Henryk Hektor Siemiradzki (24 October 1843 – 23 August 1902) was a Polish^[1][2] painter. He spent most of his active creative life inRome. Best remembered for his monumentalacademic art, he is particularly known for his depictions of scenes from the ancient Greek-Roman world and theNew Testament, owned by many national galleries of Europe.^[3][4]

Henryk Siemiradzki
Henryk Siemiradzki in later life
Born	Henryk Siemiradzki 24 October 1843 Novo-Belgorod,Kharkov Governorate,Russian Empire
Died	23 August 1902(1902-08-23) (aged 58) Strzałków,Congress Poland
Nationality	Polish
Education	Member Academy of Arts (1873) Professor by rank (1877)
Alma mater	V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University,Imperial Academy of Arts (1871)
Known for	Painting
Notable work	Nero's Torches, curtain for the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków, curtain for the Lwów Theatre
Movement	Academism
Awards

Many Siemiradzki paintings depict scenes from antiquity, often the sunlit pastoral scenes or compositions presenting the lives of early Christians. He also painted biblical and historical scenes, landscapes, and portraits. His best-known works include monumental curtains for theLviv (Lwów) Theatre of Opera and for theJuliusz Słowacki Theatre inKraków.

Siemiradzki was born to Hipolit Siemiradzki, a Polishnoble and an officer of theImperial Russian Army (made general in 1871) and Michalina (née Prószyńska) inNovo-Belgorod (nowPechenihy,Chuhuiv Raion,Kharkiv oblast,Ukraine),^[5][6] near the city ofKharkiv, where his father's regiment was stationed.^[7] The family had origins inRadom land and derived its name from the village of Siemiradz. One of the branches settled nearNavahrudak (Nowogródek) in the late 17th century. Henryk's grandfather held the post ofpodkomorzy in Nowogródekpowiat. His parents were close friends withAdam Mickiewicz's family. He studied at KharkivGymnasium where he first learned painting under the local schoolteacher,D.I. Bezperchy, a former student ofKarl Briullov. He entered the physics-mathematics school ofKharkiv University and studied natural sciences there with great interest, but also continued to paint.^[5][8]

After graduating from university with aKandidat degree he abandoned his scientific career and moved toSaint Petersburg to study painting at theImperial Academy of Arts from 1864 to 1870. Upon his graduation he was awarded a gold medal. In 1870–1871 he studied underKarl von Piloty inMunich on a grant from the Academy. In 1872 he moved to Rome and later built a studio there on Via Gaeta, while spending summers at his estate inStrzałków nearCzęstochowa.

In 1873 he received the title of Academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts for his paintingChrist and a Sinner, based on a verseSinner written byAleksey Tolstoy. In 1878 he received the FrenchNational Order of the Legion of Honour and a gold medal at theParis World's Fair for the paintingFlower Vase. In 1876–1879 Siemiradzki worked on frescoes for theCathedral of Christ the Saviour (Moscow) among his other large-scale projects. In 1879 he offered one of his best-known works, the enormousPochodnie Nerona (Nero's torches), painted around 1876, to the newly formedPolish National Museum. The artwork is on display at the Siemiradzki Room of theSukiennice Museum in theKraków Old Town, the most popular branch of the museum. Around 1893 Siemiradzki worked on two large paintings for theState Historical Museum (Moscow) and in 1894 produced his monumental curtain for theJuliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków.^[4]

He died in Strzałków in 1902 and was buried originally inWarsaw, but later his remains were moved to the national Pantheon onSkałka in Kraków.

The modern arts gallery atV.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University inKharkiv where he studied, is named after Siemiradzki.^[9] On January 29, 2025, on the occasion of the 220th anniversary of the V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, a monument to Henryk Siemiradsky was unveiled at the entrance to the gallery in thenorthern building [uk] of the university. The monument was created back in 2021, but its installation and opening were postponed due toquarantine restrictions and aRussian invasion of Ukraine.^[10]

InLviv, in 1910, a street connecting the modern streets of Gipsova and Konovalets was named after Henryk Siemiradsky.^[11]

Siemiradzki's large-scale canvasses, includingThe Sword Dance influenced by the FrenchAcadémie des Beaux-Arts, are on display at the national museums of Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; notably, at theSukiennice Museum, theNational Museum, Poznań,Lviv National Art Gallery,Tretyakov Gallery, and others.

•  
  Nero's Torches, 1876,National Museum, Kraków
•  
  The Girl or the Vase, 1878Private collection
•  
  Night on the eve ofIvan Kupala, 1880s,Lviv National Art Gallery
•  
  The Sword Dance, 1881,Tretyakov Gallery
•  
  ChristianDirce, 1897,National Museum, Warsaw
•  
  Christ withMartha andMaria, 1886,Russian Museum
•  
  TheTalisman, 1880s, Art Museum ofNizhny Novgorod
•  
  Christ andSamaritan, 1890,Lviv National Art Gallery
•  
  Phryne at the Poseidonia in Eleusis, 1889,Russian Museum

• National theatres
•  
  Curtain for theJuliusz Słowacki Theatre inKraków
•  
  Curtain for theLviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet

•  
  Alexander the Great's Trust in Physician Phillip, 1870
•  
  Socrates Finds his Student Alcibiades at Heterai, 1873
•  
  Begging Castaway, 1878
•  
  Following the Gods, 1899
•  
  Corsars, 1880
•  
  Roman Orgy at Caesar's Time, 1872
•  
  Roman Orgy at Tiberius' Time, 1881
•  
  Merry Company by the Spring, 1885
•  
  Christ and Sinner, 1873
•  
  Persecutors of Christians at the Eentrance to the Catacombs, 1874

• List of Polish painters

• Online gallery of Semiradsky paintings
• Works and Bio(in Russian)
• Bio(in Russian)
• Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905)."Siemiradzki, Henryk" .New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
• "Siemiradzki, Henryk" .Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.