Szymon Czechowicz

Szymon Czechowicz was the leading Polish painter of religious pictures in the eighteenth century. His altarpieces are in the Roman Baroque style, with full, soft figures, gentle modelling and warm colour, and his later works take on some of the lightness of the Rococo.

He was born in Kraków in 1689 and went to Rome in his early twenties, where he joined the Accademia di San Luca and studied with Benedetto Luti. He copied Raphael, Guido Reni and Rubens, and spent many years in Italy before returning to Poland. Back home he painted altarpieces for churches across the country, including The Descent from the Cross for the Piarist church in Kraków, and portraits of nobles and clergy. He later ran a free painting school.

The Adoration of the Magi and The Entombment show his rich, calm handling of religious scenes. He died in Warsaw in 1775.