Franciszek Smuglewicz was a Polish artist, coming from a family of painters (son of Lukasz and brother of Antoni). He studied his craft under Szymon Czechowicz, and after receiving a scholarship from King Stanislaw August Poniatowski, he studied at Rome's Academy of Saint Luke. Later, he headed the Department of Drawing and Painting at Vilnius University. Smuglewicz's career included the documentation of ancient art. In Warsaw, he carried out numerous painting commissions mainly on religious and historical themes.