Jan Kazimierz Wilczyński

Jan Kazimierz Wilczyński (Lithuanian: Jonas Kazys/Kazimieras Vilčinskas; 6 February 1806 – 2 March 1885) was a Polish-Lithuanian medical doctor, collector and publisher.

[8] He was interested in his country's history and he started collecting artworks related to Lithuania's past, such as the works of Franciszek Smuglewicz, Walenty Wańkowicz, Jan Rustem and other prominent artists, already as a student.

[5] Wilczyński transported the album sheets to the Lemercier et Cie lithographic printing house in Paris, which was a very experienced publisher.

[5] The album was released in a series of separate notebooks in which the publisher put together 353 sheets of graphics over 40 years of continuous work.

[5] While planning the second and other notebooks, Wilczyński expanded the publication's subject matter and included the events of the ancient history of Lithuania and Poland, portraits of famous historical figures, contemporaries of the publisher - artists, sponsors, subscribers.

[5] In addition, after the Imperial Russian Government closed the Catholic churches and monasteries after the uprisings of 1831 and 1863, Wilczyński sought to keep their beauty immortalized in the album.

[11] Lithuanian patriots donated personal collections to the museum and organized archeological expeditions in various areas of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania at their own expense.

[11] To promote this institution, Wilczyński released the album Musée Archéologique à Wilno in 1858–1859 for the Museum of Antiquities with graphic reproductions of archeological and historical exhibits and artworks.

The Vilnius Album consists of more than 350 lithographs, chromolithographs, copper, steel engravings created by the most famous French masters of that period based on the works of Jan Chrucki, Kanuty Rusiecki, Karol Rypiński [pl], Albert Żamett and other Polish-Lithuanian artists (including Wilczyński himself).

[1] In 1858 he started publishing Herbarz starodawnej szlachty podług heraldyków polskich z dopełnieniem do czasów obecnych ("Amorial of the ancient nobility according to Polish heraldists with an addition to the present day") and the album Muzeum Archeologiczne w Wilnie ("Vilnius Archaeological Museum", 1858–59).