Feliks Sypniewski was a Polish

Poles

thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

 painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 and artist who painted mostly historic battle scenes drawn from the borderlands of Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

He was born in 1830 at Skoraszewice

Skoraszewice

Skoraszewice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Pępowo, within Gostyń County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Pępowo, south of Gostyń, and south of the regional capital Poznań....

 near Pempowo

Gmina Pepowo

Gmina Pępowo is a rural gmina in Gostyń County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. Its seat is the village of Pępowo, which lies approximately south-east of Gostyń and south of the regional capital Poznań....

, lived and worked mostly in Poznań

Poznan

Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...

 and Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

 and moved to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in the 1890s. He was buried at the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery

Père Lachaise Cemetery

Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...

 in 1903 under a false name.

Paintings

His oil on canvas Knights From a Religious Order, also called The Teutonic Knights, was taken from the Lublin Museum in Poland during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 German occupation

History of Poland (1939–1945)

The history of Poland from 1939 to 1945 encompasses the German invasion of Poland as well as the Soviet invasion of Poland through to the end of World War II. On 1 September 1939, without a formal declaration of war, Germany invaded Poland...

. It was inventoried by the Germans, numbered III BR/7, and possibly taken back to Germany. It is now lost. This painting records the Teutonic Knights' retreat after the Battle of Grunwald

Battle of Grunwald

The Battle of Grunwald or 1st Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410, during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Jogaila and Grand Duke Vytautas , decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led...

 in Tannenberg. On the morning of 15 July 1410, the armies of King Wladyslaw Jagiello

Jogaila

Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...

 met them.

In the painting Prince Jozef Sypniewski we can see to the left a Polish Lancer of the French Imperial Garde, and to the right the uniform of the Grenadier a'cheval. This event took place between 1804 and 1814, during the Napoleonic Occupation of Poland. This reproduction of Sypniewski's original was bought by Mathias Bersolm of the "Society For the Encouragement of the Fine Arts" in Warsaw. The Society was founded to popularise and promote Polish Art in 1860 and operated until 1939. Its aim was also to organise educational activities in the arts world, to support artists and organise exhibitions. It built up a collection of Polish art and gave stipends to aspiring Polish artists.

Sources

• Pamietnik Towarszystwa Przyjaciol Sztuk Pienknych w Krakowie 1854-1904 by Swieykowski, Emmanuel. -Wyd, 1. - Krakow - 1905
• Courtly Lives - Felixs Sypniewski - Polish Artist at www.angelfire.com - article called "Felix Sypniewski" by Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewski B.F.A.(2000)

External links

• www.polamcon.org on Lost Art
• Feliks Sypniewski - Past Auction Results at www.artnet.com