Jan Matejko Monument
Kraków Artists: Painters and Sculptors
A monument in the Planty at Basztowa Street, on the west side of the Barbican opposite the Academy of Fine Arts, on the spot where a monument to Soviet Army soldiers stood until 1997. It shows Jan Matejko seated in an armchair and placed inside a picture frame, so that the trees of the Planty can be seen in the background of the "picture". The bronze figure stands on a red granite plinth with the inscription "Jan Matejko 1838-1893". The design was by Prof. Jan Tutaj of the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, and the monument was unveiled on 12 November 2013, on the 175th anniversary of the artist's birth and the 120th anniversary of his death.
History
Jan Matejko was born in Kraków in 1838 and died here in 1893. He studied at the Kraków School of Fine Arts and was its director from 1873. He painted more than three hundred oil paintings, including "Stańczyk", "Skarga's Sermon" and "The Battle of Grunwald", and through his canvases he spread knowledge of Poland's history. His pupils included Jacek Malczewski, Józef Mehoffer, Stanisław Wyspiański and Leon Wyczółkowski. He was also involved in saving Kraków's historic monuments and took part in the work of the committees overseeing the restoration of Veit Stoss's altarpiece in St Mary's Basilica, the Cloth Hall and Wawel Castle.
The monument stands in Planty Park on Basztowa Street, on the west side of the Barbican, opposite the Academy of Fine Arts. Until 1997 a monument to Soviet Army soldiers stood in this area. The commemoration was initiated by Professor Stanisław Pytko of the AGH University. The city council decided on it in 2008, but money for it was found in the budget only five years later. The design chosen in a competition was prepared by Professor Jan Tutaj of the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, and the cast was made by the ART-Studio company from Szczyglice. It was unveiled on 12 November 2013 by the Mayor of Kraków, Jacek Majchrowski, on the 175th anniversary of the painter's birth and the 120th anniversary of his death.
The bronze figure of Matejko sits in an armchair, set within a picture frame. The artist is placed in the left-hand corner, so that the trees of Planty Park can be seen in the background of the "painting". The whole stands on a red granite plinth carved with a white inscription: "Jan Matejko 1838-1893".
Did you know?
The main building of the Academy of Fine Arts stands on Matejki Square, which received its present name in 1882, when the painter was made an honorary citizen of Kraków.