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ofonepoliticalentityintoanotherwasrelativelysmooth.Tisisbestat-
testedtobythefactthatCountStanisławKostkaPotocki(1755–1821)
wasacentralfigureinboth,asisdepictedinbothpaintings.Potockihad
beeneducatedinItalyandwastheauthorofseveralworks,including
thepaperreconstructionofPlinytheYounger’sfamousVillaLaurentina.
Hepromotedthepublicationofbookssuchasthealbumofprintsmade
afterSalvatoreRosa’spaintings,andhewashimselfportrayedbypaint-
ersofsuchstatureasJacques-LouisDavid.Towardstheendofhislife,
Potockipassionatelydevotedhistimetotheissuesofscienceandeduca-
tion(seeFig.11).8IntheDuchyofWarsaw,hewasanactivememberof
theGoverningCommission,theEducationalDirectorate,theCouncil
ofStateandtheCouncilofMinisters;intheCongressKingdomhe
wasappointedMinisterofReligiousDenominationsandPublicEn-
lightenment.HeservedasMinisteralreadyin1815,althoughofcially
theGovernmentCommissionforReligiousDenominationsandPublic
Enlightenmentwasnotestablisheduntil7January1817.9Bythenhis
fortuneshadgreatlyimproved,whereasin1813hissituationwasrather
dramatic.HewasarrestedaftertheBattleofLeipzig,inwhichPrince
JózefPoniatowskiwaskilled,andspentsometimeinprison.10InJuly
1814hereturnedtoWilanów,andinMayofthefollowingyearwasdes-
ignatedheadoftheDepartmentoftheEnlightenment.Togetherwith
manyotherdignitariesoftheformerPolish-LithuanianCommonwealth
andtheDuchyofWarsaw,PotockihadbeenconvincedofTsarAlexan-
der’sgoodintentions.In1816,evenTadeuszKościuszko,whodidnot
returntoWarsawalthoughtheturmoilhaddieddown,gaveonethou-
sandfrancswhichatthattimewasasubstantialsumofmoneyfor
atriumphalarchtobeerectedinhonourofthetsar.11Tearchwasto
standintheTreeCrossesSquare[PlacTrzechKrzyży]inWarsaw,in
theplaceoftheephemeralwoodenarchwhichhadstoodthereduring
thecelebrationsmarkingAlexander’sceremonialentryintoWarsawon
12November1815.Ultimately,inaccordancewiththetsar’sownwish
thechurchofSt.Alexander,modelledonthePantheoninRome,was
erectedinsteadofanarch.In1814Kościuszkocorrespondedwiththe
tsaranddiscussedtheissueofPolishprisonersofwar;heevenmetwith
himduringtheCongressofVienna,on25May1815inBraunau.
Oneofthegreatesttokensofappreciationforthenewmonarch
wasthehymnBoże,cośPolskę[God,youhavePolandforsolongpro-
tected]byAlojzyFeliński,subtitledHymnfortheAnniversaryoftheProc-
lamationoftheKingdomofPoland,byorderoftheCommanderinChief
giventothePolishArmytobesung.12Tishymn,althoughsubstantially
modified,isstillsungonofcialoccasions:
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