  Until 2019, the painting was a part of the Tomaszewski family estate in Portugal. 

 

 

 

Portrait of Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł, also known as the Orphan (1549-1616) 

unknown artist 

2nd half of the 19th century 

The collection of Maciej Radziwiłł 

 

Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł, also known as the Orphan, was born in 1549. He was the son of Mikołaj the Black, Grand Chancellor of Lithuania and Voivode of Vilnius. 

According to the story, he was dubbed the Orphan after he was found crying in one of the chambers of Wawel Castle as a young boy. The king, who was passing by, noticed him and asked: “Who is that orphan crying here?” The nickname stuck to the young Chancellor's son and accompanied him for the rest of his life. 

The future Vilnius voivode stood out among his contemporaries. He received education in Leipzig, Tübingen and Strasbourg. 

Between 1582 and 1584, he travelled to the Holy Land. A couple of years later, around 1590-1591, he wrote an account of the pilgrimage, based on loose notes made during the journey. The great interest in the diary prompted him to publish it in print. He decided to publish it in Latin (1601). The Latin translation was later translated to Polish, and it was first published in Krakow in 1607 under the title Peregrynacja abo pielgrzymowanie, do Ziemi Swiętej J.0. Pana Mikołaja Krzysztofa Radziwiłła. 

In addition, Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł built and fortified the castle in Nesvizh, and built the Corpus Christi church for the Jesuits. He founded monasteries, built roads and hospitals, focused on philanthropic activities and supported poor students. He was the founder of the Jesuit college in Nesvizh. 

 

Portrait of Bogusław Radziwiłł (1620-1669)

Willem van Honthorst (1594 – 1666) (?)

1650s

The collection of Maciej Radziwiłł

(painting presented in Poland for the first time)

 

 

Bogusław Radziwiłł was the son of Janusz, Voivode of Vilnius, and Elisabeth Sophia Hohenzollern. The last male representative of the Calvinist Radziwiłł line of Birżai and Dubingiai. He is commonly seen as one of the richest and most influential representatives of the Radziwiłł family in the 17th century. After his death, the vast estate was inherited by his only daughter, Louise Caroline Charlotte Radziwiłł, also known as the Duchess of Neuburg. Bogusław Radziwiłł remained a controversial figure - on the one hand he is known as the traitor to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and a magnate who cared only for his personal interests and interests and estates, while on the other, some consider him a patriot who wanted to save the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the rule of the Russian tsars.

 

Portrait of Cardinal Jerzy Radziwiłł (1556-1600) 

unknown artist

after 1592 

The collection of Maciej Radziwiłł

 

Jerzy Radziwiłł was the son of Mikołaj Radziwiłł the Black, Voivode of Vilnius, and Elżbieta Szydłowiecka, brother of Mikołaj Krzysztof the Orphan. He converted from Calvinism thanks to Father Piotr Skarga. He became bishop of Vilnius in 1581, was diocesan bishop of Kraków from 1591-1600, and governor of Livonia from 1582. As a diplomat, he made a name for himself with a mission to Rome in 1591, while on his return trip he represented the Holy See as legate of Clement VIII at the wedding of Sigismund III to Anne of Styria. He took part in the conclave twice (1591 - resulting in the election of Innocent IX and in 1592 - resulting in the election of Clement VIII). In 1600 he travelled to Rome for the jubilee celebrations, where he died after a brief illness. He was buried in Rome in the Il Gesù Church. In 1900, the family sponsored a monument to Cardinal Radziwiłł in the Wawel Basilica. The sculpture was made by Pius Weloński and can be found in the Chapel of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, otherwise known as the Szafraniec Chapel.

 

Kontusz belts

Radziwiłł Factory

1767–1780

The collection of Maciej Radziwiłł

 

 

The Slutsk belt, otherwise known as the kontusz belt, is a decorative element of the Polish nobleman's attire. It was about 40 centimetres wide, and between 3 and 4.5 metres long. The nobles wrapped themselves several times with the belt, then shoved it down to wrap it in order to prevent it from crumpling. The most famous belts were manufactured at the factory in Slutsk. These belts were extremely colourful, and often featured golden and silver threads. One could glean a lot of information about the owner, his standing, religion and social status from such a belt. Crimson belts were worn in times of war and gold belts in times of peace.

The factory in Slutsk was headed by the Pole of Armenian descent, Jan Madżarski from 1758 to 1776, followed by his son Leon, who led it until 1807. Jan Madżarski was brought to Poland by Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł, also known as Rybeńko, who established a belt factory in his estate in Nesvizh in 1743. After Radziwiłł's death, Madżarski likely moved to Slutsk in 1767. Here, with the permission of Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł, known as Panie Kochanku, he established a new factory. Slutsk belts were prized and highly sought after. In Slutsk, four-sided belts were made for the first time in history, adorned in different ways.