Skip to main content

Primary sourcePainting1793

Portrait of Tadeusz Kościuszko by Józef Grassi, 1793

Josef Grassi · 1793

A chalk drawing of Kościuszko made from life in 1793 by Józef Grassi, showing him in military uniform.

This life drawing of Kościuszko, made in 1793, provides a rare firsthand likeness from his own time.

Ask Tadeusz Kościuszko about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Oval-framed sepia and white chalk drawing of a young man in a military uniform with epaulettes and a cross medal, looking upward to the right, with an inscription at the bottom of the sheet.
Józef Grassi, Portrait of Tadeusz Kościuszko, 1793. Chalk on paper.

About this source

What it is

This is a chalk drawing made in 1793 by Józef Grassi, using black, white and red chalk on paper. It shows a young Tadeusz Kościuszko in military uniform with epaulettes and a cross medal, looking upward.

Why it matters

Drawn directly from life during Kościuszko's lifetime, this is a rare firsthand likeness made close to the events of his military career. It shows how contemporaries like Grassi portrayed him as a dignified military figure, offering insight into his public image at the time.

Look closer

  • What does Kościuszko's upward gaze and uniform suggest about how the artist wanted him to appear?
  • Why might an artist have chosen chalk rather than oil paint for this portrait?
  • What might a drawing made from life capture that a later, imagined portrait could not?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Tadeusz Kościuszko on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Tadeusz Kościuszko sources

Meet the AI Tadeusz Kościuszko →
Printed broadside proclamation headed 'RADA NAYWYZSZA NARODOWA' with the name Tadeusz Kosciuszko in large capitals, dated Warsaw 30 Maja 1794, in Polish, printed in two columns on aged paper with a signature and seal mark at the bottom.Document

Primary source

Proclamation of Połaniec

Tadeusz Kościuszko · 7 May 1794 (this printing 30 May 1794)

Oil painting of a young man with curly brown hair in a dark coat and white cravat, reclining on a green day bed with one hand raised to his head. Red curtains frame a window showing a domed building. A desk with papers and an inkstand is at left, and a red book and letters lie on the bed.Painting

Primary source

General Thaddeus Kosciusko

Benjamin West · 1797

Oil painting of a man with dark, tousled hair in a dark coat over a blue sash, with a white collar and black cravat, looking toward the viewer against a grey-brown background.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of Tadeusz Kościuszko

Józef Grassi · c. 1792

Stone wall ruins of Fort Putnam at West Point with black cannons mounted on a stone parapet, a wooded mountain range under a hazy sky behind, and metal railings in the foreground.Artifact

Primary source

Fort Putnam

1778

Handwritten manuscript page in Polish, dark ink on aged paper, with an ornate title reading 'Ustawa Rządowa' and the opening invocation 'W Imię Boga w Trójcy Świętey Jedynego', followed by a list of royal titles and body text in cursive. A handwritten date notation appears at top right.Document

Primary source

Constitution of May 3, 1791

3 May 1791

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Tadeusz Kościuszko now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions