The portrait of the Young Man by Raphael Santi is included in every list of the most valuable works of world heritage art lost by Poland as a result of World War II. His fate has not been known since 1945, only an empty frame remains. The Portrait of the Young Man found its way to Polish art collections thanks to Princess Izabela Czartoryska at the beginning of the 19th century. The work of Raphael together with the Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci and Landscape with the Merciful Samaritan by Rembrandt van Rijn were the pearls of the Czartoryski collection.
In 1945, Raphael's painting was lost in Lower Silesia, and the post-war search began in the same year. To this day, the work has not been found. It is not known if it was destroyed - or if it survived!
Portrait of the Young Man presented at the
Czartoryski Museum in Puławy, 2021
Conservation reconstruction of the Portrait of a Young Man by Rafael Santi was made by Dr. Łukasz Nawrocki and is the first of its kind in the world, resulting from the latest transdisciplinary research on the work of the great Urbinata. The reconstruction of the Portrait was based on the analysis of physicochemical studies of the Master's original works, all elements of painting technique and technology, as well as with the use of materials used at the beginning of the 20th century. XVI century by Raphael Santi.
Portrait of the Young Man presented at the Czartoryski
Museum in Puławy, Dom Gotycki 2021
Dr. Łukasz Nawrocki is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts Eugeniusz Geppert in Wrocław. For over 20 years, the artist has been conducting independent theoretical and practical studies in the field of painting techniques and technologies of former masters, supplemented by foreign study trips to museums and art galleries in Western Europe, which he continues to this day. The artist's education and creative output are of an interdisciplinary and expert nature. Artistic creativity and scientific-research activities include activities in the field of painting, drawing, sculpture, physicochemical research of works of art and research on the technique and technology of painting of the Old Masters. The artist defended his doctoral thesis with honors at the Institute of Historic Studies and Conservation of the University of M. Kopernika in Toruń (2018), which concerned the reconstruction of Rafael Santi's painting workshop. The dissertation was nominated by the University Senate for the Prime Minister's Award. The artist is a laureate of the Rector's Prize of the Academy of Fine Arts and a scholarship holder of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in the field of monuments and visual arts protection. He was also a laureate of the Lower Silesian Marshal's Scholarship in the field of artistic creativity, care for monuments and popularization of culture.
In 2020, Dr. Nawrocki also reconstructed the stolen (1945) painting of Madonna of Głogów by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) in the painting technique and technology of the 16th-century Master. From April 2021, the painting is on display at the Głogów Collegiate Church, in the place where Cranach's work was located from the middle of the 20th century XVI century.
Dr. Łukasz Nawrocki belongs to to the Association of Monument Conservators and to the Association of Polish Artists and Designers.
In 2020, Dr. Nawrocki also reconstructed the stolen (1945) painting of Madonna of Głogów by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) in the painting technique and technology of the 16th-century Master. From April 2021, the painting is on display at the Głogów Collegiate Church, in the place where Cranach's work was located from the middle of the 20th century XVI century.
Dr. Łukasz Nawrocki belongs to to the Association of Monument Conservators and to the Association of Polish Artists and Designers.
