Art Chowder March | April 2018, Issue 14 | Page 42

H
aving received sound artistic training
first in his native city and later in Munich
and Vienna, he won a gold medal in the
Paris Salon of 1865, followed by another
gold medal from the Universal Exhibition in
Paris for his Reytan at the Sejm in Warsaw
in 1773, purchased by the Emperor of
Austria, Franz Joseph. Although the artist
strongly supported Polish independence, the
country remained partitioned among Prussia,
the Habsburg Empire of Austria, Russia,
and what remained of the former Polish
Republic during his lifetime. It only became
a unified sovereign state after WWI in 1918.
The painting depicts an event when the de
facto Polish parliament disputed over the
partitioning of the Commonwealth. Legend
Jan Matejko (1838-1893)
Stańczyk
1862
oil on canvas
120 cm × 88 cm (47 in × 35 in)
Warsaw National Museum, Warsaw
has it that Tadeusz Rejtan, a deputy in the
parliament, bared his chest to oppose the
partition. Although Matejko was known to
take some artistic liberties for the sake of
overall effect, the main figures represent real
individuals.
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ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE
His earlier depiction of the court jester Stańczyk (1862) first launched the artist to fame. The
story takes place in 1514, when Poland was at the height of its glory, and at war with Russia.
Poland had just lost its important eastern fortress to the enemy. The ordinarily witty, eloquent,
and intelligent man is portrayed as an almost Shakespearean character, brooding over what the
future portends, against the backdrop of a gay and festive ball on the other side of the door.