January Suchodolski

January Suchodolski (Polish: [januˈarɨ suxɔˈdɔlski]; 19 September 1797 – 20 March 1875) was a Polish painter and Army officer, and a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts.

Suchodolski was born in Grodno and was the brother of Rajnold Suchodolski. He joined the Warsaw Cadet Corps in 1810. In 1812 he stood guard on the Hotel Angielski in Warsaw when Napoleon stayed there incognito, during his escape from Moscow. In 1823 he became adjutant to Wincenty Krasiński a former officer in Napoleon's Army who at the time was with the Royal Regiment of Grenadier Guards.

Through Krasiński's connections he got access to the Palace's art galleries, gaining exposure to military paintings particularly those of Horace Vernet. He also gained access to Poland's leading artistic and intellectual circles meeting Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Woronicz, Koźmian, Franciszek Salezy Dmochowski, Antoni Edward Odyniec, and Morawski. During this period he started painting pictures with military themes, particularly battles from the Kościuszko Uprising and the Napoleonic wars including those in which Krasiński was involved in during the Peninsular War.