Juliusz Kossak

Juliusz Fortunat Kossak (* December 15, 1824 in Nowy Wiśnicz; † February 3, 1899 in Kraków ) was a Polish painter and draftsman.

His father, Michał († 1833) was landowner of Kniahinin in eastern Galicia. Juliusz moved to Lwów and after class in the Basilianerschule there began his law studies at the University of Lemberg. At the same time he studied painting with Jan Maszkowski. His role model and advisor was the rich leisure painter Piotr Michałowski.

In 1844, he became known in the milieu of the landlords of Galicia. He painted portraits, scenes of hunting, horses. In 1855, he married Zofia Gałczyńska and moved to five years in Paris, where he spent much time in museums there. In Paris, his three sons are: Wojciech Tadeusz and Stefan born.

In 1860 he moved to Warsaw and took over the artistic editors of the Warsaw weekly paper " Tygodnik Ilustrowany ". In 1868 he came to Munich for one year to study at slaughter and horse painter Franz Adam. Then he came to Krakow, where he acquired a country residence. This house, later called " Kossakówka ", became the meeting place of Krakow's elite, like Adam Asnyk, Henryk Sienkiewicz, Stanisław Witkiewicz and Józef Chełmoński. In 1880 he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Franz Joseph Order.

Juliusz Kossak Kossak was founder of the family; his descendants were known artists and writers. His son Wojciech Kossak (1857-1942) was also a painter. Wojciechs son Jerzy Kossak (1886-1955) was also a painter, and Wojciechs daughters Maria Pawlikowska - Jasnorzewska (1891-1945) and Magdalena Samozwaniec (1894-1972) well-known writers.