Figure 1.--This 1861 Saturnin Świerzyński portrait shows two cvhildre, presumably a older brother at home teaching his adoring little sister how to read. The boy seems o be wering a Scottish-influenced tartan tunic with a small white collar and especially fancy pantalettes. His sister has brided hair and wears a white dress wih a blue skirt. Notice the girl's hat with a big blue ribbon. We are left to wonder about the boy's headwear. We think the children are the artists older children -- Stanisław (1854-) and Helena (1856- ). They would have been about 7 and 5 years old.

Saturnin Świerzyński was a Polish artist and drawing teacher. Saturnin was born in Kraków (1820). We have little information on his chidhood, but we note was orphaned at a young age. For some reason Baroness Borowska took an interest in him. Father Józef Pawłowski also took an interest in him when he was 11 years old. He studied at St. Anne High School in Kraków. This is interesting because at the time primry school eduction was just beginning to become widespred. Very few children went on to secondary school. The youthsthatdid were almost entirely well-to-do middle-class children, rarely orphans, but Saturnin was supported by an aristiocra and a Catholic priest. He decided to become an artist when he viewed works of important Polish artists at an exhibition (1834). He began studying at the Kraków School of Fine Arts under Wojciech Stattler (1836). He dropped out of school and became involved in political activities, presumably Polish nationalist promotion. The Tsarist authorities were very sensitive about his. He was arested (1838) and sent 16 monyhs in prison. He return to his studies (1839). While still studying, he got a job teaching at the Dutkiewiczowa Girls' Boarding School, at the Sokulski family, and at Wojciech Stattler's where he tutored sons, Henryk and Adam. He then worked as a tutor for Count Piotr Moszyński's son, Emanuel. It is at tghe Moszyński home that he met Weneranda Stylińska (1826- ) who wasthe nanny. The couple married (1853). They had seven children: Stanisław (1854-), Helena (1856- ), Maria (1860), Władysław (1861-), Aleksander (1862- ), Jan (1864- ), and Michał (1868-1957). Świerzyński also taught drawing to Adam Koziebrodzki, where he taught his children Karolina and Władysław, and at schools: St. Jacek High School and the school at St. Andrew's Monastery. He painted detailed views of churches and their interiors, as well as genre scenes, portraits, landscapes, and religious paintings. He also painted copies of paintings and carried out art conservation work. Świerzyński died from pneumonia (1885).

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Created: 11:27 PM 2/16/2026
Last updated: 11:27 PM 2/16/2026