Dimensions: 79 x 100 cm
signed and dated lower left: 'J. Brandt | 1861'
Other historical titles: The Return of the Lisowczyks, The Return of the Lisowczyks from Their Expedition, Lisowczyk
A label with the inventory number on the reverse
Provenance
Owned by Adam Bogumił Helbich (1796–1881), the artist’s uncle
The artist’s family collection, 1920s
Private collection, Sweden
Purchased at auction in Copenhagen, 2003
Private collection, Denmark–Poland
Exhibited
Exhibition of Antiquities, Works of Art, and Paintings, Radom Charitable Society, Józef Hempel’s home, September 27–November 1, 1891
Posthumous Exhibition, Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw, June 19–August 25, 1926
Bibliography
Józef Brandt (1841–1915), vol. 2, exhibition catalog, ed. Ewa Micke-Broniarek, Warsaw 2018, p. 10, cat. no. I.3 (ill.)
Wacław Jaroszyński, Władysław Gackowski: Biography and Affairs, Lublin 2004, p. 40
Tomasz Palacz, Orlińsko—Place and People, Orońsko 1997, p. 81
Polish Biographical Dictionary, vol. 2, 1936, entry: Brandt, Józef (1841–1915), entry by Wacław Husarski, p. 389 (mentioned)
Wacław Husarski, “Józef Brandt (born February 11, 1841; died June 12, 1915),” *Sztuki Piękne* 1929, Vol. 5, p. 364 (ill.)
“Report of the Committee of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw” 1926, p. 36 (mentioned)
Szczęsny Rutkowski, “Visual Arts: Exhibition of the Józef Brandt Collection at Zachęta; Exhibition of Graphic Works by Tadeusz Ciesielski Jr.,” “Nowy Kurier Polski” 1926, No. 158, p. 10 (mentioned)
Antoni Urbański, “Exhibition of Works by J. Brandt at Zachęta,” *Ilustracja*, 1926, no. 29, p. 7
Catalog of the exhibition of antiquities, works of art, and paintings organized in 1891 through the efforts of and for the benefit of the Radom Charitable Society, Radom 1891, item 19, p. 4 (mentioned)
“Gazeta Radomska” 1891, Vol. 8, No. 84, p. 3 (mentioned)
“Gazeta Radomska” 1891, Vol. 8, No. 83, p. 2 (mentioned)
Espe, “Exhibition of Antiquities in Radom,” “Przegląd Tygodniowy,” 1891, No. 43, p. 470 (mentioned)
Ludwik Buszard, Chronicle of the Fine Arts: Painting and Sculpture, “Tygodnik Ilustrowany” 1865, No. 318, p. 179
Biography
After graduating from the Institute for the Nobility in 1858, he left to study engineering at the École des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, but at the urging of Juliusz Kossak, he devoted himself to the study of painting. For a time, he studied in Leon Cogniet’s studio and also received guidance from Juliusz Kossak and Henryk Rodakowski. In 1862, he traveled to Munich, where he began studying in the studios of F. Adam and T. Horschelt, and from February 17, 1863, he studied at the Munich Academy, primarily under the guidance of K. von Piloty. In 1869, he received a first-class medal at the international exhibition at the Glaspalast, and from 1878 onward, he served as an honorary professor at the Academy. He settled permanently in Munich, where in 1866 he founded a studio that brought together all the Polish artists residing in the city. From around 1875, he ran a sort of unofficial private school for young painters, mainly Poles. He left Munich only during the summer months, which he spent at his estate in Orońsk near Radom and traveling through Podolia, Volhynia, Ukraine, and the European part of Turkey. He was an active member of the Münchener Kunstverein—from 1864 to 1913 he was a regular member of the association, and in 1874 and 1875 he served on the board of directors. He enjoyed immense popularity with the public and received many of the highest honors and titles—in 1891, he was awarded the Grand Gold Medal at the International Exhibition in Berlin; from 1875, he was a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts; an honorary professor at the Bavarian Academy since 1878, and an honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague since 1900. He was primarily a battle painter. The scenes depicted by the artist were most often set in the eastern borderlands of the 17th-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, during the era of Cossack wars and Tatar raids. The main motifs of the artist’s paintings were the Cossacks, Tatars, the Lisowczycy, and 17th-century Polish knights—where horses in dramatic poses and the colorful figures of riders in the heat of battle played the most important roles—as well as scenes of hunts and bustling bazaars. The artist’s paintings can be found in nearly all Polish museums, as well as in private collections in Europe and America.
