ISABELLA - AMBITIOUS, INSIGHTFUL AND SMART
" no one else can give a better idea of the Polish way of life, bordering almost on a fairy tale, of the times of the greatest splendor and elegance of the Republic," Prince Klemens Lothar von Metternich wrote about Izabella Lubomirska (1736-1816).
She was counted among the first ladies of her era, aware of her social position, but also of the responsibility it entailed. Intelligent and comprehensively educated, she made sure that her four daughters Isabella, Alexandra, Constance and Julia spoke the native language fluently. She believed in the power of education by maintaining numerous schools for her subjects.
The duchess grew up in the atmosphere of a progressive milieu, she often had long disputes with her father August Czartoryski, she was extremely devoted to him, when she was presented with a candidate for her husband, for whom she felt revulsion she approved of her parents' choice. Izabella's spouse was Stanislaw Lubomirski, Grand Crown Warden and from 1766 Grand Crown Marshal. She had a great fondness for her handsome cousin Stanislaw August Poniatowski; her youthful love for him influenced her entire life. They both had similar tastes, preferences and views.
After the wedding, the Lubomirskis spend their first years in Warsaw, the young ambitious princess had her own opinion about everything and expressed her own opinion on every subject.
The end of the 1850s marks the end of a trip to Europe, with the couple visiting Austria, Germany, Holland, Brussels and France in turn. Especially this last trip will play a huge role in shaping Isabella's taste and interests, she constantly had the need for new sensations and impressions, she was burning with the desire to meet new people, she kept in touch with intellectuals and numerous artists who admired her, she was friends with the ruling class, she belonged to the international elite.
Izabella was not a beauty, but she was ambitious, insightful and clever. She had a huge estate, which enabled her to constantly invest and change the residences that belonged to her and allowed her to create new ones. She was able to invest brilliantly, acquired mines, established a glassworks, a paper mill, a carriage factory, expanded a private spa, introduced social benefits and organized medical treatment.
Extremely musical, combining French elegance with English comfort, she significantly influenced the shape of the Łańcut residence. It was for her that the most beautiful interiors of the Ladies' Suite, the Ballroom, the Castle Theater, the Grand Dining Room, the Sculpture Gallery, the Column Salon, the Chinese Suite or the Turkish Suite were created in Łańcut, preserved unchanged to this day.
Until the end of her life, Princess Isabella retained her unusual humor and verve, her wit and vivacity shining through from her face bearing large black eyes. She usually used binoculars and arranged her hand supporting her side in a characteristic way.
She died at the age of eighty and a half in Vienna in 1816.
Drawn from The Artistic Patronage of Izabella née Czartoryska Lubomirska 1736-1816. by Bożena Majewska Maszkowska, Publishing House of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 1976
BL
all rights reserved