1823 -1894 · Lviv, Vienna, Paris and Polish portrait

Acute psychology, academic drawing and historical awareness make Henryk Rodakowski one of the great Polish portraitists of the 19th century.

Henryk Rodakowski was born in Lviv in 1823 into a family of lawyers. In accordance with family expectations, he studied law in Vienna from 1841, while cultivating painting with Joseph Danhauser and Franz Eybl. In 1846, he definitively chose an artistic career and left for Paris. In Léon Cogniet's studio, he perfected drawing, composition and academic modeling. He also frequented the Polish community of the capital, linked to the Hôtel Lambert, and became involved with Juliusz Kossak and Leon Kapliransski. He also frequented the Polish community of the capital, linked to the Hôtel Lambert, and became involved with Juliusz Kossak and Leon Kapliransski. He also frequented the Polish community of the capital, linked to the Hôtel Lambert, and became involved with Juliusz Kossak and Leon Kapliransski. He also frequented the Polish community of the capital, linked to the Hôtel Lambert, and became involved with Juliusz Kossak and Leon Kapliransski. He also frequented the Polish community of the capital, linked to the Hôtel Lambert, and became involved with Juliusz Kossak and Leon Kapliransski. He also frequented the Polish community of the capital, linked to the Hôtel Lambert, and became involved with Juliusz Kossak and Leon Kapliransski. and leader of the Polish and Hungarian insurrections is not presented as a triumphant hero. Sitting, wrapped in a dark coat, his face marked and his hands crossed, he concentrates fatigue, dignity and the memory of defeat. The sobriety of the decor reinforces the psychological power of the image. A year later, the Portrait of the Mother in turn received the admiration of critics and artists like Delacroix. Rodakowski exhibited regularly at the Salons and obtained another gold medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1855, then the Legion of Honor in 1861. His portraits combine an exact observation of physiognomy with a refined material, made of glazes, deep tones and bright accents. The Portrait of Leon Sapieha illustrates this alliance: the representation of the prince is based on pose, gaze and the quality of the costume more than on the accumulation of attributes. Between Paris, Vienna, Lviv and family estates, Rodakowski painted parents, aristocrats, intellectuals and historical figures. Died in Krakow in 1894, he left a work which links the great French tradition of portraiture to Polish political and cultural experience. The "Henryk Rodakowski" selection notably compares Portrait of General Henryk Dembiÿski and Portrait of Leon Sapieha. His reading favors the material.

Rodakowski makes the portrait a face-to-face with history: the costume designates rank, but it is the fatigue, the look and the silence of the model which reveal the truth.