Eugene Kazimierowski

Who was Eugene Kazimierowski?

Eugeniusz Marcin Kazimirowski was a Polish Realistic painter, best known for painting the first Divine Mercy painting in 1934 based on the request of Saint Faustyna Kowalska and her confessor Michael Sopocko.

Kazimierowski studied at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts 1892–1897. He continued his studies in Munich, Paris, Rome. After World War I, he moved from Kraków to Wilno. He taught at the Wilno Teacher Seminary and decorated theaters in Wilno. He painted mostly landscapes and portraits.

Kazimierowski's painting of Divine Mercy was first shown to the public in the Easter ceremonies on April 25–28, 1934, and the first Mass with a Divine Mercy image was celebrated by Michael Sopocko at the Gate of Dawn church in Wilno, on April 28, 1935 before the Vatican approved the term Divine Mercy Sunday in 2000.

In 1936, Kazimierowski moved to Białystok, where he encouraged tourism. He died in 1939; most of his works were lost in World War II.