Stańczyk during the ball at Queen Bona's court when news of the loss of Smolensk arrives
Jan Matejko , 1862
120 × 88 cm
oil on canvas
National Museum Warsaw
Stańczyk w czasie balu na dworze królowej Bony wobec straconego Smoleńska (German: Stańczyk during a ball at the court of Bona Sforza in the face of the loss of Smolensk ) is a painting by the Polish painter Jan Matejko from 1862. The motif is the court jester Stańczyk , who served three Polish kings in the 16th century and later became a figure of national integration. The painting, executed in oil on canvas, 120 centimeters wide and 88 centimeters high, belongs to the collection of the National Museum Warsaw .
description
In the center of the picture, the red-clad court jester Stańczyk sits in a melancholy mood on a chair. His quirk lies on the floor, while a medallion of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa lies on his stomach . These two attributes and their position in the picture once again emphasize Stańczyk's mood. This is justified in a letter lying on the table. This bears the year 1514 and the name Smolensk , which refers to the loss of this now Russian city to the Russian Grand Duchy of Moscow . In contrast to the court jester's frame of mind, there is Queen Bona's ball , at which an open door on the right edge of the picture lets the viewer take a look. This takes place on the occasion of the victory in the Battle of Orsha . A dwarf, for example, wears a lute as a symbol of fame . The image is dominated by dark and warm tones, especially the bright red of the fool's suit.
background
Matejko showed Stańczyk in several other paintings: Zawieszenie dzwonu Zygmunta na wieży katedry w roku 1521 w Krakowie , which shows the hanging of the Sigismund bell from 1874 and the Prussian homage from 1882, are particularly important. Matejko painted Stańasieczyk w czńasiek balu na dworze królowej Bony wobec straconego Smoleńska at the age of 24 and established his fame with this painting. The painting was acquired by the Society of Friends of the Fine Arts in Krakow , who gave it away in a lottery. In 1924 it was bought by the National Museum in Warsaw . The painting developed an influence on Stańczyk's image, which was important for patriotic Poles in the 19th century. It was one of the inspirations of Stanisław Koźmian , Józef Szujski , Stanisław Tarnowski and Ludwik Wodzicki when they published a series of political-satirical feature articles in 1869.
During the Second World War , the painting was stolen by the National Socialists and then ended up in the Soviet Union , which returned it to Poland in 1956. Today it is one of the most important works in the National Museum of Warsaw.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marek Rezler: Z Matejką przez polskie dzieje: Stańczyk , on eduseek.interklasa.pl, accessed on May 11, 2016.
- ↑ Christoph Marschall von Bieberstein: Freedom in the bondage. The national autonomy of Poles in Galicia after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. A conservative departure in comparison to Central Europe , Wiesbaden 1993, ISBN 3-447-02743-6 , p. 99.