Izabela Lubomirska née Czartoryski

Portrait of princess Izabela Lubomirska, wife of marshal Stanisław Lubomirski The painting, depicting princess Iszbela Lubomirska, is a 19th century copy of a painting by Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun, which until World War II was part of the Potoccy collection. Presently, the portrait is owned by the Lviv museum. The Łańcut copy stems from the year 1875, and was made by Wincenty Leopold Ślendziński. Izabela (Elżbieta) Lubomirska nee Czartoryska (b. in 1733 or 1736 in Warsaw, d. 1816 in Vienna) was the daughter of August Czartoryski and Zofia, nee Sieniawska. In 1753 she married Stanisław Lubomirski, owner of Łańcut, who was older than her, and became, after her husband’s death, the last owner from the Lubomirscy family, at the same time one of Europe’s richest women. Her assets were estimated to be 25 million Złoty. She was one of the most outstanding women in 18th century Poland, a patron and collector of the arts, during her time, the Łańcut castle shone beautifully. The Łańcut painting shows her supporting herself on a pillar with a herm of Henryk Lubomirski, her beloved, adopted son (she had four daughters), the pillar indicates the author of the painting. Wincenty Leopold Śleńdziński (b. 1837, d. 1909) was a painter and art conservator. He studied in Vilnius, and, thanks to the support of Benedykt Tyszkiewicz, he travelled to Moscow to the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He painted many religious paintings and portraits. During his stay in Kraków, he got to know Jan Matejko, who encouraged him to do historic paintings. He lived in Vienna from 1833 until the end of his life. He was a very popular painter, taking and doing many commissions, a capable portrait artist and good conservator. He visited Kraków several times, and the Łańcut painting was created on one such occasion – a copy. Historically, copies of famous paintings were better appreciated than they are now, and were frequently bought or ordered by aristocrats.