Lot 51: Jan van Chelminski (Polish, 1851-1925) Napoleon and Prince Poniatowki's army during the Russian campaign

Jan van Chelminski (Polish, 1851-1925)
Napoleon and Prince Poniatowki's army during the Russian campaign signed 'Jan V. Chelminski' (lower right)oil on canvas30 1/2 x 39 1/2in (77.5 x 100.3cm)

Provenance: Galleries Maurice Sternberg, Chicago;Acquired from the above by the present owner, 1973.A prolific painter of military scenes, Jan Wladislaw Chelminski was very popular with Europe's nobility and with American high society over the course of his successful career. His success gained him entry to the King of Bavaria, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and even the American President Theodore Roosevelt, whose hunting tales he illustrated. Chelminski's career began at the Munich Academie in 1875, where he joined a group of young Polish artists studying under Josef von Brandt, known as the Brandt School. Among them were Alfred von Wierusz-Kowalski, Franz Roubaud and Maksymilian Gierymski, who went on to become the most acclaimed artists to accurately depict historic Cossack, Tatar and Polish warriors. Later in life, Chelminski devoted much time to the study of the Napoleonic wars and to collecting of weapons from that period, resulting in a number of exquisite works dedicated to Napoleon's campaign into Russia. In the present work, Chelminski chose to illustrate an episode from the 1812 campaign that ended in disaster for the French Army. The Polish Army of Prince Poniatowski was part of Napoleon's Grande Armée that valiantly fought in the battles of Smolensk and Borodino. Poniatowski was a trusted counselor to Napoleon and he was rewarded with the title of Marshal of the French Army. By the end of the campaign, a mere 800 Polish troupes returned home with him.A large collection of Chelminski's Napoleonic wars paintings was exhibited in 1904 at the Galerie des artistes moderns in Paris.Following his years in Munich, Chelminski initially went to England in 1882 and then traveled throughout Europe for some time. As of 1884 he lived in New York for several years, where he married the sister of the art dealer Roland Knoedler. In 1888 and 1899 he made London his home again before he relocated to Paris, where he was among the founding members of the Polish Literary Society in 1910. For some years he was also the society's vice president. In 1915 the artist settled in New York, where he died in 1925.