At the origin of the Dulwich Picture Gallery’s collection lies a story of a king who first lost his crown, then his country, and then his freedom. The king in question was Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of Poland who, like England’s King Charles I, was better at art-collecting than keeping the crown, albeit, unlike Charles I, it was really, really not his fault that he was deposed. At the end of the 18th century, Poland was a vast territory of fertile farmland, abundant rivers, and rich forests full of game—a kingdom coveted by the country’s three greedy neighbors: Russia, Austria, and Prussia. In successive military onslaughts, these three empires managed to wipe Poland off the map for well over 100 years. Poniatowski—a gentle, cultivated aristocrat ruling a divided, indefensible kingdom—did not stand a chance against the Russian empress Catherine the Great and her descendants.

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