Józef Kosiński

He was born to Michał Kosiński and Marianna née Jaraczewska, members of a noble family, bearing the Rogala coat of arms.

He studied painting with the Italian artist, Marcello Bacciarelli, who had been employed by King Augustus III.

Within a short time, he was awarded the Medal Bene Merentibus [pl] and, from 1789, received a pension of 10 ducats monthly.

From 1791 to 1794, he maintained a close professional relationship with Josef Grassi, an Austrian portrait painter, who was forced to leave Poland during the Kościuszko Uprising.

Most of his clients were among the minor nobility, but he also created portraits of people who were more widely known, such as Tadeusz Kościuszko, Izabela Czartoryska and Hans Moritz Hauke.