Michal Stachowicz (1768-1825), Kosciuszko's Polish Army, 1894

Color lithograph on paper, dimensions: 24 x 19 cm (composition in light passe partout, 34 x 29 cm with passe partout binding, signed typographically under the composition: "M. Stachowicz drew from nature. K. Wawrosz copy (Imitation reserved.)" 1. and 5. Kosynierzy from Sandomierskie province. 2. Kosynier from the vicinity of Cracow. 3. Tadeusz Kosciuszko. 4. adjutant of Kosciuszko. 6. Kurp from the vicinity of Ostroleka. Descriptions by name identify the depicted silhouettes and membership in a particular military formation.Michal Stachowicz - Polish painter and graphic artist of the Romantic era. Michal Stachowicz's father was a well-known Cracow printer, bookseller and bookbinder. In 1782 he began to study drawing in the painters' guild, first with Franciszek Ignacy Molitor and then with Kazimierz Molodzinski. In 1787 he liberated himself as a guild painter and became 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 Kosciuszko Mound and the Cracow Scientific Society.He painted paintings depicting historical events such as Kosciuszko's Oath in the market square in Cracow, the Entry of Prince Jozef Poniatowski to Cracow in 1809, genre scenes, portraits, religious paintings.Michal Stachowicz was also a lithographer and illustrator for, among others, Monumenta regum Poloniae Cracoviensia, and was also involved in etching. He lived and died in a house at 15 Grodzka Street in Cracow, which is commemorated by a plaque by Karol Hukan (dated 1939).