He was born in
Dziembrów, Vilna Governorate, and was raised and educated in
Vilnius. He originally worked as an estate manager near
Kyiv and was banished to
Siberia for six years of hard labor for his participation in the
January Uprising (1863) in Lithuania. He was sent beyond the
Urals to
Verkhoturye, where he began drawing to relieve the monotony and later sold drawings with nature motifs and religious themes to support himself. After his return (1869), he enrolled in a drawing class in
Warsaw, taught by
Wojciech Gerson and sponsored by the
Imperial Academy of Arts. During this time, he was awarded two silver medals by the Academy. From 1873 to 1875 he studied art in
Munich at the
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, in the studio of
Alexander von Wagner. From 1876 to 1878, he lived in Paris and exhibited at the
Salon (and in
Ghent). For a time, he worked as the head of a studio in
Fontainebleau, where he painted
porcelain and
faience, but he soon resigned and returned to Warsaw, where he established his own studio in 1880. After 1890, he taught drawing at a private school operated by the art pedagogue Bronisława Poświkowa (1855–1902). His artistic inspiration came mainly from peasant life and history; he was influenced by Gerson and
Aleksander Lesser. He painted late-Romantic landscapes of the
Vilnius Region, the
Tatra Mountains, and France, as well as historical and legendary scenes connected with Lithuania. He also produced portraits, religious paintings and
polychrome murals, and worked in clay and wood sculpture,
porcelain and
faience painting, and
mural decoration. He exhibited in
Kraków (1873–1902), Warsaw (1874–1912), Paris (1881–1900),
Vienna (1882 International Art Exhibition), Vilnius (1888–1915),
Odessa, and Munich. His painting
Funeral of Grand Duke of Lithuania Gedyminas (1888) won awards twice. Among his most noted works is a tableau of scenes entitled
Goplana, inspired by the play
Balladyna by
Juliusz Słowacki (exhibited in Kraków in 1894 to enthusiastic critical reception). He also created a tableau of twelve drawings and later a series of twelve paintings (1898) and graphics (1903) based on the Polish historical poem
Pan Tadeusz, by
Adam Mickiewicz. In addition to his painting, he created religious murals—including the polychromy (1908–1910) in the
Stara Błotnica sanctuary of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and works such as
Najświętsza Maria Panna for a church in
Zakopane and
Święta Trójca for
Lublin Cathedral—and tried his hand at wood carving (e.g. a crucifix for the church in
Brzeziny). His works were highly popular at home and abroad; a large collection of his work is held by the
National Museum in Warsaw. His younger brother,
Hiacynt (1841–1897), who lived in France, was also a painter. Alchimowicz died on December 31, 1916, in the
Hospital of the Infant Jesus, Warsaw, and is buried at
Powązki Cemetery (quarter 172, row 3, grave 24). A street in
Grodno is named after him. ==Gallery==