Jakub Kubicki was a renowned Polish classicist architect and designer.
Biography
Born in Warsaw in 1758, into a bourgeois family, Jakub Kubicki graduated from the Jesuit College, at the same time that he was taking lessons from Domenico Merlini. In 1777, he was hired by architect Szymon Bogumił Zug to help in the construction of the Holy Trinity Church in Warsaw. In 1783, he went to study in Italy as a fellow of King Stanisław August Poniatowski, from where he returned in 1786. On his return he worked as an architect and he was the personal architect to the king. Around 1783, he got married and had three children: Helenę, Józefę, and Izabelę. In 1791, in recognition of his services, he was knighted and received the Winged Column. Since the possession of an estate was a symbol of belonging to the nobility, for many years he had an estate in Wilków. At the time of the Kościuszko Uprising, he was a judge in the Criminal Court of the Duchy of Mazovia. After the collapse of the Polish Kingdom, he was an official with the position of the Crown Chief at the Intendant Building. Jakub Kubicki also belonged to the Temple of Isismasonic lodge, of which he was an honorary member from 1811 to 1812. He was a member of the Dawn Rising masonic lodge in 1818. He died on 13 June, 1833, in Wilków. He was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus2nd class, with a grant from Emperor Alexander I of Russia.
Architectural work
He was the designer of numerous palaces. As an architect in Warsaw after 1807, he became a mediator between the pure classicism of the 18th century and the Empire style. Kubicki's works are characterized by use of typical design elements such as portico columns. He represented the mature phase of neo-classicism with Palladian influences and he was the designer of the typical Polish manor-palace. In addition to projects such as palaces in Bejsce, Białaczów, Młochów, Nadzów, Pławowice, Radziejowice, Ropczyce, Sowiniec, Sterdyń he was the designer of many buildings inside and outside Warsaw. He designed churches in Mokobody and Radziejowice, as well as the town hall in Łęczyca and Weapons Factory in Kozienice.
