“Haparanda” of Wilno (Vilna, now Vilnius). Drawing portraits and caricatures by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski in the collection of the National Library in Warsaw

Abstract

Eugeniusz Kazimirowski is not only the author of the first painting of the Merciful Jesus according to the vision of St. Faustina as he has been perceived so far. Taking a closer look at his works, one can conclude that he much more often reached for non-religious themes in his work. He painted landscapes, portraits of family and friends, as well as of random persons. In addition, and this may come as a surprise to many, he also made drawings. In 1947, Michal Brensztejn’s widow, Jadwiga, donated to the National Library a collection of more than a dozen works by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski, which were in the family archives. They were created between 1915 and 1922, and include self-portraits, twelve drawing portraits: of Aleksander Zwierzyński, Edward Jasiński, Władysław Jaszczołt, Witold Węsławski, JanWiłejszys, Anna Wiłejszysowa, Kazimierz Dmochowski, a middle-aged man and Michal Brensztejn, as well as two self-caricatures and two caricatures by Stanislaw Bohusz Siestrzeńczewicz and Waclaw Gizbert-Studnicki. All are a valuable legacy of Eugeniusz Kazimirowski. The people he portrayed are figures associated with Wilno, whom Michal Brensztejn described rather enigmatically yet intriguingly as the “haparanda” of Wilno (Vilna, now Vilnius).