Izabela Lubomirska née Czartoryski

Portrait of Izabela Lubomirska nee Czartoryska This miniature from the collection of the museum depicts an older woman (oval in a rectangle). The woman is shown as a half figure, sitting in an armchair, wearing a white empire-style dress tied under the breast, with an ochre scarf swung over the dress; on her head she wears a white, decorative cap. The portrayed person is Izabela Lubomirska nee Czartoryska, called the duchess and marshal’s wife (Pl. Księżna marszałkowa), in the year of her death. Izabela (Elżbieta) Lubomirska nee Czartoryska (b. May 1733 or 1736 in Warsaw, d. November 1816 in Vienna) was the daughter of August Czartoryski and Zofia nee Sieniawska. In 1753, she married Stanisław Lubomirski, older than her, owner of Łańcut, becoming, after her husband’s death (in August 1783) the last owner of the castle from the family of Lubomirscy, and at the same time one of the richest women of Europe at the time. She was one of the most outstanding women of 18th century Poland, a patron and collector of arts; during her time, the castle in Łańcut had its golden age. An enlightened and educated woman, she also took care of her court, taking care of and teaching hygiene, creating children’s shelters and hospitals. The portrait is a copy of a miniature made by Carl Ludwig Hummel in 1816 in Vienna. Carl Hummel (b. ca. 1769, d. in 1840) was an Austrian portrait artist, painter and lithographer. A miniature is a small-sized painting, mainly a portrait, although genre scenes are not uncommon. The name stems from Latin, from the word minus – small. The oldest miniatures emerged in the 15th century and are related to the development of enameling. Beside enamel on copper, initially oil paints and tempera were used on metal sheet and parchment. In the 17th century, wooden panels were used as the base as well as thick ivory. In the subsequent years, when miniatures became popular, water-based paints were used (aquarelle, gouache), with thin ivory panels or pearl mass as well as parchment or cardboard used as the base. The discussed painting is displayed in the Boucher Salon in the 1st floor of the castle of Łańcut.