Jeremias Falck

During his stay in Danzig between 1650 and 1654 Falck made copperplate engravings of Polish aristocrats, mostly based on paintings by the Danzig artist, Daniel Schultz (the Younger, 1615-1683), who was the court painter to the Polish kings Johann II Kasimir Wasa, Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki and Johann III Sobieski between 1649 and 1660. In 1650 he completed an engraving of King Władysław IV, who had died two years earlier. It was published by Förster in Danzig (Block 293, Ill. 54). In 1652, in Stockholm, he executed portraits of Maciej (Matthias) Łubieński (1572-1652), Archbishop of Gniezno (Block 256, Ill. 55), Achacy Przyłęcki (ca. 1630-1656), a state official in Kraków and Captain of Oświęcim (Block 274, Ill. 56); and Hieronim Radziejowski (1612-1667), a politician, diplomat and military commander who was forced to flee into exile in 1652 following a plot against the Polish king (Block 276, Ill. 57); in 1653 there followed portraits of Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski (1616-1667), a general who fought against the Cossacks during the Polish-Lithuanian war (Block 257, Ill. 58), and of Łukasz Opaliński (the Elder, 1581–1654), who had been Captain of Poznań since 1615 and was the Grand Marshal of Poland and head of the County of Rawa between 1634 and 1650 (Mazowiecka, Block 270, Ill. 59); the last two were published by Förster. In 1654 Falck completed a portrait of Bogusław Radziwiłł (1620-1669), Duke of Birsen and Dubinki, who lived at the court of Johann II in Warsaw from 1648 onwards, and in 1651 commanded the forces who defeated the Cossacks in the Battle of Beresteczko (Block 277, Ill. 60). This was also published by Förster.

Presumably during his years in Danzig, he made a series of undated portraits of Polish aristocrats for the publisher Georg Förster. Some of them were signed with the additional designation “Polonus”. His subjects included Piotr Gembicki (1585-1657), who was made Grand Chancellor under Władysław IV in 1638 and Bishop of Kraków in 1642 (Block 243, Ill. 61), Andrzej Leszczyński (1608-1658), vice-Chancellor from 1645, from 1646 Bishop of Chełmno (Block 252, Ill. 62), Bogusław Leszczyński, Duke of Leszno (1614–1659), in 1642 starost of Greater Poland, between 1650 and 1658 Grand Treasurer of the Crown/Podskarbi wielki koronny (Block 253, Ill. 63), Wacław Leszczyński (1576-1628), from 1625 Grand Chancellor of the Crown, in 1628 starost of Greater Poland (Block 254, Ill. 64), Jerzy Ossoliński (1595-1650), a Polish-Lithuanian statesman who became Grand Chancellor of the Crown in 1643 (Block 271, Ill. 65), Jerzy Tyszkiewicz (1596-1656), from 1649 Bishop of Wilno (Block 286, Ill. 66), and finally a portrait of the Amsterdam painter, Helmich van Tweenhuysen II, probably based on a self-portrait (Block 249, Ill. 67).