Jan Matejko played an important role as a great artist in the life of his country and the history of Polish art. The founder of the state school of historical painting, Matejko stands on the same level with the famous great foreign artists of the nineteenth century.
Childhood
Little Jan Alois Matejko was born on June 24 in the city of Krakow in 1838. Yang was the ninth child in the family. His father is a Czech emigrant Francis Xavier Matejko, who settled in Poland in 1807. He arrived in Galicia as a music teacher and earned money mainly by private lessons. Later he left for the city of Krakow, where he met a wonderful woman who later became his wife, Jan's mother, Joanna Caroline Rossberg, who was born into a German-Polish family engaged in crafts. Eleven children were born in the family of Xavier and Joanna. At the age of seven, Jan experiences a terrible loss of his beloved mother - she dies. After her death, Joanna's sister takes care of the upbringing of the children. Little Yang suffers greatly from a lack of attention, this greatly affects the formation of his personality. The boy's ability to draw began to appear from a young age, despite the fact that his father did not share his passion for drawing.
Youth
At the age of thirteen, Jan Alois Matejko entered the school of fine arts in the city of Krakow for further education. He studies the history of everyday life, makes sketches of architectural structures, sculptures, historical monuments, sketches Polish princes and kings, and is interested in the Polish history of costume. In 1858, Jan Matejko received a scholarship to study in Munich at the Art Academy. There he begins to study the paintings of famous artists, he admires the paintings of Paul Delaroche, Carl Theodor von Piloty (his student), who painted famous historical canvases. It is this acquaintance that determines the direction of the future works of Jan Matejko.
In 1859, the young Jan Alois Matejko painted the painting "Poisoning of Queen Bona" and published the work "Polish Costume". The published work depicts people dressed in historical costumes, in future works he will apply the experience he has gained more than once. Due to conflicts with teachers, he has to complete his short studies at the art academy. After returning in 1860, Jan Matejko began work in his hometown of Krakow.
Shortly after returning at the age of twenty-four, Matejko creates one of his famous works called "Stanchik" (1862). The painting depicts a pensive, grieving court jester, against the backdrop of a feasting ball. Since 1873, the artist Jan Matejko has headed an art school in Krakow, where he works until the end of his life.
Family
Jan had known his future wife Theodora Gebultovskaya since early childhood, it was her family that became his support and support at a time when he was going through the loss of his mother. To Polina Gebultovskaya, the mother of Theodora, Yan treated him like his own mother. He liked Theodora from childhood, but she did not feel warm feelings for him. But in 1863, nevertheless, young people get closer, and in the fall of the following year, preparations for their wedding begin.
In 1864, on the twenty-first of November, the wedding of Jan Matejko and Theodora Gebultowska will take place. After the wedding, the young people will leave for Paris, after the trip he will draw a portrait of his beloved "Portrait of his wife in a wedding dress." Their family will have two sons - Jerzy and Tadeusz, two daughters - Helena and Beata. The fifth child will be a daughter, Regina, who will die in infancy. Helena will become interested in art and continue the path of her father: she will become an artist.
Muse. Theodora Gebultowska
Theodora was an extremely selfish and jealous person, she came up with various tricks and adventures in order to strengthen her position as the artist's muse. Almost all the outlines of women in Matejko's works are reminiscent of Theodora. In 1876, when Theodora is on a journey, the master secretly begins work on the painting "The Castellan". For the picture, Stanislava, who is Theodora's niece, poses for him. Upon her return, Theodora was beside herself with anger, after a strong quarrel, she leaves him and leaves for some time to her mother Polina Gebultovskaya. Later, she will nevertheless return to her husband, but secretly from him she will destroy her own portrait in a wedding dress, later Jan will restore this picture. From now on, cold and strained relations will reign in the family.
The disease of the wife and the death of the creator
At the end of the winter of 1882, Theodora's mental state deteriorated greatly, and she had to go to bed. psychiatric clinic for treatment. After a year and a half spent in the hospital, Theodora returns home, but is still under the vigilant supervision of doctors. On November 1, 1893, after severe internal bleeding, Jan Matejko died. His wife Theodora is at the bedside of her dying husband. She can not recover for a long time after the death of her husband. Theodora dies in 1896, in April. She was buried with her husband.
Path of the creator
At about thirty years of age, Jan Alois Matejko receives international fame and universal recognition. In 1865 his painting "Skarga's Sermon" receives a gold award at the Paris Exhibition, held annually, later the work will be sold to Count Maurycy Potocki. A year has passed, and at a show in Paris, Jan Matejko again receives a gold award of the first category for his work "Reitan at the Diet of 1773". Later, the sovereign of Austria, Franz Joseph, acquires it. His next major work is the Union of Lublin, written in 1867-1869.
The painter Matejko constantly experiences financial stress, this is due to the fact that he often gives away his works to rich friends or sells them for next to nothing. Yang was very generous and constantly supported the poor. The year 1863 is marked by the artist's gifts: the canvas "Jan Sobieski near Vienna" was given to the Pope, many of the famous works were donated to Poland, "Joan of Arc" was presented to France.
In 1873, the great artist was offered to head the Academy of Arts in Prague, followed by an offer from the hometown of Jan Alois Matejk, Krakow, and he became the head of the school of fine arts. It was there that he began his art studies. Jan does not hesitate to become the head of the art school in his hometown. He will work there for the rest of his life. Despite the leadership position, Matejko continues to paint great pictures. The year 1878 was marked by the well-known large-scale work of the creator of the Battle of Grunwald.
Great works of the artist
He was constantly working, and every few years new paintings were born. Main paintings by Jan Matejko:
- From 1862 to 1869 - "Stanchik", "Sermon of Skarga", "Reytan. The Decline of Poland”, “Union of Lublin”.
- From 1870 to 1878 “The Death of King Sigismund II in Knyshin”, “Stefan Batory near Pskov”, “Copernicus. Conversation with God”, “Death of King Przemysl II”, “Battle of Grunwald”.
- From 1882 to 1891 Prussian Tribute, Joan of Arc, Kosciuszko near Racławice, The May 3rd Constitution.
The painter Jan Alois Matejko not only painted great significant canvases, but also worked on a huge number of portraits of his family, friends, rectors and many others. He painted about 320 paintings and thousands of sketches and drawings. His work is exhibited in many museums.
Jan Matejko, Stanchik (1862)
In 1862, Matejko finished the canvas that brought him fame - "Stanchik". This beautiful creation tells the story of a Polish jester who served at the court of the monarchs Alexander Jagiellon, Sigismund I the Old. This work shows the deepest feelings of a jester sitting alone against the backdrop of a feasting ball, sadness against the backdrop of celebration. The thoughtful expression on Stanchik's face speaks of his bitter feelings about the loss of the border fortress by Poland in 1514 in Smolensk. Not much information has been established about the jester himself. He was born in the village of Proshovitsy, near Krakow. He achieved a special status at court with his eloquence and wit. Stanchik skillfully used his special status at court and mercilessly criticized the policies of the rulers. This painting is in the National Museum in Warsaw.
Painting "Battle of Grunwald", year 1878
After the defeat of the uprising in January 1864, the excitement that gripped Polish society allowed the creator to change the mood of his artistic reasoning. The master begins to create grandiose large-scale canvases showing the historical political and military conquests of Poland. The canvas was painted in 1872-1878. Jan Matejko's painting "Battle of Grunwald" shows the fateful conquest of the Kingdom of Poland and the Principality of Lithuania in 1410 over the Teutonic Order. Playing battle scenes, the artist shows an entire era focused on that important moment. This work is also kept in the National Museum in Warsaw.
Jan Matejko, Death of King Przemysl II, 1875
This painting, painted in 1875, depicts the tragic story of the death. The tragedy happened a year after the coronation ceremony of Przemysl II, on February 8, 1296. In memory of this tragic event, Jan Matejko creates a picture in which he recreates a piece of the historical drama that took place in his native Poland. Przemysl II was killed immediately after the carnival celebration. Assassins sent by the Margraves of Brandenburg and the great Polish nobility kidnapped the wounded king, but when they escaped, they decided that he had become a burden for them and left him to die on the road.
Many historians up to our time are at a loss from such a mysterious death of the king. Many consider his death a punishment for the strange death of his first wife. The canvas "The Death of King Przemysl II" is in the gallery of modern art in Zagreb.
We examined the main works of the great artist Jan Alois Matejk. His work has occupied a significant niche in art. The name of the artist is forever inscribed in the pages of the history of Poland, and not only. This is exactly the creator whose works inspire many contemporary artists to create new masterpieces.
- (Matejko) (1838-1893), Polish painter. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow (1852-58), at the Academy of Arts in Munich (1859) and Vienna (1860). He taught at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow (director since 1873). In 1865 88 visited Austria, France and ... ... Art Encyclopedia
Matejko, Jan Jan Matejko Jan Matejko. Self-portrait Birth name: Jan Aloysius Matejko Date of birth ... Wikipedia
Matejko Jan (June 24, 1838, Krakow, ‒ 11/1/1893, ibid.), Polish painter. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow (1852‒58), at the AX in Munich (1859) and Vienna (1860). From 1860 he worked in Krakow, where from 1873 he was director of the School of Fine Arts ... ...
- (Jan Aloysius Matejko, 1838 1893) the most significant of the Polish painters of modern times. Having been educated at the Krakow Art School and in Viennese. accd. thin., from the very beginning of his independent activity, he devoted himself to ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
Matejko, Jan- Jan Matejko. Self-portrait. Matejko Jan (1838-1893), Polish painter. Multi-figured canvases on the themes of national history (“The Battle of Grunwald”, 1878) are marked by dramatic pathos and sonorous coloring. Jan Matejko. View of Babek under ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
Matejko- Jan (Matejko, Jan) 1838, Krakow 1893, Krakow. Polish painter. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow (1852-1858) with V. K. Statler and V. Lushkevich, at the Academies of Arts in Munich (1859) and Vienna (1860). He worked mainly in Krakow. Repeatedly... European Art: Painting. Sculpture. Graphics: Encyclopedia
Jan Matejko Jan Matejko. Self-portrait Birth name: Jan Aloysius Matejko Date of birth: June 24, 1838 (18380624) ... Wikipedia
- (Matejko) Jan (24.6.1838, Krakow, 1.11.1893, ibid.), Polish painter. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow (1852-58), at the AX in Munich (1859) and Vienna (1860). From 1860 he worked in Krakow, where from 1873 he was director of the School of Fine Arts ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- (Matejko) (1838-1893), Polish painter. In multi-figure canvases, marked by patriotic pathos, dramatic expressiveness of images and sonorous coloring, he gave the themes of national history an actual sound, ("Skarga's Sermon", ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Books
- Jan Matejko. Album, Jan Matejko, There is a painter among Polish artists who lived permanently in his homeland, Krakow, and was busy all his life with plots only specially Polish - this is Jan Matejko. He was one of… Category: Foreign artists Publisher: Arcade,
- Matejko, K. V. Mytareva, Your attention is presented to a book about the life and work of the Polish artist Jan Matejko… Category: Russian museums, collections, collections Publisher:
Master of outstanding paintings on historical and patriotic subjects.
1. Biography
1.1. Beginning of life
Jan Matejko was born and raised in the "free city" of Krakow, a part of Poland that was annexed by Austria. His father, Franciszek Ksawery, a Czech by birth from the village of Rudnice, worked as a private tutor and music teacher. He married Joanna Karolina Rossberg, who by origin was half Polish, half German. Jan's father never mastered the local language and spoke Polish with many mistakes. It is interesting that the parents got married twice: first in the Church of the Holy Cross (for the groom was a Catholic), and on the second day at the evangelists, to whose parish the bride belonged. The family lived on the top floor of a house on Florianskaya Street.
Jan was the ninth child in the family (out of eleven). His mother died early (1846) and he grew up with his aunt, Anna Zamojska. Young Jan's upbringing was also greatly influenced by his older brother Frantisek. The father insisted on a musical career * the interior of his son, especially since you have to pay for it. The silent guy decided to resist, and his father sent him to the Academy of Arts. Jan showed extraordinary artistic abilities early on.
1.2. Education
In 1852, when Jan was 14 years old, he began to study painting at the Krakow Academy of Arts. Among his teachers were Wojciech Korneli Sattler and Władysław Łuszczkiewicz.
But much more influence on the young man should be Krakow itself, its St. Mary's Church, carvings by Vit Stvosh (circa 1447-1533), books, paintings, if you are lucky to see it somewhere. The study of antiquities and cultural monuments became a matter of his life and profession. He painted tirelessly. When several thousand of these drawings accumulated, he called them "my karbchik" (karbchik - premises in the estate where the gentry kept jewelry and pearls).
Already in those years, Maiteiko fell ill with one eye, but this did not prevent him from becoming a talented student of the Academy. The disease of the eyes made me wear glasses almost all my life. He wears glasses in all self-portraits. In order not to live in poverty, I constantly looked for additional work (helped the photographer, painted signs, decorated shop windows). He had a legendary capacity back then.
1.3. Stay in Munich and Vienna
After graduating from the Krakow Academy in 1858, he studied for two years in Munich with Hermann Anschitz. The German language was poorly given to the young man. And in Munich, he spent days not in the audience, but in the halls of the Pinakothek, where he had the opportunity to communicate with the giants of art - Rubens, Dürer, Tintoretto, Van Dyck, Altdorfer. After a short stay in Vienna 1859-1860 in Christian Ruben (Christian Ruben), he returned to Krakow.
1.4. First portraits
The master's sister Dora is married to a wealthy industrialist Serafinsky. Jan constantly communicated with the Serafinsky family and a gallery of portraits of his father, sisters, the Serafinsky family, and then the Gebultovskys would appear. Later Teodora Gebultovska would become Jan's wife.
1.5. Pictures from the history of Poland
"Jester Stanchikakh at the ball of Queen Bona".
The topic of patriotism has become the theme of Mr. Matejko 's life and work . The thirst to do something useful for Poland never seemed to leave Jan. Whatever Matejko's historical canvas you can analyze will be Poland, its long and glorious history, its greatness, its painful mistakes that led the country to a national catastrophe and the loss of statehood. The jester Stanchikakh responds with sadness to the news of the loss of another city by the state (“Stanchikakh at the ball of Queen Bona Sforza”), the ambassadors of Lithuania and Poland feel a historic step by signing an interstate agreement on unification (“Union of Lublin”), congratulates compatriots on the victory of Kosciuszko (“ Kosciuszko near Racławice"). The national liberation uprisings of the Poles ended repeatedly in defeat. And Mr. Matejko repeatedly writes victories to raise the spirit of his contemporaries ("Victory in the Battle of Grunewald", "Victory of Jan III Sobieski over the Turks near Vienna", "King Stefan Batory takes the keys near Pskov"). Even the "Vernigora" tangentially gives hope (Ukrainian Vernigora predicts the death and rebirth of Poland in the future, and the only literate one writes down a terrible and encouraging prophecy).
Tension and nervous excitement subside only in the portraits of his children ("Hedgehogs on horseback", "Beate's daughter with a bird"). He did not paint still lifes, and each of his canvases is a song of furniture, clothing, weapons, jewelry, old carpets, medieval architecture. The paints in the painting "Sigismund's Bell, Adoption of the First Polish Constitution on May 3, 1791", "Foundation of the Lubransky Academy in Poznay" sound like an epic orchestra. The canvas "Conversation with God. Nicolaus Copernicus" also serves as the greatness of a compatriot.
1.6. Pictures from the history of Ukraine
Creative heritage J. Matejko's heritage contains two oil paintings on the history of Ukraine - "Vernigora" and "Bogdan Khmelnytsky with Tugay-bey near Lvov".
But in addition, Matejko worked for several years on various sketches for these paintings. In the early 70s of the XIX century. he creates a wall image in the Podgoretsky castle - "Khmelnitsky in Korsun", in 1870 - "The Legend of Vernigor", in 1874 an oil portrait was painted "Hetman Evstafiy Dashkevich", 1875 - sketches for "Vernigora", 1877 on the pages of the magazine "Klosa" was printed an ancient portrait of Bogdan Khmelnitsky of his work.
The final version of the painting "Vernigora" Jan Matejko completed in 1884 (original titles "Lyrnik", "Prophecy of the Ukrainian lyre player").
1.7. Posthumous glory
There are few countries in the world where the originals of Jan Matejko are kept. Poles emigrants founded the Kosciuszko Foundation in the USA, where they donated his works. The Vatican, as the spiritual center of the Poles, received a gift from the nation precisely with the work of Jan Matejko. In a modest list of countries (Croatia, Hungary, Italy) there was a place for Ukraine. The unique Lviv preserves two paintings by the famous Mr. Jan.
1.8. List of paintings by the artist
Copernicus. 1873 Oil on canvas. 225×315. Krakow. Jagiellonian University
Jan Matejko artist
All Matejko's activities were imbued with an ardent feeling of love for his homeland, for Poland. Her oppression was a source of suffering for Matejko: he unshakably believed in the great future of his country, inspired by its past for the sake of this future.
He combined the talent of a painter and the imagination of an improviser with merciless demands on himself and indefatigable efficiency. Matejko left behind about 100 paintings, about 90 portraits and over 6,000 drawings, sketches and sketches.
Exceptionally high appraisal of the work of the Polish patriot artist was given by such prominent figures of the Russian progressive realistic school as Kramskoy, Repin and Stasov. They were not limited only to the transfer of directly aesthetic impressions from the virtuoso skill of the painter who admired them, but also pointed to the historical and political role of his art.
The uprising of 1863 was the last heroic attempt of the Polish people to throw off the yoke of Russian tsarism by armed force.
Matejko's art arose and took shape under the influence of the ideas and feelings that animated the Polish people in the 1960s and 1980s. At that time, historical painting acquired exceptional importance in Poland. In the heroic images of the past, Matejko found positive examples for his contemporaries, in history lessons he criticized the cowardly leaders of the Polish nobility, who were just as class-limited and short-sighted as many of their ancestors; with his works, he strengthened the faith of the Polish people in their coming liberation.
The biography of Jan Aloysius Matejko (born in Krakow on June 24, 1838, died there on November 1, 1893) is not rich in external events. The milestones of his life are his paintings. Matejko's creative path is usually divided into three stages. The first period - from 1852 to 1862 - a period of study, search, first experiments, it ends with the painting "Stanchik", in which the artist's creative person appears to be already largely determined. The twenty years from 1863 to 1883 can be regarded as the period of the brightest flowering of the artist's talent. At this time, he essentially created the entire most valuable part of his artistic heritage. In the last ten years (from 1883 to 1893), the features of stylization and decorativeism have become stronger in the works of the master.
Prussian tribute. 1882 Oil on canvas. 388×785. Krakow. People's Museum
In 1852, at the age of fourteen, he entered the Krakow Art School, in 1858-1859 he studied at the Munich Academy of Arts, and then, after a short stay in Vienna, he returned to Krakow again.
Already in the years of teaching, Matejko painted on the theme of Polish antiquity. He did not stop this work all his life, constantly using documentary material for his compositions. The artist called his collection of sketches (about 2000 drawings) "The Small Treasury".
In 1862, having already considerable experience in compositional work, Matejko painted "Stanchik", a picture that immediately attracted the attention of the public and critics.
Stanchik, the court jester of King Sigismund I, is depicted at a ball at Queen Bona, during which the news came of the surrender of Smolensk. He had just read a letter forgotten on the table and sank helplessly into an armchair; his intelligent face, full of anxiety and sorrow for his homeland, contrasts sharply with his jester's attire. In even greater contrast is his grief with the joy of the gilded and carefree court crowd, which is depicted in the background in a distant hall. With the intense color of the picture, a whole range of red and brown tones, enhanced by the contrast of greenish and greenish-olive hues, the artist conveys a sense of anxiety that gripped Stanchik, the tragedy of the events experienced.
The artist's accusatory voice sounds even stronger against those who brought the country to decline - against the self-serving magnates of the Commonwealth in the next large, multi-figured painting by Matejko - in "Skarga's Sermon" (1864).
As the plot of his painting, the artist took the so-called Third Sejm sermon (1592) by the Jesuit priest Skarga, addressed to the largest Polish magnates and King Sigismund III himself, and warning them of the abyss to which they were leading the country: “Your hearts are broken, now you will perish, - said Skarga in a kind of "prophecy-curse". These internal strife will lead you to captivity, during which all your freedoms will perish and be put to shame ... "
Sigiemund. 1874 Oil on canvas. 94×189. Warsaw. People's Museum
The fiery eyes of Skarga, with some features reminiscent of the appearance of the artist himself, look as if past their listeners, “into the future”, his hands are raised above his head in a gesture of cursing. His angry words shock the listeners.
Of course, the historically authentic Skarga, a devoted servant of the Vatican, was far from being like that. But the artist used the appeal of Skarga to create the image of a patriot, which acquired a special accusatory meaning and strength in the years associated with the 1863 uprising.
In 1867, the painting was shown at the World Exhibition in Paris and earned a medal. The twenty-nine-year-old artist was placed next to the leading masters of European historical painting of that time.
In the work on the “Sermon of Skarga”, the skill of Matejka is already fully formed, painting techniques are being developed, with which he achieved the power of influence so characteristic of him on the viewer. Both in this picture and in the subsequent ones, the extraordinary liveliness of the imagination inherent in the artist and the concretely convincing pictorial rendering of the conceived and temperamentally staged scene are reflected.
The same properties of Matejko's artistic manner appeared in his next large painting "Reytan at the Warsaw Sejm" (1866). True, the theatricality of the composition here comes to the melodramatic. In this picture, the artist again castigates the Polish nobility, showing the political betrayal of the Sejm, ready to confirm the third partition of Poland.
The patriot Reitan blocks the path of the nobles going to this shameful act: only through his corpse will they pass into the voting hall. The artist again contrasts the representative of the people's conscience with corrupt and cowardly magnates. The poses and movements of the lavishly dressed courtiers, the expressions on their faces speak of embarrassment, shame and anxiety, of the consciousness of their humiliation, only sometimes covered up by feigned, arrogant indifference. The only thing they are trying to justify is expressed in Pototsky's broad gesture, in his eloquent indication of the royal guard at the door. But the artist does not leave Reitan alone. In the background of the picture, he depicts a young patriot raising a confederate and a saber over his head, thus symbolizing the continuation of the struggle.
Matejko lovingly writes out all the accessories: sparkling silks and golden embroidery of caftans, decorative interior decoration, etc. Bringing every detail to full completion was one of the features of his pictorial manner. Matejko sought to convince the viewer of the authenticity of what he shows with thousands of documentary details.
The revealing, angry images of Matejko were a heavy accusation against the loudest aristocratic names of feudal Poland. In the press, the persecution of the artist began under the pretext of the anti-patriotism of his paintings. The artist responded to this with a kind of fantastic painting “The Sentence of Matejka”.
High above the market square of old Krakow, from a stone balcony, the sentence of Jan Matejko is announced publicly: "Guilty to death." And down there, on the square, tied to a heavy forged ring of a pillory, in a heirloom shirt, next to the executioner, stands the artist himself with a mournful head bowed ... But the judges who pronounced the verdict are far from triumphant. A bitter doubt, perhaps a consciousness of one's own guilt, is seen in the face of the judge standing next to that indifferent executor who reads the verdict; reflection seized the third accuser.
So, in several figures, the artist expressed his complex feelings caused by attacks on his patriotic works.
But, of course, it would be wrong to see in Matejko a political radical or, even more so, a revolutionary. Gentleman and Catholic, in love with the grandeur of feudal Poland, he was a man of his class. However, national liberation tendencies are constantly present in his work.
The period 1864-1882 is the time when Matejko created his most grandiose; lush and spectacular historical paintings. Skarga and Reitan were followed by Sigismund's Bell (1874), Battle of Grunwald (1878), Commonwealth Babinska (1881), Prussian Tribute (1882) and others. Simultaneously with these works, Matejko created dozens more compositions, portraits, a whole series of works “Days of Polish Culture”, not to mention numerous sketches and drawings.
Of the large compositions glorifying the victories of Poland, the most artistically expressive are "Batory near Pskov", "Prussian Tribute" and "Battle of Grunwald".
The painting “Batory near Pskov” shows one of the episodes of that centuries-long struggle between feudal Poland and feudal Russia, which brought so much evil to both peoples. The painting "Prussian Tribute" depicts the oath of allegiance to Poland by the Prussian and Brandenburg Duke Albrecht on August 15, 1525 in the main market of Krakow. All figures and Sigismund I, and Albrecht, and the retinue, and the audience are included by the artist in a magnificently decorative festive scene. Their measured movements seem to be designed to better and more majestic show the audience the decorative splendor of their outfits, those gifts that the ambassadors bring (banners, weapons, fabrics).
Matejko's largest painting, The Battle of Grunwald, has a different character. The united Polish-Lithuanian army with the allied detachments of the Czechs (under the command of the glorious leader of the Hussites Jan Zizka), as well as the Russian regiments in 1410 inflicted a decisive defeat on the Teutonic knights-enslavers.
Matejko depicted the panorama of a fierce battle with great skill and temperament.
The congestion of the composition with groups and figures written out to the last detail, as if stunning the viewer with a stream of impressions falling upon him, makes it difficult to clearly perceive the idea.
Matejko's paintings are indeed, in most cases, very large. This circumstance makes it extremely difficult not only to perceive them, but also to reproduce them. His compositions require careful, detailed study, consistent consideration of details, because it is in this way that the viewer will be able to appreciate the pictorial perfection of the picture and the expressiveness of each individual image. Therefore, in the construction of the illustrative part of this album, the emphasis has been shifted from the reproduction of whole pictures to showing their individual details.
The Middle Ages often captivated Matejko with the romance of his harsh and powerful characters, the brightness of his passions, and the decorative splendor of the outer side of life.
Skargi's sermon. 1864 Oil on canvas. 224×391. Warsaw. People's Museum
One of the most colorful creations of Matejko, moreover, introducing new features into his artistic appearance, is his painting "Sigismund's Bell" (1874). The painting depicts the moment of raising a huge bell to the bell tower of the Wawel Cathedral in Krakow in 1521 in the presence of King Sigismund the Old and the whole court. A group of the king, queen and courtiers, noble ladies and pages, clergy and warriors occupies the left side of the picture. In a dazzling cascade of fabrics, precious stones, weapons and attire, the artist highlights the characteristic heads of the historical participants in the scene. But the most interesting and powerful part of the picture is its other part - a group of workers raising the bell. The artist depicts them at the moment of maximum exertion of strength, when they are pulling the rope of the gate, and the heavy bulk of the bell is shown from below, starting its ascent to the height. The richness of foreshortenings, turns, movements expresses the strength, friendly coherence of movements, the true power of the people. The figure of a master in a leather apron, who directs all the work, is filled with especially majestic dignity. Thus, in this picture, Matejko went beyond the narrow circle of historical actors, so often limited in his paintings to the noble nobility.
Around the time of work on the "Bell" is the creation of "Copernicus" (1873). The scientist is depicted at a moment of high spiritual uplift, when, after a series of calculations and observations, new laws of motion of celestial bodies established by him are revealed to him. Despite some (rare for Matejko) flaws in the drawing and a somewhat affected theatrical gesture, the artist still achieves his goal - to convey the feeling of the researcher's delight before the mysteries of nature that are revealed to him.
The critical orientation of Matejko's work has somewhat lost its sharpness over the years. However, in 1881, on the basis of a sketch of 1870, he creates his "Rzeczpospolita Babinska". In essence, this picture is more humorous than satirical. In it, the artist depicts a drinking bout at the landowner Shponka (XVII century), who, during the years of disasters in his homeland, decided to live in his estate "Babia Gora", as in a special state, even keeping a chronicle of his entertainment deeds. Among the entertaining crowds of lordly idlers and their ladies, the tipsy "court" poet reads an ode, and one of the hangers-on offers him a pen in order to fill in the next page of the annals.
In the last decade, Matejko is going through a serious crisis. In his great series, The History of Polish Civilization, the narrative moment replaces the dramatic tension that characterized his former best works. During this period, the master paid much attention to decorative works, sketches of church stained-glass windows. The series of images of Polish kings dating back to the same years is largely contrived, devoid of the characteristic vitality of his best early works. And at the same time, Matejko's painting "Kosciuszko under Racławice" (1888), one of the artist's most significant canvases, belongs to the same period. Therefore, it is hardly possible to speak simply of a decline, let alone a decline in the talent of a master who died relatively early - at the age of fifty-five. The painting "Kosciuszko near Racławice" is an important milestone in the work of Matejko: he came to understand the importance of the masses in the struggle for the freedom of their country.
The picture depicts the scene after the first victory of the rebels, led by Kosciuszka, over the detachment of the tsarist general Tormasov.
Kosciuszko in a silk suit, young, inspired by the victory, drives up to a group of his military leaders and, turning around, greets a group of Galician peasants in white scrolls, those fighters of the “kossinieurs” who played a decisive role in the battle. Peasant types found by Matejko are extremely lively. In their low bows and wide gestures of greeting, one can see proud joy for the success achieved under the leadership of their beloved leader. This folk power is conveyed by the artist in an extremely lively and characteristic manner. In this composition, as in many others, individual historical figures are close to portraits in the sharpness of their individual characteristics.
Matejko generally possessed the qualities of an outstanding portrait painter. The best portraits of his brush include images of the Polish intelligentsia (for example, Karl Podlevsky, Leonard Serafinsky, rector of the Jagiellonian University Dietla, etc.) His self-portrait of 1892 is very expressive.
The entire Polish public highly appreciated the significance of Matejko's work during the artist's lifetime. The fiery patriotic orientation of this art and the vivid emotionality of its artistic individuality and the great mastery of its painting also received recognition.
Matejko's works occupy an honorable place in the national museums of people's Poland.
In his art, we can see an example of the fact that only great feelings and ideas are capable of raising an artist to such truly ascetic work as Matejko's work was.
An excellent draftsman and painter, Matejko was able to create unusually expressive images; the hot tension of color characteristic of his paintings always corresponded to the disclosure of the artist's intentions; the exceptional materiality of his painting conveyed with almost illusory persuasiveness every object, every detail - be it silk or velvet, metal or wood. All these qualities are connected with the inner excitement with which the artist seeks to infect the viewer. It is impossible not to note one more feature: Matejko's heroes, both positive and negative, are always full of energy and strength. The artist does not think of the representatives of his people as ugly or petty, even when he is indignant and denounces.
Assessing the positive qualities of Matejko, one should not, however, turn a blind eye to the fact that the excessive workload of many of his compositions often tires, begins to seem like a theatrical-stilted, affected recitation. Even the painting itself, the pictorial means of conveying individual elements of the picture, in some of Matejko's works (especially if you look at them in large numbers) begins to appear as a uniform and somewhat conditional device, repeating the methods of representation found without the diversity that is dictated by nature.
No matter how great these shortcomings, narrowing the significance of Matejko's heritage painting, they, nevertheless, cannot cross out the folk significance of his work. During the war years, Polish patriots, with great difficulty, managed to take the “Battle of Grunwald” out of the museum and hide it from the fascist invaders until the time when liberation came. For realist artists, what was created by this master will always remain a school. It is impossible not to recall the fact that during the years of strong alienation of Polish and Russian society, Matejko stood on the point of view of the possibility and necessity of rapprochement between Poland and Russia on the basis of justice and goodwill.
Matejko's work will always remain one of the brightest pages in the culture of the Polish people.
The artist's father, Francis Xavier Matejko, was a Czech by birth. He came to Galicia as a tutor and music teacher. He first worked in Koscielniki (now part of Nowa Huta near Krakow), and then moved to Krakow itself, where he married Joanna Caroline Rossberg, who came from a Polish-German family of craftsmen. Francis was a Catholic, Joanna was a Protestant.
Jan was born on June 24, 1838, the ninth of eleven children of Francis and Joanna. When the boy was seven years old, his mother dies, and her sister has been taking care of the children ever since. The death of his mother greatly influenced Jan's personality. He was practically devoid of anyone's love and care. It even got to the point that when he broke his nose, no one paid attention to it, as a result of which the wound healed incorrectly and the nose acquired some curvature. The father showed little interest in the children, and even more so did not share his son's creative passions. The boy begins to show the ability to draw early, although at the same time he lags far behind in other subjects.
The lack of warmth on the part of adults was partially compensated by relations with the Gebultovsky family. He treated Polina Gebultovskaya as a second mother. In a few years, this feeling will prove prophetic.
Young years
When Jan was 13 years old, he was accepted into the Krakow School of Fine Arts. There he showed great interest and diligence. True, studies did not always go smoothly. One of the reasons for this was financial difficulties and vision problems. Jan is greatly influenced by his teachers Jozef Kremer and Vladislav Lushkevich. It was they who inspired him to make sketches of the Krakow monuments.
In 1858, Jan Matejko received a scholarship to study in Munich. There he gets acquainted with the works of outstanding artists, including modern ones. He admires the work of Paul Delaroche and his student Carl Theodor von Piloty, who created famous works on historical themes. In those years, Jan Matejko realized that it was historical painting that he would like to devote himself to. Delaroche’s scheme, based on the most dramatic moment chosen from history and the image of this moment as emotionally as possible, the young Matejko creates in 1859 the painting “Poisoning of Queen Bona”. In the same years, he published the publication "Polish Costume", which contains engravings depicting people in historical costumes. Later, he uses this experience more than once in his paintings. The publication also served another purpose - thanks to the fee received, Jan managed to improve his financial situation.
There was, however, one circumstance that greatly upset Jan. This is an unrequited love for Theodora Gebultovskaya - the daughter of the same Polina, whom he treated like a mother. She was the youngest child in the family. Young people knew each other from early childhood. The father of the future artist, Francis, taught Theodora and her brothers and sister music.
In 1862, 24-year-old Matejko wrote one of his most famous works, Stanchik. Stanczyk is the court jester of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania and Kings of Poland Alexander Jagiellon, Sigismund I the Old and Sigismund II Augustus. In the picture, Stanchik is depicted at the moment when, during the ball, he mourns the defeat of the Lithuanian army.
On January 22, 1863, two brothers of Jan Matejko joined the January Uprising. Jan did not go with them, partly because he could not see very well and could not handle weapons. However, he helped the rebels as best he could - he brought them weapons and helped financially. I must say that although his family was half Czech by origin, in their hearts they always felt that they belonged to the Polish people and were true patriots of Poland.
In 1863, Jan Matejko and Theodora Gebultowska finally get closer, and in the fall of 1864 preparations for the wedding begin.
The reason for the fact that the couple seriously thought about marriage at this time was the success of the painting "Skarga's Sermon", written in 1864. With the proceeds from its sale, the wedding was organized.
Happiness was not cloudless
It took place on November 21, 1864. The wedding dress for Theodora was made by a tailor from the city of Bochnia (near Krakow) Rypark according to a drawing by Jan. Although the artist's brothers were not particularly happy about this union, the whole Matejko family came to the celebration. Soon after, the newlyweds went to Paris, and upon his return, Jan Matejko painted “Portrait of a Wife in a Wedding Dress”.
Jan and Theodora will have five children. One of them - Helena - will follow in her father's footsteps and also become an artist.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Theodora was a very despotic and selfish nature. When she had fears that something threatened her role as a muse, she came up with various adventures, pretended to be sick, and resorted to other tricks. Almost all female images depicted on the artist's canvases are similar to her. It was Theodora that he depicted in one of his most famous paintings “Prussian Tribute” in the image of Queen Bona Sforza ...
In March 1876, Jan Matejko began to paint the painting The Castellan. Theodora's niece, Stanislav Serafinsky, posed for him. Knowing that Theodora would be jealous, Yang painted the portrait in secret from her. Theodora herself traveled at that time to Franzensbad and Karlsbad. Jan wrote letters to his wife, describing his creative pursuits, but not mentioning the Castellane. However, when she returned to Krakow, Theodora found out about everything. She made a scene for her husband and went to her mother. And when she came to Krakow again, she destroyed her “Portrait in a Wedding Dress” in anger. Fearing that she would destroy the portrait of Stanislava, Jan told his wife that the painting had burned down.
From that moment in the house of Jan and Theodora, a rather dull mood more and more often reigned. Yang said more than once that he would commit suicide or divorce his wife.
Despite the family crisis in September 1877, Theodora accompanies her husband from his first trip to Warsaw. On February 12, their last, fifth child, daughter Regina, was born. The girl did not live even a month and died on March 7 of the same year.
In February 1882, Theodora's mental state deteriorated greatly, and doctors advised her to be placed in a psychiatric clinic. During her stay at the clinic, Theodora wrote letters to her sister asking her to be released. She left the hospital after a year and a half, but remained under constant supervision, from which she tried to get rid of in every possible way. It even got to the point that she told her family about her unwillingness to give her daughter's blessing for marriage if they did not help her get out of custody. Soon Theodora is in the clinic again.
Over the years, Jan Matejko has accumulated financial problems. They were associated not only with the illness of his wife, but also with his attitude to his earnings, which was sometimes too free, according to some contemporaries. He gave the painting “Jan Sobieski near Vienna”, painted in 1863, to the Pope, France, he presented the canvas “Joan of Arc”, many great works he presented to Poland ... 
He often gave his paintings to acquaintances - usually they were quite rich people. He spared no expense to help the poor. He sold more than one of his works for next to nothing...
Glory to the artist
Already during his lifetime, he enjoyed great fame - both in his country and around the world. He received a large number of honorary awards. Over the years, he nevertheless managed to improve his financial situation and he moved to 41 Florianska Street - now Jan Matejko's house-museum is located at this address in Krakow. He also became the director of the School of Fine Arts in Krakow, as well as an honorary member of the Academies of Arts in Paris, Berlin, Prague, Vienna ...
A separate creative hobby of Jan Matejko was the preservation of Krakow monuments. He devoted more than one year of his life to this cause ...
History has been Jan Matejko's passion throughout his life. He did not know how to write or talk about her, but he knew how to draw her. Many said that he was too loose in his approach to history. However, Matejko himself interpreted his images as a voice in a dispute concerning the past and future of the country, and not an expression of ideology. Another passion of Jan was Poland itself. He was a true patriot. Matejko donated money for the development of the city and culture, helped the poor.
Critics often wrote that on his canvases he depicted characters who, in fact, did not exist in these situations at a particular historical moment. However, the goal of Matejko was not to convey facts, but to depict historical layers and the connection of times.
One of the reasons for the artist's popularity was that he had a kind of "cinematic" approach to history. The scenes seem to be disassembled into frames, and Matejko seems to assemble a picture from different scenes.
Matejko paid special attention to depicting ancient costumes, interior elements and other historical details.
Parting
In September 1892, the wedding of Beata, the youngest daughter of Theodora and Jan, took place. As in the case of Helena's wedding, it was not without caustic attacks from Theodora, who did not give her blessing and was late for the celebration.
Jan Matejko dies on November 1, 1893 from internal bleeding. Theodora was with him in the last moments of his life. Jan Matejko was buried at the Rakowicz Cemetery in Krakow on November 5, 1893. During the funeral ceremony, the Sigmund bell chimed, the ringing of which is heard on the days of the most important events. And on his last journey, thousands of people saw him off ...
Theodora took his death hard. She suffered even more from diabetes, which had tormented her in recent years, because of which it was difficult for her to walk, and she was constantly on treatment. She died in April 1896 and was buried next to Jan.
