The Year 1862 in the Pages of Tygodnik Ilustrowany, the Magazine of the Polish Intelligentsia in the Second Half of the 19th Century

Abstract

Tygodnik Ilustrowany, published in the years 1859–1939, was one of the leading Polish magazines of the second half of the 19^th century and reached readers of nearly every social class.  Published in Warsaw, it was read not only in Congress Poland and the Russian Partition but also throughout all historically Polish lands. The magazine’s mission was to promote national matters connected with history, ethnography and geography by way of the written word as well as through illustrations. Many of Poland’s finest writers of the era published columns or serialised novels in Tygodnik, with renowned painters and illustrators supplying drawings from life or reproductions of paintings. Despite the magazine’s focus on Polish affairs, it was not indifferent to world events, which it covered in its pages in forms ranging from lengthy articles to short bulletins. The article examines the publication year 1862 – the year of the founding of the Museum of Fine Arts in Warsaw – taking note of the magazine’s coverage of current events and social matters, including the American Civil War, the unifications of Germany and Italy, women’s suffrage and the plight of the peasants.