In 1861 Andriolli returned to Vilnius and started making a living by giving drawing and painting lessons. He also took part in secret courses in Polish history and literature, where he taught painting and music was taught by Stanisław Moniuszko. After the outbreak of the January Uprising in 1863 he recruited 70 people and in March led them into battle. After his troop was defeated near Mitkiszki, he recruited new volunteers in restaurants and on the bank of the river. They went together to fight near Lida, where he fought under the command of Ludwik Narbutt (1832-1863). On 5 May 1863 in the battle of Dubicze Narbutt and a dozen or so companions were killed and Andriolli wounded in the left shoulder. The uprising was defeated and insurgents, including Andriolli, were punished by the forfeiture of their property.

According to some sources, Ludwik Narbutt’s mother carted the wounded Andriolli in peasant’s clothes to Vilnius. There, until he recovered, he was hiding in a walled-up chimney in his parents’ house, with food and medicines delivered to him through a vent window. Later, under various names (Malinowski, Brzozowski), he wandered around Vilnius, Kaunas, Moscow and St. Petersburg, where in October 1863 he was arrested and sent to prison in Kaunas.

Fearing the death penalty he jumped over a high prison wall during a walk, supervised by the guards and fled on 1 February 1864. He hid in Vilnius again for some time. From there, disguised as an Orthodox priest, he reached Riga and then, by sea, via Copenhagen to London.

In London he tried to earn money as a painter, but due to a lesion of his left hand he could not hold the pallet and paint with oil paints. Forced to earn a living he started to use a pencil and crayons. His drawings found recognition of illustrated magazines and became the mainstream of his work.

Because at that time no other city but Paris was the center of the artistic world, Andriolli decided to try his luck there.