Józefina Amalia Potocka

Painting from the museum’s collection; it shows a portrait of a woman (oval in a rectangle) shown in bust against a neutral background. The portrayed is Józefina Amalia Mniszech (born in August 1798, died in October 1768 in St Petersburg), daughter of Jerzy August Mniszech and Maria Amalia Bruhl, a Polish aristocrat, art collector and amateur painter. She studied painting in Warsaw with Antoni Albertrandi. In 1774 she married Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki (as his second wife), with whom she officially raised eleven children (although only three were her biological children). Her dowry included Dukla, Samoklęski, palaces in Warsaw and Gdańsk, numerous silver wares, as well as furniture and porcelain. She was a vivid woman, involved in property matters, and her favourite pastime was matchmaking of housemates. She also painted several pictures, including a portrait of her husband. She also tried her hand at literature and is the author of two short stories: The Philosophical Marriage and Miss S and two poems. Initially their marriage went well, but after Stanisław had an affair with Zofia Witt, the couple separated and divorced in 1798, having agreed on property issues. Józefina died shortly after the divorce, the cause of her death probably being a miscarriage (she had taken medication to terminate her pregnancy). The painting kept in Łańcut is a later copy from the original by Giovanni Battista Lampi from 1791 and is exhibited in the salon belonging to the Gala Apartment on the first floor of the Łańcut castle. Giovanni Battista Lampi (the elder, born in December 1751 in Romeno, died in February 1830 in Vienna) was an Italian painter of the Classicist period, working in Austria (Vienna), mainly as portraitist. He studied in Verona, Trento and Salzburg, then was a professor at the Vienna Academy. In the years 1788–91, he stayed in Warsaw, at the court of Stanisław August Poniatowski. He was court painter of Catherine II. He was ennobled by Emperor Francis II. Many of his paintings are now in the hands of private owners. He portrayed members of the aristocracy as well as crowned heads.