6429 - A portrait of Franciszek Czarnomski, a Polish general and commandant of the Warsaw Officers’ School for Cavalry, Poland, first half of the 19th century.

A portrait of Franciszek Czarnomski, a Polish general and commandant of the Warsaw Officers’ School for Cavalry, Poland, first half of the 19th century. Oil on canvas. Monogrammed “HC” in the lower left corner. A stately portrait of Czarnomski in the rank of colonel of the 2nd Mounted Rifle Regiment. His chest is adorned with the Polish Military Order of Merit (Virtuti Militari), the Imperial Russian Order of St. Anna with Crown, the Knight’s Cross of the French Legion of Honor (Légion d’Honneur), and the Russian Medal of Honor for 20 years of loyal service. In a gilded wooden frame; painting dimensions: 26 x 23 cm. Frame dimensions: 37.5 x 34 cm. Accompanied by an illustrated catalog titled “Franciszek Czarnomski: Archiwum generala” (Nautilus Publishing, Kraków 2015). The work includes his biography, military career, and the complete archive, including illustrations of many documents. Franciszek Czarnomski joined the Russian campaign in 1812 as a captain fighting alongside Napoleon. That same year, he was awarded the Order of Virtuti Militari for outstanding bravery; this was followed in 1813 by the Knight’s Cross of the French Legion of Honor. In 1816, he joined the Warsaw Cavalry Officers’ School as an instructor; in 1826, he was appointed its commander with the rank of lieutenant colonel. During the November Uprising of 1830–31, Czarnomski was initially skeptical and personally led his approximately two hundred cadets to the camp of the Russian Grand Duke Konstantin; but later he joined the uprising and took command of a regiment of ulans formed from students, which he led into the bloody Battle of Olszynka Grochowska. For his service in the Battle of Olszynka Grochowska, Czarnomski was promoted to colonel on February 25, 1831, and to brigadier general on July 30, 1831. Keywords: Warsaw, Poland, Russia, Russian, Russia, Warszawa, Polska, Condition: II