Helena Skirmunt

Self-portrait, n.d., in the collection of the Vilnius Picture Gallery

Helena Skirmunt (sometimes Skirmuntt or Skirmuntowa; Belarusian: Гелена Скірмунт) (November 5, 1827 – February 1, 1874) was a Belarusian painter and sculptor.

Born into the family of Pinsk district marshal Alexander Tomasevic-Skirmunt Adamovich and his wife, Hortense Mihalavny Orda, she was a niece of Napoleon Orda. Her birthplace is today in the Stolin District. She studied in Vilnius, and traveled in Europe in 1844 and 1845, visiting Berlin and Paris. As a painter she was known for portraits, landscapes, and religious icons; as a sculptor she completed numerous portrait medallions and religious works. In 1863 she was arrested for attempting to deliver a dispatch from Romuald Traugutt, and exiled to Tambov. In her later years she turned to historical sculpture. Her diary was published, along with a collection of letters, in 1876.

Her daughter Konstancija Skirmuntt was a well-known historian.

References

• This article is a translation of the corresponding article on the Belarusian Wikipedia.