partie de la Collection Cyprian Lachnicki a Varsovie.

Cyprian Lachnicki (1824-1906), collector, amateur artist, for many years the director of the ?Drawing Class? Warsaw artistic school and honorary director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Warsaw (now the National Museum in Warsaw). He spent his youth in Petersburg, where he devoted himself to collecting, amateur painting, broadening his knowledge of ancient art and acquiring museologist skills. After his return from Petersburg, he settled in Warsaw. Enjoying the full confidence of tsarist authorities, he received many dignities and functions. Nonetheless, he was a man of virtues and a patriot, took care of the interest of the school and its pupils, from his professors he required a high level not only of teaching, but also of artistic creation. He fought the authorities? restrictive directives aimed at Russification (such as conducting classes in Russian). For more than 30 years he defended the Polish character of the Drawing Class, making use of his influences and using diplomatic dodges. He retired in 1904, after 37 years of working for the school. Cyprian Lachnicki? s collection was bestowed on the Museum of Fine Arts after his death.