Most famous paintings by Matejko, put as illustrations into many Polish books.
www.pinakoteka.zascianek.pl/Matejko/Matejko_2.htmPoisoning of Queen Bona
Bona Sforza d'Aragona (February 2, 1494 - November 19, 1557) was a member of the House of Sforza who in 1518 became the second wife of Sigismund I of Poland.
Bona, was a patron of Renaissance culture, which thanks to her, began to further flourish in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. She is also considered to have influenced the Polish and Lithuanian cuisines, having introduced many new dishes to the Commonwealth. In 1556, she returned to Bari, Italy. There she was poisoned by her private secretary Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda. Pappacoda was acting on behalf of Philip II of Spain, who wished to avoid repaying his sizable debts to the Polish queen.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_SforzaStańczyk - king`s jester.
The painting
Stańczyk during a Ball at the Court of Queen Bona after the Loss of Smoleńsk presents the most famous court jester in the Polish history. The jester is the only person at a royal ball who is troubled by the news that the Russians have captured Smolensk. This event happened in 1514.
Stańczyk (ca.1480 - 1560) has been always remembered for being a critical observer of Polish government and politics rather than a mere entertainer. He used his job to criticize mistakes of his contemporaries and warn against their short-term and long-term consequences for the country and the society.
In the Polish culture Stańczyk has been rather a symbolic than just a historic figure. He stands for conservative political philosophy: realistic patriotism and skeptical political wisdom.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sta%C5%84czyk
Skarga`s Sermon
Piotr Skarga (February 2, 1536 [1] – September 27, 1612 was a Polish Jesuit, preacher, hagiographer, polemicist, and leading figure of the Counter-reformation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was called the "Polish Bossuet" due to his oratorical abilities.
Skarga is remembered by Poles as a vigorous early advocate of reforms to the Polish-Lithuanian polity and as a critic of the Commonwealth's governing classes. He advocated the strengthening of the monarch's power at the expense of Sejm, magnates and szlachta.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piotr_SkargaRejtan - the Fall of Poland
Tadeusz Rejtan (1742-1780) was a Polish nobleman, a member of confederation of Bar, MP. In September 1773 Rejtan tried to prevent the legalization of the first partition of Poland by preventing the members of the Partition Sejm from entering the chamber. The dramatic events are depicted on this 1866 painting by Jan Matejko. Rejtan throws himself onto the floor, bares his chest and cries out: Over my dead body!
Taking advantage of weakened Poland, Prussia, Russia and Austria agreed to annex parts of the country in 1772. The Commonwealth lost 733,000 sq.km (23%) of her former territory and 4,500,000 of her population; Prussia took the smallest, but economically best, area; Austria took the most heavily populated areas, whilst Russia took the largest, but least important. To give the crime some legality the Sejm was forced to ratify the partition in 1773, despite the resistance of some Deputies, led by Tadeusz Rejtan.
After the partition eventually had taken place, Rejtan withdrew from political life and went on to live the rest of his life in a small estate called Hruszówka where he died on August 8, 1780. Tradition says, that by not being able to accept the loss of part of his homeland, he lost his senses and as a result, had committed suicide.
Tadeusz Rejtan has been remembered throughout Polish history as a shining example of patriotism. As such, he is also the protagonist of countless works of art, poems, songs and books.
www.kasprzyk.demon.co.uk/www/history/Decline.html
The Union of Lublin
A union agreement between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, signed on 1 July 1569 at a joint assembly of Lithuanian and Polish deputies in Lublin. The treaty gave birth to a single state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with a common elected monarch combining the offices of the Polish king and the Lithuanian grand duke, a common diet and senate, a joint foreign policy, and one monetary system. The Grand Duchy preserved its autonomy with its own laws, government, administration, courts, army, and finances.
King Batory at Psków
During the Livonian War (1558–1582), between Ivan the Terrible of Russia and Stefan Batory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Pskov was besieged by Polish forces. Poland failed to capture the city, but Batory, with his chancellor Jan Zamojski, led the Polish army in a brilliant decisive campaign and forced Russia to return other territories and gained Livonia and Polock. In 1582 the war ended with Commonwealth victory with the peace treaty.
fragments, Russian magnates bow to the king
