Waleria Tarnowska | |
|---|---|
 Portret Walerii ze Stroynowskich Tarnowskiej by Domenico del Frate, 1805-1806, painting in collection of National Museum in Cracow (MNK XII-A-580) | |
| Born | Waleria Stroynowska December 9, 1782 |
| Died | December 9, 1849 (aged 67) |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Education | Constantino Villani, Wincenty de Lesseur, Therese Maron, Antonio Cherubini, Domenico del Frate, Filippo Giacomo Remondini |
| Known for | Painting, drawing |
| Movement | Miniatures, Religious painting |
Waleria Tarnowska (December 9, 1782, – November 23, 1849) was a Polish patron of the arts and painter in her own right, known for miniatures, numerous portraits, religious paintings and drawings.
Waleria Tarnowska was a daughter of Walerian Stroynowski and Aleksandra Tarnowska. On 7 September 1800, Waleria married Jan Feliks Tarnowski. She was the mother of Kazimierz, Rozalia, Jan Bogdan, Maria Felicja, Walerian, Rozalia, Wiktoria, Anna and Tadeusz Antoni; and the grandmother of Jan Dzierżysław Tarnowski, Stanisław „Czarny”, Stanisław „Biały” and Władysław.[1][2] Waleria was educated at home by governesses, and her teachers also included the archaeologist and historian Wawrzyniec Surowiecki, and the professor of chemistry and medicine Jędrzej Śniadecki, as well as her uncle, Hieronim Stroynowski, bishop and Rector of Vilnius University.[3]
Waleria together with her husband Jan Felix created the collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, books and antiquities at Dzików, which included paintings by Lorenzo Lotto, Guercino, Guido Reni, Rembrandt, Annibale Carracci, Salvator Rosa, Hans Holbein the Younger, Anthony van Dyck, Anton Raphael Mengs, Bernini, Antonio Canova.[4]
First Waleria studied painting for three years in Horochów with Constantino Villani and the miniaturist de Hoflize,[5] then with Wincenty de Lesseur 1800-1804 in Dzików and 1810 in Warsaw,[6][7][8] at miniaturist Therese Maron and her husband,[9] Antonio Cherubini in Rome, Domenico del Frate (who in 1806 depicted portraits of members of her family, and painted the Virgin Mary in the chapel in Dzików).[10] Her next teacher was Filippo Giacomo Remondini;[11] she then studied in Paris from 1824 to 1826.[12][3]
Waleria was a miniaturist, painting portraits and religious subjects. She often signed her works "V. T.", and depicted miniatures on ivory, usually with watercolour, sometimes with gouache and watercolour or only gouache. Her paintings are often miniature copies of paintings by other painters, and portraits of family members.[13]
Before World War II, Waleria's miniatures, paintings and drawings were in family collections in Dzików Castle, Chorzelów, Rudnik nad Sanem, and Wiśniowa (the residence of the Mycielski family). Post-war, her work can be found in collections at the Polish Museum, Rapperswil, the National Museum in Warsaw and Cracow, the Castle Museum in Pszczyna and the Jagiellonian Library (drawings).[13]
