Maria Wodzińska, Primo Voto Skarbkowa, Secundo Voto Orpiszewska

Place: Dresden

Born: 1819

Death: 1896

Biography:

Maria Wodzińska was a Polish artist who was born in Dresden, Germany in 1819 and died in 1896. She was once engaged to composer Frédéric Chopin. Maria Wodzińska was a daughter of Count Wincenty Wodziński and Countess Teresa Wodzińska, of the Jastrzębiec coat of arms. She had three brothers, Antoni, Feliks, and Kazimierz, and a sister, Józefa. She studied piano with composer John Field and art at the Geneva Academy. Prince Louis-Napoleon (later Napoleon III) was reportedly among those in love with her, as was poet Juliusz Słowacki, who wrote a poem about her. She was described as having 'a touch of the Mediterranean about her': olive-toned skin and dark hair and eyes. She was one of the recipients of Chopin's so-called Farewell Waltz in 1835. She also painted the composer, creating what Tad Szulc called 'one of the best portraits of Chopin extant—after that by Delacroix —with the composer looking relaxed, pensive, and at peace'.