Portrait of Prince Józef Poniatowski

Executed in oil on canvas, the painting employs a restrained palette of deep shadows and subtle modeling to suggest three‑dimensional form. The handling of light on metal and fabric reflects the late‑Baroque attention to texture, while the overall compositional clarity anticipates the emerging Neoclassical aesthetic.

The portrait was painted by Marcello Bacciarelli, an Italian‑born artist who spent most of his career in the Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth. After remaining in private hands for decades, it entered the National Museum in Warsaw, where it is displayed as part of the museum’s holdings of 18th‑century Polish portraiture.