Jakub Tatarkiewicz

He received his primary education in Piarist schools; showing an early talent for music and drawing.

From 1817 to 1822, he studied in the Fine Arts Department at the University of Warsaw, where his instructors included Paweł Maliński and Antoni Brodowski.

From 1823 to 1828, he studied sculpture with Bertel Thorvaldsen in Rome; returning to Warsaw through Switzerland, France and Germany.

His first orders for sculptures came from the Grand Theatre and the poet/statesman, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, who was an acquaintance of Thorvaldsen.

He won the competition, but never assumed his post, due to cutbacks related to the recent November Uprising, which nearly resulted in the university's closure.