Józef Poniatowski

Portrait of prince Józef Poniatowski (miniature) A miniature from the collection of the museum, in a decorative wooden box (lockable, with a standing support), it is a portrait of a young man in the uniform of a general, a half figure, his left arm suspended on the grip of a sabre at his right side. The authorship of the miniature is attributed to Henryk Benner (b. in 1767, d. in 1818). He war German by birth; he settled in Warsaw and remained active in 1815-1816 there. He was a painter, including of miniatures. Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski, called Pepi (b. May 1763 in Vienna, d. October 1813 at Leipzig, by drowning in the Elster), was a general, minister of war, commander-in-chief of the army of the Duchy of Warsaw and marshal of France; he was son to Andrzej Poniatowski and Countess Maria Theresia Kinsky. Educated abroad thanks to the care of his uncle Stanisław August Poniatowskieg, the Polish king, and he remained a Pole. From his very childhood he was meant to have a military career, and was thoroughly educated for it. He was a staunch opponent of any kinds of arrangements with the occupying states in the partitions, and believed that the struggle for independence should continue. He resigned after king Stanisław August joined the Targowica Confederation, and left the country (he returned the orders of the White Eagle and of St. Stanislaus). After the king summoned him back in writing, he returned and joined the Kościuszko Uprising. After the uprising fell, he left for Vienna, and when Paul became emperor of Russia, he returned to the country again, remaining mainly in Jabłonna near Warsaw and in Warsaw’s Copper-Roof Palace. After the Duchy od Warsaw was created, he returned to military service and became commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Duchy in 1809. After the outbreak of the war with Austria and the success in the Battle of Lützen in 1813, and reached Leipzig with his army, where on the first day of the Battle of the Nations on October 16th he was named marshal of France by Napoleon. He died on October 19th while traversing the river Elster. The miniature is shown in the castle library on the 1st floor