Monument to Prince Józef Poniatowski in Warsaw
| Pomnik księcia Józefa Poniatowskiego w Warszawie | |
The monument in front of the Presidential Palace
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| Coordinates | 52°14′34.08″N 21°00′55.69″E / 52.2428000°N 21.0154694°ECoordinates: 52°14′34.08″N 21°00′55.69″E / 52.2428000°N 21.0154694°E |
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| Location | 46/48 Krakowskie Przedmieście, Warsaw |
| Designer | Bertel Thorvaldsen |
| Type | Equestrian statue |
| Beginning date | 1817 |
| Completion date | August, 1832 |
| Opening date | 3 May, 1923 23 February, 1952 19 October, 1965 |
The Monument to Prince Józef Poniatowski in Warsaw is a monument currently located at 46/48 Krakowskie Przedmieście in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace.
The statue shows Prince Józef Poniatowski riding a horse and holding a sword in his right hand. The figure of the prince is modelled on the monument of Marcus Aurelius from the Roman Capitoline Hill.
The monument's creation was at the behest of Polish aristocracy. Polish aristocrat and diarist Anna Potocka obtained permission from the Tsar to place the monument in front of the Governor's Palace (which is now the Presidential Palace). The monument was commissioned in 1817 from Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.
In 1829, in Warsaw, he presented a life-size plaster model in classicist form. The project was not well received by critics and the public who were expecting to see the warrior clad in the armour of a soldier, while Thorvaldsen introduced him as a half-naked Roman general.
Based on the model, Klaudiusz and Emil Gregoire's foundry in Długa Street in Warsaw made a bronze cast which was completed in August, 1832. Meanwhile, as a result of the failed November Uprising, Russian consent for the placement of the monument had been withdrawn as part of the Tsar's sanctions against Poland, which was confirmed by a special order in 1834. The finished cast was first taken to the Modlin Fortress, where the sculpture was originally regarded as the patron of the fortress, St. George. In 1836, the monument was dismantled and placed in 10 boxes in the fortress. In 1840, the monument was assembled again, and during an inspection of the fortress by Tsar Nicholas I, it was decided to scrap the monument, but he changed his mind.
Later in 1840, the statue was taken to Dęblin, and in 1842 to the Paskevich Palace in Gomel. The monument adorned the palace in Gomel from 1842 to 1922. In Warsaw, a monument to Ivan Paskevich (by sculptor Mikołaj Pimienow) was unveiled in 1870, at the site where Prince Józef Poniatowski's monument was meant to be. Paskevich's statue was pulled down in 1917, when Poland regained independence.
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Wikipedia