Delfina Potocka

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Delfina Potocka, 1830s.

Delfina Potocka, née Komar (March 1807 – April 2, 1877), a Polish countess, was a friend and muse to Polish expatriate artists Frédéric Chopin and Zygmunt Krasiński.[1] She was noted for her beauty, intellect and artistic gifts.[1] In her youth she was a piano student of Chopin's.

Life

Delfina Potocka, 1820s.

Delfina Potocka was born in Murowane Kuryłowce, Podolia (now Murovani Kurylivtsi, Murovani Kurylivtsi Raion, Vinnytsia oblast, Ukraine) in March 1807. She was the daughter of Stanisław Komar and Honorata Orłowska. In 1825 she married Count Mieczysław Potocki (thereby becoming a countess), with whom she had two daughters. Unhappy in her married life, she eventually divorced Potocki.[1]

After parting with her husband, Potocka went abroad, where she maintained close contacts with Chopin and with the Polish Romantic poet Count Zygmunt Krasiński.[1]

She met Krasiński in Naples, Italy, on 24 December 1838 and soon became his beloved confidante, to whom he revealed his innermost thoughts, and for whom he wrote "Sen Cezary" ("Cezara's Dream," published 1840) and the Messianic poem "Przedświt" ("Dawn's Approach," published 1843).[2] Potocka was the great love of Krasiński's life and fully reciprocated his feelings. Their romance lasted to 1846, after which she remained his friend and muse. (In July 1843, Krasiński had married Countess Eliza Branicka.)

Potocka's friendships with Chopin and Krasiński are immortalized in their correspondence, Listy do Delfiny Potockiej (Letters to Delfina Potocka, 3 vols., published 1930–38, since reprinted) and in numerous works that the two artists created in her honor, including poems by Krasiński and Chopin's Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64—the famous "Minute Waltz."[1]

Potocka died in Paris, France, on 2 April 1877 and is buried at Paris's Montmorency Cemetery.

See also

  • List of szlachta

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Encyklopedia Polski. Encyklopedia powszechna PWN.
  2. ↑ Encyklopedia Polski. Encyklopedia powszechna PWN.

References

  • "Potocka Delfina z Komarów," Encyklopedia Polski, p. 534.
  • "Potocka Delfina, z Komarów," Encyklopedia powszechna PWN (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, vol. 3, 1975, pp. 661-62.
Authority control
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.