MATEJKO, Jan

Polish painter, known for paintings of notable historical Polish political and military events. He studied from 1852 to 1858 at the School of Fine Arts in Cracow and, during this time, started exhibiting historical paintings with the Society of Friends of the Fine Arts there. After studying in Munich (1859) under the history painter Hermann Anschütz (1802-1880) and then briefly and less successfully in Vienna, Matejko returned to Cracow, where he was based for the rest of his life.

In 1860 Matejko issued an illustrated album, Ubiory w Polsce [‘Costumes in Poland from 1200 to 1795’] (later editions 1875 and 1901), a project reflecting his intense interest in historical records of all kinds and his desire to promote such interest among the Polish people in an effort to intensify their patriotic feelings. This role first became widely associated with Matejko with his painting of Stanczyk (1862; National Museum, Warsaw), the court jester to King Sigismund I (1437-1548), to whom Matejko gave his own features. The jester is presented as a symbol of the nation’s conscience: he sits glumly in a chair apart from the other figures, alone in seeing that events during the wars against Moscow would ultimately end in tragedy.

His most famous works include oil on canvas paintings like Battle of Grunwald, paintings of numerous other battles and court scenes, and a gallery of Polish kings. He is counted among the most famous Polish painters.