Henryk Siemiradzki

Henryk Hektor Siemiradzki (24 October 1843 – 23 August 1902) was a Polish painter. He spent most of his active creative life in Rome. Best remembered for his large history paintings in the academic style, he is particularly known for his depictions of scenes from the ancient Greco-Roman world and the New Testament, owned by many national galleries of Europe.

Siemiradzki was born to Hipolit Siemiradzki, a Polish noble and an officer of the Imperial Russian Army (made general in 1871) and Michalina (née Prószyńska) in Novo-Belgorod (now Pechenihy, Chuhuiv Raion, Kharkiv oblast, Ukraine), near the city of Kharkiv, where his father's regiment was stationed. The family had origins in Radom land and derived its name from the village of Siemiradz. One of the branches settled near Navahrudak (Nowogródek) in the late 17th century.

Henryk's grandfather held the post of podkomorzy in Nowogródek powiat. His parents were close friends with Adam Mickiewicz's family. He studied at Kharkiv Gymnasium where he first learned painting under the local schoolteacher, Dmytro Bezperchy, a former student of Karl Briullov.