Jan Matejko and his art

K is considered the most celebrated Polish painter of all time and the national painter of Poland. Jan Matejko is yet another artist whose work can be seen at Piłsudski Institute. Matejko was a leading 19th century exponent of history painting known for depicting novel events from Polish history. His most famous historical works include large-scale paintings such as Rejtan, The Union of Lublin, The Astronomer Copernicus or Conversations with God and The Battle of Grunwald. In the works created during the times of foreign occupation Matejko recalled the moments of glory and remarkable achievements of Poles. Works painted to uplift hearts earned him fame. He is also the author of numerous portraits including a gallery of Polish monarchs. The secret of the artist's popularity apart from undertaking the historical subject matter was the cinematic way of presenting it. The artist tended to compose crowded, multi-faceted scenes. They are characterized by excellent dramaturgy of individual characters, their poses and gestures, dynamics of the contour lines and solid intense colors. The Piłsudski Institute is a proud owner of Jan Matejko's sketch A Carriage with Horsemen. The work shows the artist's love for vibrant genre scenes and introduces us to the secrets of his workshop and the method of his work. It is the first record of an artistic idea, a vision of a historical scene cast spontaneously on paper with a pencil and a brush. The sharp, quick lines of the pencil give the figures lightness and an impression of movement. This great amount of expression makes the scene seem to be happening at the given moment. Jan Matejko's sketch Carriage with Horsemen, displayed on the main wall of the Piłsudski Institute's gallery, is not the artist's leading work but it gives us a good idea of his art, technique and manner of work. He created over 320 oil paintings, several thousand drawings and watercolors. To learn more about Jan Matejko's work and the history of Polish art, visit www.piłsudski.org