The French Revolution was not only a shock for the French monarchy and aristocracy but also for an artist who mainly served that class. It had an impact on the careers of Polish artists studying or working in Paris – the capital of art! One of them was Aleksander Kucharski, a protégé of Stanislaw August Poniatowski.
He was born on March 18, 1741, in Warsaw as the son of a Polish noble. In his early years Aleksander was connected to the Poniatowski family and later became sponsored by Stanisław Poniatowski, who in 1764 was elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. (Probably Aleksander’s sister Dorota, who was connected to the court of Princess Izabela Lubomirska, helped him find a way to Stanisław Poniatowski).
Anyway, Aleksander was trained by a famous Italian painter Marcello Bacciarelli (serving as a painter of the court of Augustus III of Poland and then Stanisław August Poniatowski). In 1760, a young Polish painter traveled to Paris, as a protégé of Poniatowski, to continue his art education in Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture). His mentors were Joseph-Marie Vien and Carle van Loo.
Soon, his works, including Ofiara Manoaha, were awarded medals by the academy. However, King Poniatowski, who wanted Kucharski to become a historic painter, was not satisfied with Aleksander’s works – mainly portraits. In 1768, the king, disappointed with his painter, stopped paying for his stay in Paris.
Kucharski didn’t go back to Warsaw. He was able to establish aristocratic clientele for portraits, but he also, like other protégés of King Poniatowski, Rajcka and Smuglewicz, painted miniatures using a pastel technique. He painted portraits of Polish aristocrats: Teresa and Maria Czaroryski, Józef Sapiecha, and Ignacy Potocki. That last one, in oil on canvas, shows the count in a ceremonial blue outfit with a blue ribbon and the Star of the Order of the White Eagle, and the Order of Saint Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr.
In 1776, Kucharski taught painting to Princess Louise-Adalaïde de Bourbon-Condé, and was working for the court of her father Louis Joseph Prince of Condé until 1778. Soon, thanks to an influential recommendation, the Polish painter was introduced to a royal family, and portrayed the whole family of Louis XVI of France.
Kucharski’s realistic portrait received much recognition. He painted pictures from nature or based on drawings such as the Portrait of Empress of Russia Catherine the Great. However, portraits of Marie Antoinette became the most famous of his works. Kucharski probably painted the first portrait of the Queen as early as 1780, then in 1791, and finally in 1793 – at the time of her imprisonment, depicting her in a widow’s outfit (after execution of her husband King Louise XVI).
The authenticity of that unusual work was confirmed in notes made by the Queen herself. Then, it was copied many times not only by Kucharski but also by other painters such as François Dumont and Sophie Prieur. More “relaxed” were paintings of the rich and famous of the French elite, like Portrait of Countess de Lamballe (1790), showing the young noble lady in an amazing green dress, sitting in a beautiful palace-like room, and holding a letter in her hand. The realistic in form painting brings an atmosphere of romantic melancholy.
A Portrait of Dauphin Louis Charles of France (actually in the collection of the Palace of Versailles) was probably the second most popular painting by Kucharski, also made later by the author in numerous copies, especially at the time of the French Revolution when wealthy clients “disappeared”, almost like Louis XVII. (After the death of his father and mother Louis Charles was recognized by royalists as Louis XVII, but was imprisoned and separated from the public by revolutionists. And, two years later, an official statement informed that the death of Louis Charles was tuberculosis. There were a lot of rumors concerning his death, making Kucharski’s painting of Dauphin even more popular).
Despite the fear of terror, Kucharski remained loyal to the French aristocracy. In 1800 he married Marguarite Charvet. However, they didn’t have children and therefore supported one of Kucharski’s apprentice’s – Aglaé Bamberg. Later, she took care of an aging painter, and when Louise XVIII became a king, Kucharski received a regular pension from the king. He continued making copies of his most demanded pictures, aiding his income.
Unfortunately, in 1817 Kucharski fell ill, couldn’t paint any more, and was forced to sell his belongings. Aleksander Kucharski died on Nov. 5, 1819, in Paris. He is considered the best Polish portrait painter.
