#mniszech

Wiśniowiecki and Mniszech Palace

“Portrait of Leon - Artist's Son” (1857) by Andrzej Jerzy Mniszech (Polish;1823 - 1905),oil on canvas.

"I had another aunt in Paris, Countess Mniszech, cousingerman to my mother, and a niece of our last king. She took up a great deal of my time. A good soul, but rather stupid and absurdly vain, she believed herself entitled to the prerogatives of princesses of the blood, and in this connection she had many unpleasant experiences. Neither the sad end of the last Polish king nor the dismemberment of our unhappy country had been able to cure her pretentiousness. The Empress of Russia, at the period when she lavished honours upon the Poles, had sent her the order of Saint Catherine. My aunt exhibited the medal on all great occasions, to such good effect that in Vienna she had been nicknamed Countess Medal. She was not in the least aware of how ridiculous she made herself. All she thought of was to uphold the dignity of her name by display. In Paris she had in her service the house steward of the unfortunate".

Wiśniowiecki and Mniszech Palace