Michał STACHOWICZ (1768–1825), Kościuszko’s Polish Army, 1894

color lithograph on paper, dimensions: 24 x 19 cm (composition within the passe-partout), 34 x 29 cm with passe-partout;
unsigned on the plate, typographically signed below the composition: “M. Stachowicz drew from life. K. Wawrosz, engr. (Reproduction prohibited.)
1. Trumpeter from the Wielkopolska Brigade 2. Soldier from the Wielkopolska Brigade
The captions identify the figures by name and specify their affiliation with a particular military unit.
Michał Stachowicz—a Polish painter and printmaker of the Romantic era. Michał Stachowicz’s father was a well-known Kraków printer, bookseller, and bookbinder. In 1782, he began studying drawing at the painters’ guild, initially under Franciszek Ignacy Molitor and later under Kazimierz Mołodziński. In 1787, he became a full-fledged guild painter and a member of the guild. From 1817 until his death, he taught drawing at St. Barbara’s High School. He was a member of the Committee for the Construction of the Kościuszko Mound and the Kraków Scientific Society.He painted works depicting historical events, such as Kościuszko’s Oath in Kraków’s Main Square and Prince Józef Poniatowski’s Entry into Kraków in 1809, as well as genre scenes, portraits, and religious paintings.
Michał Stachowicz was also a lithographer and illustrator—notably for *Monumenta regum Poloniae Cracoviensia*—and worked in etching. He lived and died in a house at 15 Grodzka Street in Kraków, a fact commemorated by a plaque designed by Karol Hukan (from 1939).