The Kharkiv Museum of Fine Arts houses a painting by Henryk Siemiradzki (1843-1902), 'The Coffin Maker's Shop'. A gallery named after the Polish artist has also been established in the city. This is a tribute to Siemiradzki, who was born and raised in Kharkov, graduated from ta, high school and university, and formed his artistic personality.

Henry was born on 24 (12) October 1843 in Novoblygorod, a suburb of Kharkov ( now a suburb of Pechenyga). In 1850 the family moved to the city itself. There Henryk's father - Hippolyte - was a general of a dragoon regiment. For a Polish officer, service in the Tsar's army was the only way to continue his military career after the liquidation of the Polish army, which was a punishment for having instigated the November Uprising.

Polish diaspora in Kharkov
During the Siemiradzki family's years in the city, there was a fairly significant Polish community, although its role was due to its elitism rather than its large numbers. Besides, it was a Pole - Count Seweryn Potocki - who was one of the founders of Kharkiv University inaugurated in 1805. Many prominent scientists worked at the university. One of them was Ignacy Danilovich, who was forced to leave Vilnius University after the trial of the Philomaths. The Pole headed the department of Russian and provincial law. Contemporary Ukrainian scholar Lyubov Zhvanko described Danilovich as 'perhaps the most outstanding scientific force among the University's humanist professors'. Professor Jan Krynicki ( 1797-1838) is a mineralogist and traveller who, at Kharkiv University, among other things, organised the collections of the mineralogical cabinet. The Pole made his mark in Russian science with his publications on the fauna of Ukraine, especially beetles, arachnids and molluscs. He published in French and Russian. He enjoyed great authority in Germany. Aleksander Mickiewicz, Adam's brother, was a law lecturer. He worked in the department of Roman law from 1839 to 1858. He possessed a great deal of knowledge, which aroused the envy of his colleagues. Many of our compatriots studied at the University. In the 1840s, for example, there were 150 to 200 of them out of a total of 450-500 students.

Various units of the Russian Imperial Army were stationed in Kharkov, with Polish officers serving in them. It is worth noting that one of them was Romuald Traugutt One of his daughters was born in the city. Our compatriots held key positions in the local administration and education.

Many representatives of the Polish community gathered at the home of Hipolit Siemiradzki and his wife Michalina. The painter and sculptor Maria Gerson- Dąbrowska recalled: "Here is Christmas or Easter; the house of Mr and Mrs Siemiradzki, a comfortable villa near the city, full of Polish guests, and every now and then someone else arrives. Here are Polish officers, here in the distant borderlands, forced to serve in the Russian army, sitting at their general's table on Christmas Eve. Here is the great novelist Józef Korzeniowski, here is the bard Adam's brother, Aleksander Mickiewicz. Every Pole who was thrust into these distant lands found their doors and hearts open at the Siemiradzki home. People talked quietly about Poland, loudly about art and literature, memories were revived and family traditions were revived'.

Love of art
As can be seen from the facts quoted above, Henryk grew up in an atmosphere of Polishness and love for his lost homeland (it is interesting to note that Siemiradzki first came to the Kingdom of Poland, including Warsaw, at the age of around 25, during his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg). Together with his parents, the boy attended the Church of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Together with his parents, the boy attended the Church of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, consecrated on 1 October 1832.

In 1852 Henry enrolled at the Men's Gymnasium No. 2 ( this was an 8-year secondary school, after which the baccalaureate was taken). It was then that his family noticed that the boy could draw still life, animals and insects with great precision. The future artist was particularly fond of butterflies and could observe them for hours. At grammar school, fate placed drawing teacher Dmitri Bezperczy, a graduate of St Petersburg's Academy of Fine Arts and a pupil of the great Charles Briulov, on his path. Bezperczy possessed artistic artistry and pedagogical skills. He was able not only to impart knowledge, but also to encourage his students to work and think independently. Years later, Siemiradzki, already a student at the St Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, gratefully recalled his teacher in a letter to his parents: " I really don't know how and express the gratitude I feel for Bezperczy, because under his guidance I have developed drawing quite confidently, so that I can confidently say that in our class now I am one of the first ."

In turn, in 1896, when the pedagogue was celebrating his 50th anniversary, Henry, who was in Rome at the time, thanked - as he expressed it - "his friend and manager" for his good advice and support.

However, before Siemiradzki could study in St Petersburg, he had to overcome the resistance of his father, who wished his son to acquire a 'concrete' profession. Therefore, the young man graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Kharkiv University. But a few days after receiving his diploma, he set off for St Petersburg.

Coffin maker's shop
In modern Kharkiv, the memory of the great Polish artist is cherished. The local Museum of Fine Arts houses three paintings by Siemiradzki. One of them is "The Coffin Maker's Shop" on canvas measuring 80x107 cm. The work was created in 1860, when the future artist was a first-year student at Kharkiv University. This is probably why its style differs from works created later. Anna Jarzyńska of the Museum of Art in Łódź noted that in this case, the artist focused on difficult themes of everyday life: death, preparation for a funeral rite, although mundane matters were not close to his heart. This painting, according to Jarzyńska, is 'less decorative and the people depicted there less idealised'.

"The Coffin Maker's Shop" came to Kharkov in 1870. At the time, it was acquired for the price of 100 roubles by a lady named Rajeevskaya - Ivanova, founder of the painting school in the city.

Besides, in 2015, the H. Siemiradzki Gallery was established at Kharkiv University. In 2021, the city authorities decided to build a monument to the artist. Work on it will probably begin after the end of the war.