Tadeusz Gorecki

Tadeusz Gorecki (1825-1868) – painter. He was born on 25 May 1825, in Dusenėtai Manor (near Vilnius), died on 31 January 1868, in Paris. He was Member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg (1854). He was taught how to draw by V. Vankavičius, studied at V. Dmachauskas Painting School. In 1841-1849, he had been studying at Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg (student of K. Bryullov; worked as his assistant when decorating the Saint Isaac’s Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, finished I. Krylov’s portrait, started by K. Bryullov). In 1849, he left to Paris to improve his skills, in 1850 – to Spain. He copied works of Rafael J. de Ribeiro and other artists, painted some pictures of Alhambra (‘Perspective Alhambra View’). Also, he visited Italy. In 1854, he came back to Saint Petersburg. In 1855, he was sent by the Tsar Nikolay I to Bologna to paint a copy of Raphael’s ‘St. Cecilia’. In 1857, he settled in Paris. He worked as a painting and drawing teacher, painted for churches, copied works of ancient masters in Louvre.

Religious themes prevail in his works (‘A Blind Beggar and a Boy’, 1843, ‘Last Communion of a Dying Woman’, ~1852, ‘Pilgrims’, 1853, ‘Confession of a Young Woman’) religious ceremonies and rituals are often depicted in the background of a domestic life. T. Gorecki had painted lots of portraits. His works are characterized by expressive drawings, bright colours, and certain theatricality of the composition. The works of the painter are in Lithuanian (Lithuanian Art Museum), Polish, Russian, Ukrainian museums.

Reference: LIMIS. Lithuanian Integral Museum Information System.