Dimensions: 29.7 x 38.8 cm
Inscribed on the stone at the bottom: 'Castle in Bendzin | one of the oldest in Poland, | restored according to the drawing of the Cavalier Lanci.| in Lithography F. Schuster in Warsaw'
State of preservation
unframed
Biography
Studied architecture in Rome at the Academy of St. Luke. As his graduation thesis, he prepared a project for the restoration of the Roman church of Santa Maria dell'Ara Coeli. He received a gold medal for it and became an honorary professor of the Academy. Lanci's arrival in Poland dates to 1825. He was invited by the Malachowski family, who commissioned him to rebuild their residence in Konskie. He later stayed in Krakow, Poznan and Dabrowa Gornicza, among other places. He was involved in rebuilding castles and churches. One of his unrealized projects was the reconstruction of Wawel Castle in neo-Gothic style. The realization did not take place due to the outbreak of the November Uprising.In 1844 he settled in Warsaw, where he was commissioned by August Potocki to expand the palace in Wilanow. He also engaged in the construction of new buildings in the Morysin area and prepared a project for the reconstruction of the parish church in Sluzew. Innovative in his work was the use of cast-iron columns in the design of Potocki's tenement house at 17 Krakowskie Przedmieście St. He created designs mainly in the Neo-Renaissance style. In 1863, due to gradual loss of sight, he stopped accepting commissions, but continued to create designs until the end of his life. His son was Witold Lanci, also an architect. Among Lanci's non-Warsaw projects are the neo-Gothic reconstruction of the church in Pêpowo, the reconstruction of the Potocki chapel at Wawel, the reconstruction of the castle in Będzin, the construction of an estate and hospital in Dąbrowa Górnicza, the design of the Potocki Palace in Międzyrzec Podlaski and the design of a church in Chotomów. On the sidelines of his architectural activities, he was involved in drawing. He created small portraits and caricatures of various personalities. He made them in pen, ink, pencil, colored in watercolor, some were accompanied by humorous comments.