Henryk Lubomirski as Bacchus

Henryk Lubomirski as Bacchus The bust represents little Henryk Lubomirski (1777–1850), son of Józef Lubomirski and Ludwika née Sosnowska. From about 1783 he was brought up by his aunt, Princess Izabela Lubomirska née Czartoryska, widow of Stanisław Lubomirski related to Henryk’s father, owner of the Łańcut castle. As a child he accompanied Princess in her travels around Europe. On her commission, he was portrayed by the most eminent artists of the period: in Rome by Antonio Canova and Angelique Kauffman, in Paris by Elizabeth Vigée-Lebrun. In 1799 Lubomirska bought for him the Przeworsk estate. The miniature terracotta bust of Henryk Lubomirski, painted in green, was made by an unknown sculptor around 1785. It depicts the little prince as Bacchus, the god of wine. The child’s head is turned three-quarters to the right. The face is broad at the temples, with full cheeks, a protruding narrow chin, a slightly upturned nose, large eyes and full lips. The hair is arranged in thick, swirling locks, decorated with a wreath of vines. A branch of the vine is placed over the left shoulder of the boy and lays on his chest. The bust of little Henryk depicted as Bacchus is one of the many portraits created in the prince’s childhood, capturing his extraordinary beauty, imagining him under various mythological characters. The bust was acquired by the Museum in Łańcut in 1948 from the Museum Repository in Przeworsk, which was established in the Lubomirski palace, nationalised in 1944, and including the local art collection. Barbara Trojnar