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.