Published: 2023-12-30

Marceli Januszewicz, son of Marcin. Silhouette of the artist with Vilnius in the background

Rūta Janonienė
Artifex Novus
Section: Artykuły tematyczne
https://doi.org/10.21697/an.13465

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the painter Marceli Januszewicz (1805 – after 1864) and his family. Having come to study in Vilnius from Podolia at a young age, he devoted many years to drawing the city's monuments. His father Marcin Januszewicz (c. 1780 – after 1842) also studied at Vilnius University under Franciszek Smuglewicz and Jan Rustem; he was known as a talented copyist and picture restorer. The third artist in the family, Stanislaw (1834 – after 1864), son of Marceli, was born in Vilnius and was a talented draughtsman who copied his father's works in his youth. Marceli Januszewicz's life path, which led him to a school in the provincial town of Molodechno, which had a fatal impact on the artist's fate, is discussed most extensively.

Biographies of the artists from the Januszewicz family have been supplemented with new data obtained in the archives, some facts or dates have been clarified and made more precise. An important discovery is that Martin Januszewicz's real name was Marceli, which he used in his personal documents, while in university circles he was called Marcin. This fact is important for the interpretation of the source material.

The second part of the article is dedicated to a discussion of the works of Marceli Januszewicz the younger, questions of authorship and the presentation of newly attributed works to him. Watercolors from the series “Antiquities of the City of Vilnius" are discussed in the context of the artist's relationship with Eustachy Tyszkiewicz. Summarizing the data from various sources, it can be concluded that although Januszewicz was not a member of the Archaeological Commission, he maintained close ties with the activities of the Museum of Antiquities.

Keywords:

Vilnius, Marceli Januszewicz, Mołodeczno, Eustachy Tyszkiewicz, Museum of Antiquities

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Citation rules

Janonienė, R. (2023). Marceli Januszewicz, son of Marcin. Silhouette of the artist with Vilnius in the background. Artifex Novus, (7), 174–195. https://doi.org/10.21697/an.13465

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