Jan Matejko Manor in Krzesławice
Kraków Artists: Painters and Sculptors
An old Polish manor house from 1826 in Krzesławice, owned by the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Kraków, since 1966 a museum devoted to the work of Jan Matejko; one room commemorates Hugo Kołłątaj, another outstanding resident of Krzesławice. It is a typical single-storey country residence with an annexe that once held Matejko's studios, under a shingle roof, with a veranda designed by the artist himself. The present manor was built in 1826 by the Kirchmayer family and is surrounded by a four-hectare park.
History
The present manor house in Krzesławice was built in 1826 by the Kirchmayer family, together with an extensive park that now covers four hectares. The earlier history of the estate is connected with the Kraków Academy. In 1788 it was taken over by the Academy's rector, Hugo Kołłątaj, but the manor house he was building no longer exists.
The manor owes its real fame to Jan Matejko, one of the greatest Polish painters, creator of historical paintings and, from 1873, director of the Kraków School of Fine Arts. In 1876 Matejko, who was related to the Kirchmayers, bought the manor, paying with the money he had received for selling his painting "Stefan Batory at Pskov". Krzesławice became his family's summer residence. The manor was renovated and extended to a design by the artist himself, who added a porch and his own painting studio. Here the painter and his family rested, received guests and organised sleigh rides and carol singing. Works created here include a portrait of his sister Maria Golichowska, the cycle "History of Civilisation in Poland", "Father Kordecki Defending Jasna Góra" and "The Babin Republic", in the background of which you can see the manor garden at Krzesławice. "Kościuszko at Racławice" was also partly painted here; the mound shown in the painting, over which the Commander rides, was in the park here.
After the painter's death the manor passed to his wife and then to his son Tadeusz. The artist wanted Krzesławice to become the family seat, but the estate was so deeply in debt that it had to be sold. It eventually passed to Maria Burzyńska, daughter of the painter's former agents, who in 1960 gave the manor to the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts. A museum with mementoes of Matejko and Kołłątaj was formally opened on 17 January 1966. From the painter's time the porch he designed, a wooden bench and the front door have survived, as well as the bell used to call the household; today it hangs in the tower of the nearby church. The manor also displays a gallery of Polish kings and princes painted by Matejko's pupils, Leonard Stroynowski and Zygmunt Papieski.
Did you know?
The models for the figures in "Kościuszko at Racławice" were local peasants. One of them, shown in the painting as Bartosz Głowacki, later changed his surname from Boligłowa to Głowacki.