Miniature of Izabela Lubomirska née Czartoryska (1736–1816)

The miniature is from the collection of Stanisław August. It depicts the king’s cousin and friend, wife of Marshal Stanisław Lubomirski, and one of the most influential ladies of the Polish Enlightenment. The young duchess’s hairstyle is characteristic of the fashion of the second half of the 1750s, called tête de mouton (or sheep’s head) and is adorned with an aigrette of black plumes. Izabela is wearing a gold-coloured gown with a bodice ornamented with lace and a blue coat lined with ermine – a sign of her noble rank. The author of the miniature, who was most probably Stanisław August’s court miniaturist, J. Zeich (whose first name is not known), modelled the miniature on an oil portrait of the duchess painted in circa 1757 by Marcello Bacciarelli, which is now in the palace in Łańcut. [D.Juszczak]