Draft:Kościuszko at Racławice

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Kościuszko at Racławice
Kościuszko pod Racławicami
ArtistJan Matejko
MediumOil painting
MovementHistory painting
Dimensions465 × 897 cm
LocationNational Museum in Kraków, Kraków

Kościuszko at Racławice (Battle of Racławice)[1] - an oil painting by Jan Matejko painted in 1888, exhibited in the Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice.

Description of the painting[edit]

The interpretation of the painting was greatly influenced by Marian Gorzkowski's work Hints to Jan Matejko's latest painting "Kościuszko at Racławice", finished in April 1888. [2] [3]

Tadeusz Kościuszko is dressed in a fashionable uniform tailcoat, identical to the one in Michał Stachowicz's painting Kościuszko's Oath on the Main Square. Father Antoni Gruszecki,[4] then vicar at St. Mary's Church, later parish priest of Podgórze and papal chamberlain, served as a model. The second hero of the Battle of Racławice - Bartosz Głowacki was depicted with a cap on a captured cannon. The co-organizer of the uprising, Hugo Kołłątaj, is dressed in black and sitting on a black horse (although he did not take part in the battle).[2]

According to Matejko, the two generals at the head of the staff - Antoni Józef Madaliński and Józef Zajączek (wearing a Napoleonic cap and leaning against a tree) also deserved to be presented. Matejko painted Stefan Dembowski in a very beautiful noble costume, who was to be his successor in the event of Kościuszko's death. In the painting, it also symbolizes the reluctance of the Polish nobility to uprising, and especially to the Commander's orders, which were regularly sabotaged.[5]

The history of the painting[edit]

The Matejko jubilee committee and the purchase of the painting Jan Sobieski near Vienna collected funds to purchase the painting, but during the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the relief of Vienna, Jan Matejko announced that he had decided to donate the painting to the Pope on behalf of the Polish nation. [6] This decision surprised the committee, which, after an extraordinary meeting on September 13, 1883, announced that it would ask Matejko to paint a copy of the painting, and if he did not agree, to paint another painting with historical content, which would be donated to the National Museum in Kraków. He also agreed that he would continue to collect funds, and by November 1, 1883, anyone who made a contribution would be able to request a refund.[6] In December 1883, the committee reported that only PLN 360 of the PLN 32,234 collected by December 1 had been withdrawn.[7]

Matejko made the decision to paint the painting Kościuszko at Racławice in 1884. The painting of the picture was preceded by pencil sketches (6 preserved to this day in the National Museum in Krakow) and an oil sketch, currently in the National Museum in Warsaw. In February 1887, the canvas was brought from Paris and hung in the studio in the building of the Academy of Fine Arts. On March 12, 1887, Matejko began working on the final shape of the painting. He probably encountered some difficulties during it, because he interrupted his work until August 20 and went once again to Racławice to make landscape sketches from nature.[2] The second break in work occurred in February 1888 and was caused by the artist's serious illness. Ultimately, the work was completed at the end of April of the same year.[8] In May 1888, preparations for the construction of the picture frames began. The cost of the frame was PLN 3,000, and the work was supervised by Władysław Chrośnikiewicz.[9]

The painting was handed over on May 14, 1888 in the hall of the National Museum in the Cloth Hall with the participation of invited guests. [10] Matejko and the committee members stood under the hanging painting. Matejko spoke first and said that he was very happy that he had managed to keep the promise he made 5 years earlier. Then, the chairman of the committee, Artur Potocki, thanked Matejko for "this great work of art and thought." He then submitted a report on the fundraising. The largest number, over 20,000, was collected in Galicia. Money was also transferred from the Duchy of Poznań, Royal Prussia, Silesia, Bukowina, England, Sweden, Turkey, Australia and America. A total of PLN 49,807 was collected, which, as Potocki emphasized, did not cover the value of the painting. The committee retained the right to show the painting at exhibitions, and Matejko retained the right to reproduce the work. [11] The Committee transferred the money to Matejko in installments. In November 1883, he transferred PLN 20,000 to the artist as an "advance", another installment of PLN 15,000 was transferred in May 1884, and another PLN 20,000 on March 25, 1887.[2]

In June, the painting was sent to Lviv for the exhibition of the United Society of Friends of Fine Arts and exhibited in the George Hotel[12],, then in Poznań, and in 1889 it was shown in Vienna and at the World Exhibition in Paris.[2]

In May 1888, the department of the Society named after At a specially convened meeting, in gratitude for the painting, Kościuszko decided to award Matejko the title of honorary member for the first time in the history of the association.[13]

The artistic and literary group proposed, with the artist's consent, to make a reproduction of the painting. To raise funds for this purpose, a festival was organized during which peasants who were the painter's extras appeared in a living painting.[14][15] Over 4,000 people took part in the festival and the income was PLN 630.[2] Juliusz Kossak, as part of the campaign of the Artistic and Literary Circle in Kraków to get the painting into people's homes, in 1888 prepared a watercolor based on the painting, which was popularized as a chromolithographic print. The first print run amounted to 12,000 copies and was sold within a few months. In the spring of 1889, its second edition was published.[2]

In the years 1890–1894, Józef Hakowski made a silver bas-relief "Kościuszko at Racławice" after a painting by Jan Matejko, commissioned by Juliusz Przeworski,[16] which is currently in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest.[17]

Censorship did not allow Warsaw magazines to publish articles about the painting, including critical ones.[18]

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ Matejko: obrazy olejne: katalog pod redakcją i ze wstępem Krystyny Sroczyńskiej. Warszawa: Instytut Sztuki Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Arkady. 1993. p. 230. ISBN 83-213-3652-3.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Franciszek Ziejka (2019), "Jana Matejki droga do Racławic", Podróże pisarzy : Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki, Henryk Sienkiewicz i inni (PDF), Kraków, p. 759-782, ISBN 978-83-242-3493-6{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Wskazówki do najnowszego obrazu J. Matejki Kościuszko pod Racławicami, wykończonego w kwietniu 1888 r. (Kraków 1888)
  4. ^ "Kościuszko ma twarz z Łodygowic". 11 April 2013. Retrieved 2015-09-03.
  5. ^ "Jan Matejko, Kościuszko pod Racławicami". www.zbiory.mnk.pl. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  6. ^ a b Kłobukowski, Antoni Red (1883-09-15). "Komitet jubileuszu Matejki..." Czas (209): 2.
  7. ^ Kłobukowski, Antoni Red (1883-12-16). "Otrzymujemy następujące pismo". Czas (286): 2.
  8. ^ "Mistrz Matejko". Kurier Lwowski (109): 5. 1888-04-19. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  9. ^ Diana Błońska, Diana Błońska, Andrzej Betlej, Sławomir Mróz, Zofia Gołubiew (2019). Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie 1879-2019. Kraków: Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie. p. 21. ISBN 978-83-7581-317-3. Retrieved 2024-01-10.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Komitet zakupna obrazu Matejki". Kurier Lwowski (131): 2. 1888-05-11. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  11. ^ Chyliński, Michał Red (1888-05-15). "Akt odebrania obrazu Matejki Kościuszko pod Racławicami na rzecz Muzeum Narodowego". Czas (110): 2.
  12. ^ "Wystawę obrazu mistrza Matejki". Kurier Lwowski (173): 5. 1888-06-16. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  13. ^ "Towarzystwo imienia Kościuszki". Kurier Lwowski (129): 3. 1888-05-09. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  14. ^ "Listy z kraju". Kurier Lwowski (133): 2. 1888-05-13. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  15. ^ "Koło artyst.-lit". Kurier Lwowski (131): 2. 1988-05-11. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  16. ^ "Józef HAKOWSKI". Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  17. ^ "Józef Nałęcz Hakowski ( 1834 – 1897) - Pieniny24.pl". pieniny24.pl. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  18. ^ "Obraz Matejki i cenzura rosyjska", anno.onb.ac.at, no. 133, p. 3, 1888-05-13

Bibliography[edit]

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