Medallion with the portrait of Karol Levittoux

In European art, medallions first appeared in the first half of the 19th century. They usually depicted low-relief portraits of historical figures and personalities of national merit. The new art form emerged first in France, and its creators included well-known sculptors. Medallions were commissioned by individuals or institutions and cast in metal. They often served as family portraits that were hung on the walls of homes to commemorate loved ones. Presented medallion shows an image of Karol Levittoux (1820-1841), a Polish independence activist who committed suicide after being arrested and brutally investigated in a cell of the Warsaw citadel. Unwilling to hand over his comrades, he set fire to a hayloft and perished in the flames. News of his heroic death circulated throughout Europe, sparking widespread condemnation of the Tsarist regime. The death of Karol Levittoux inspired a romantic legend of sacrifice for the Homeland, eulogised in poetry and art. His heroic act is invoked by Cyprian Kamil Norwid in his poem Burza (The Storm) and a passage from his drama Za kulisami (Behind the Scenes), while Jerzy Andrzejewski, inspired by Norwid's drama, named his novel Popiół i diament (Ashes and Diamonds). Levittoux's character inspired many poets, such as Władysław Syrokomla, Mieczysław Romanowski, Roman Zmorski, Jan Kanty Radecki and Jerzy Czech. The bard of Solidarity, Przemysław Gintrowski, memorably sang about the hero, and the painter Antoni Kozakiewicz commemorated him with his painting The Death of Karol Levittoux (reproduction by Walery Rzewuski in the collection of the Museum of the Polish Army in Warsaw). The medallion is the work of Henryk Levittoux (1822-1879), Karol's brother, a popular Warsaw physician, philosopher and artist, who lived in Paris in the years 1844-1858. There he studied medicine and was engaged in art of making medals. The inscription engraved under the portrait is a tribute to his brother by the author of the medallion. Genowefa Horoszko