A painting by Jan Matejko, which was considered lost for decades, today went on display in Warsaw. The piece, Saint Stanisław Rebuking Bolesław the Bold, will be auctioned next month. Valued at 5-7 million zloty (€1.1-1.6 million), it could break the record price for a work sold in Poland.
The oil painting, which measures only 35 by 47 centimetres, was created by Matejko, Poland’s best-known artist, in 1877. After being exhibited at the Grand Palais in Paris in 1921, it was not seen again for decades and art historians considered it to be lost, reports Gazeta Wyborcza.
However, 12 years ago the private owner of the work came forward, after recognising it in a catalogue published to mark the centenary of Matejko’s death.
Jan Matejko, Saint Stanisław Rebuking Bolesław the Bold (1877)
The painting depicts Bolesław the Bold, who ruled Poland from 1058 to 1079, embracing Krystyna, a woman whom Bolesław had kidnapped from her husband. On the left, Stanisław Szczepanowski, the bishop of Kraków (and now a patron saint of Poland), threatens the king with the condemnation of the church.
After being excommunicated by Stanisław, Bolesław ordered the bishop to be executed without trial. Legend has it that, after his men refused to carry out the orders, the king himself slayed Stanisław while he was celebrating mass.
“Contrary to popular opinion, Matejko painted not so much to cheer hearts as to stir Polish consciences,” notes DESA Unicum, the auction house selling the work.
“The story of Bolesław’s conflict with the bishop of Kraków, as well as the martyrdom of Stanisław, fit this perfectly,” they add. “The picture shows the cause of future dramatic events, the debauched life of the king.”
Franciszek Streitt, New Year – morning greeting (1879)
The painting today went on display at DESA Unicum in Warsaw, along with other works by some of Matejko’s students. Among them is Orpheus and Eurydice by Jacek Malczewski, which sold for over 2.8 million zloty in March. Admission is free and the exhibition runs until 10 June.
Between 10 and 19 June, many of the works will then be auctioned, and Saint Stanisław Rebuking Bolesław the Bold could obtain the highest ever price paid for a work of art in Poland, reports Gazeta Wyborcza.
The current record is 8 million zloty (including auction fee), which was paid in 2019 for a series of 20 bronze figures by sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz. The most paid for a single picture was 7.3 million for Wojciech Fangor’s M 22 (pictured below) at an auction in December last year.
That same auction also set a record for a work classified as an “Old Master”, with 6.96 million zloty being paid for another painting by Matejko, his 1872 Portrait of Professor Karol Gilewski, M.D.
Matejko is widely regarded as Poland’s “national painter”. Many of his works depict pivotal events in the country’s history. He spent most of his life in Kraków, including as director of the city’s Academy of Fine Arts, which is now named after him.
Last month, the National Gallery in London opened an exhibition dedicated to Matejko, and in particular his famous portrait of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. It is the first time that a major work by a Polish artist has been shown at the gallery, and the exhibition runs until 21 August.
The @NationalGallery's new Jan Matejko exhibition is the first time that a major work by a Polish artist has been exhibited there.
“It is surprising to realise that entire and important strands of European painting remain unrepresented," says the director https://t.co/V7lAuNjpTJ
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) April 19, 2021
All image credits: DESA Unicum (press material)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
