Polish History in Paintings (Part 1)
Poland's history can be complicated, sometimes making it quite difficult to tell what's really going on some of its most famous paintings. Culture.pl's visual guide to Polish history is here to help – learn what's actually happening in these images, from time immemorial to 'Finis Poloniae'.
‘The Battle of Legnitz’ (1241)
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Fragment of ‘The Battle of Legnitz’ in ‘Vita Beatae Hedwigis’ by Unknown and Nicolaus of Prussia; 1353; tempera colours, coloured washes and ink on parchment bound between wooden boards covered with red-stained pigskin; photo: Getty Museum / Getty Open Content Program
In 1241, following the invasion of Kievan Rus’, the Mongol (or Tartar) forces embarked on a military excursion into Hungary and Poland. In March 1241, they seized Kraków, and on 9th April 1241, they met at Leignitz with Polish forces commanded by the Silesian duke Henry II the Pious. The battle was a great victory for the light-horsed Mongol forces, however – immediately after the battle, the Mongols withdrew, and in 1242, the entire army returned to Kievan Rus’.
The first of the illustrations, above, shows the beginning of the battle with enemy troops that are still in battle order. The second, below, shows the next stage of the battle and the death of Duke Henry the Pious.
It was characteristic of mediaeval artists to include elements inconsistent with a painting’s main subject – even those that may have happened in a different place or time. In the image below, one can discern the figure of Duke Henry the Pious (dressed in a blue coat and with a black Silesian eagle on the shield and helmet) being killed by one of the enemy knights. At the same time, we can follow some of the later developments: his body, decapitated and stripped of armour, can be spotted in the bottom left corner, while at the top right corner, his soul, along with the souls of other knights, is being taken to heaven by two angels, holding a white sheet.
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Fragment of ‘The Battle of Legnitz’ in ‘Vita Beatae Hedwigis’ by Unknown and Nicolaus of Prussia; 1353; tempera colours, coloured washes and ink on parchment bound between wooden boards covered with red-stained pigskin; photo: Getty Museum / Getty Open Content Program
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‘Kazimierz Wielki u Esterki’ (‘Casimir the Great Visiting Esther’) by Władysław Łuszkiewicz, 1870; from ‘Malarstwo Polskie w Zbiorach za Granicą’ (Polish Painting Abroad) by Stefania Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska, 2003; photo: Wikimedia Commons / Lviv National Art Gallery
Esterka, or Esterke in Yiddish, was the semi-legendary Jewish mistress of King Kazimierz III the Great. Their romantic relationship became one of the great themes of Yiddish literature in Poland, as it reflected a symbiosis of the Catholic and Jewish populations on Polish lands. According to some accounts, the couple even had children. While it remains uncertain whether or not Esterke was a real person, the story also reflects King Kazimierz’s positive attitude towards Polish Jewish communities, as reflected in the many protections he extended them.
The story was variously placed in different Polish towns, but the one that arguably gained the most popularity was set in Kazimierz, or in Yiddish, Kuzmir – a small town named after the king on the Vistula River, which was renowned for its prosperous Jewish community. The picturesque, hilly landscape in the painting suggests Kazimierz as the setting for this scene.
Jadwiga – King of Poland (1384-1399)
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‘Królowa Jadwiga i Dymitr z Goraja’ (‘Dymitr of Goray and Jadwiga’) by Wojciech Gerson, 1869, oil on canvas, photo: Wikimedia Commons / Lublin Museum
If you're not quite sure what's going on in this painting, don't be alarmed – it’s far from obvious. The woman is holding an axe, but she's not about to use it against the old fellow. To complicate matters further, what looks like a wall behind him is actually a door – the man is simply attempting to prevent the lady from going through it (yes, he has the keys). Behind the door, presumably, is William, the Duke of Austria, with whom the lady has fallen in love at first sight. At least that's what they say...
Legend has it that the woman, Jadwiga (or Hedwig), subsequently sacrificed her true love and shrewdly married King Władysław II Jagiełło of Lithuania instead. This resulted in the establishment of one of the most powerful dynasties in Europe. This, the Jagiellonian dynasty, would go on to rule one of the biggest empires in Europe, merging the lands of two great countries: the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Part of the legend states that Jadwiga’s prudence required some reinforcement by Dymitr of Goray, a wealthy magnate at the Polish court and a mentor to the future queen. He is said to have barred the door, so that the young woman could not elope with the handsome Wilhelm. Jadwiga went on to become King of Poland (yes, not queen – the king, Rex!), reigning from 1384 until her death in 1399. She would remain Poland’s only woman monarch.
‘The Battle of Grunwald’ (1410)
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‘The Battle of Grunwald’ by Jan Matejko, 1878, oil on canvas, photo: National Museum in Warsaw
The Battle of Grunwald, also known also as the First Battle of Tannenberg or the Battle of Žalgiris, is one of the most famous events in Polish military history. This depiction of the event by the renowned painter Jan Matejko is, in turn, one of the most widely recognised paintings in Polish art history.
At Grunwald, in western present-day Poland, a joint army of Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenians and Tatars, commanded by King Ladislaus Yogaila, defeated the army of the Teutonic Order. Their victory shifted the balance of power in Eastern Europe, paving the way for the future rise of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Matejko’s The Battle of Grunwald is notorious for its huge size: the canvas measures 426 by 987 centimetres. The Polish king can be discerned in the right top corner. At the painting’s centre, Vytautas the Great, the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, appears to be enjoying the fatal attack on the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Ulrich von Jungingen, by two peasant soldiers dressed in leather, perhaps from the Samogitia region. One of them wears a hangman's headgear and wields an axe – which suggests that the act is one of decreed justice.
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‘Stańczyk’ by Jan Matejko, 1862, oil on canvas, photo: National Museum in Warsaw
Painted by Jan Matejko in 1862, Stańczyk (1480-1560) may be the most readily recognised symbolic representative of Polish history. Depicted at the centre of Matejko’s painting, the fabulously sharp-witted and far-sighted jester performed at the court of Polish kings.
Stańczyk’s deep melancholy here is a reaction to the news of Moscovite Russia’s capture of Smoleńsk, which took place in July 1514 – see the date on the letter on the table. This event would come to symbolise Russia’s growing power in the East in this period, a process that would ultimately bring the end of the Polish-Lithuanian state, if centuries later.
Stańczyk's grave mood and concern for the future of the country is presented in stark contrast to the cheerful atmosphere of the ball at the royal court, which can be seen behind the door.
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'Battle of Orsha', attributed to Heins Kreil, 1542-1530, photo: Wikimedia Commons / National Museum in Warsaw
Stańczyk's reaction was justified – the capture of Smoleńsk by Muscovite Russia did incite a reaction from the Polish and Lithuanian forces. The battle of Orsha, today in Belarus, was fought only a couple months after the seizure of Smoleńsk. Although it ended in victory for the united Polish-Lithuanian forces, the battle did not lead to the recapture of Smoleńsk. This would happen only some 100 years later, and only for a short time.
This anonymous artist’s painting is remarkable for its use of mediaeval ‘continuous’ narration, presenting many episodes taking place at different times. This is why some figures appear several times. The painting is to be read from right to left and from top to the bottom.
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‘Union of Lublin’ by Jan Matejko, photo: Wikimedia Commons / National Museum in Lublin
The wars with Muscovite Russia consolidated Polish and Lithuanian military and political co-operation. In the year 1569, the two countries signed the Union of Lublin. This effectively created a new multi-ethnic state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Matejko's Union of Lublin was painted on the 300th anniversary of the agreement, in 1869. The central figure, with a crucifix in his right hand, is the Polish king Zygmunt II Augustus. The kneeling man with the sword is Mikołaj Radziwiłł, the great hetman of Lithuania – an ardent opponent of the union and the only senator to not have signed the document.
Poles in Moscow (1610-1612)
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‘The Poles Surrender the Moscow Kremlin to Prince Pozharsky’ by Ernst Lissner, 1938, watercolour on paper, photo: Wikimedia Commons / Tretnyakov Gallery
On 9th October 1610, Polish troops entered Moscow – part of the events known in Polish history as the Dmitriads, and in Russian as the Polish Invasion or Polish Intervention. Moscow was occupied by Polish troops until 1612, when the Poles surrendered the Kremlin to Prince Pozharsky. In Russia, this moment is considered the end of the long period of inner turmoil called ‘The Time of Troubles’. Since 2005, this event has been commemorated annually on Russia’s National Unity Day of 4th November.
‘Battle of Khotym’ (1621)
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‘Battle of Khotym’ by Józef Brandt, 1867, oil on canvas, source: National Museum in Warsaw; photo: Wikimedia Commons / National Museum in Warsaw
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the Polish-Lithunanian Commonwealth waged a series of wars with the Ottoman Empire. During this period, Polish elites tended to think of themselves as the defenders of the frontiers of a Christian Europe – with Poland as the antemurale Christianitatis, or the Bulwark of Christianity.
The border town of Khotyn, in Podolya, present-day Ukraine, was the site of at least two great battles. This painting by Józef Brandt depicts the one that took place in 1621. By around this time, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had reached its greatest size, with some 990,000 km² of territory and a population of 11 to 12 million people.
‘Battle of Vienna’ (1683)
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‘Battle of Vienna’ by Pauwel Casteels, 1633-1685, oil on canvas, photo: Wikimedia Commons / Museum of the Palace of King Jan III
Fought on 12th September 1683, the Battle of Vienna followed a two-month-long siege of the city by Ottoman troops. The battle was won by the combined forces of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, commanded by King Jan III Sobieski of Poland, who led the Polish forces all the way from Poland.
The Battle of Vienna has been seen as a turning point in history, after which the Ottoman Turks ceased to be a formidable opponent to Christian forces. The conflict is also noted for including the largest known cavalry charge in world history.
The First Partition (1773)
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‘Rejtan, or the Fall of Poland’ by Jan Matejko, 1866, oil on canvas, photo: Wikimedia Commons / Royal Castle in Warsaw
Yet another painting by Matejko depicts a scene said to have taken place at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. There, on 21st April 1773, the Sejm declared the legalisation of the first partition of Poland. The central figure of the painting, seen at the right, is Tadeusz Rejtan, one of the deputies of the Sejm. Rejtan was unsuccessfully attempting to prevent this disgraceful turn of events by preventing the members of the Sejm from leaving the chamber.
The 3rd May Constitution (1791)
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‘Swearing-In of the 3rd May Constitution, 1791’ by Jean-Pierre Norblin de La Gourdaine, 1867, etching, photo: Wikimedia Commons / National Museum in Warsaw
Adopted in 1791, the 3rd May Constitution is often considered the first modern constitution in Europe. It was also world's second-oldest codified national constitution, after the 1789 United States Constitution. The Irish statesman Edmund Burke described the Polish decree as ‘the noblest benefit received by any nation at any time’...
The constitution attempted reforms that would clamp down on the prevailing flawed system of Polish democracy – with the so-called Golden Freedoms of the nobles and the anarchy fostered by the country's magnates. Despite its modern character, it turned out be too little, too late. The two further partitions of Poland, which followed in 1793 and 1795, terminated the existence of the country itself. This was a huge shock and trauma for the Polish elites, and was often referred to as ‘Finis Poloniae’. Ultimately, Poland would remain off of the map of Europe for 123 years.
Written by Mikołaj Gliński, 15 Jun 2015
Tytuł (nagłówek do zdjęcia)
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