He received his education in Krakow and Warsaw. In 1817−1822, Zaleski worked as a decorator in a Warsaw theatre while producing copies of paintings. In 1828 the artist exhibited his own work for the first time and received a scholarship to continue his education as a painter: he then continued to study painting in Germany, France and Italy.
In 1846 the artist became a professor of perspective at the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw.
Zaleski died in Warsaw in 1877.