Portrait of Ignacy Jan Paderewski Portrait of Ignacy Jan Paderewski

This portrait of Paderewski by the renowned artist Lawrence Alma-Tadema was painted in 1891. The composer recalls the circumstances behind the painting’s creation in his Memoirs: “In those days, I often saw Alma-Tadema – he asked me to pose for a portrait. Soon thereafter, at the first sitting, I was surprised to see that three people were getting ready to paint! They were the Princess Louise, Sir Lawrence himself and Lady Alma-Tadema. Each of the three painters would ask me to turn in whatever direction they needed me at any given time! This went on for several days, each next day being more “fidgety” than the last. Finally, all three portraits were finished. Lady Alma-Tadema, a talented painter in her own right, painted a tiny portrait, but, when it comes to artistry, the one by Sir Lawrence was a real masterpiece.”
The painting belongs to a group of late-academic works from the turn of the century in which Alma-Tadema painted famous musicians of the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The roman numerals next to Paderewski are the work’s opus number, the result of the artist’s practice of numbering his canvases.