Background
He was born to the owner of a textile factory, but was orphaned at an early age and raised by the local postmaster.
He was born to the owner of a textile factory, but was orphaned at an early age and raised by the local postmaster.
At the age of fifteen, he was apprenticed to Józef Kosiński, who had been a court painter for King Stanisław II August.
He often signed his paintings as January Antoni Blank-Białecki
He remained in Warsaw until 1809, when he moved to Dresden, where he studied with the Austrian painter, Josef Grassi. Upon returning to Warsaw in 1815, he became curator of the plaster casts and drawing teacher of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Warsaw. In 1819, he was appointed a Professor.
After the University was closed in 1831, he gave private lessons and did restorative work.
In addition to his portraits, he created works on religious and mythological subjects and did ceiling frescoes. He also organized exhibitions in the Palaces of Nieborów and Królikarnia.
His most notable portraits are those of Abraham Stern, Stanisław Kostka Potocki and General January Teodor Kobylański (1777-1851). Among his best known students were Rafał Hadziewicz, January Feliks Piwarski, Antoni Brodowski and January Suchodolski.