Union of Lublin by Jan Matejko 1869 | Unia Lubelska | Visual Analysis of Polish Historical Paintings

Hello and welcome to my channel Wielko Rzeczpospolita and to my visual analysis series on paintings referring to Polish history. I'm Checkmate and today I will attempt to analyze and interpret the Union of Lublin painted by Jan Matejko in 1869. At the time of the release of this video, the painting is located at the National Museum in Lublin, which is located within the walls of Lublin Castle. Lublin or Lublin in Polish is located in southeastern Poland. The painting is on a long-term deposit from the National Museum in Warsaw, who are the current owners of the painting. Currently, it does not have a physical official market value as it is deemed a priceless piece of cultural heritage. The Union of Lublin was painted during a radically different Poland to the one depicted in this picture. The painter was yearning for Poland's lost golden age. He was painting during a time where Poland didn't exist on the map, whereas it was occupied and dismembered by foreign empires, exploiting its people and resources. There is not an exact completion date other than 1869 for this painting. The artist was actually commemorating the 300-year anniversary since the events depicted in this painting. The Union of Lublin was the culmination of hundreds of years of prior union between the two countries. The two countries had been united in the same way Scotland and England is today since 1386 in a dynastic union known as the Union of Krewel. It preceded the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707 by a whopping 321 years. Why then is the Union of Lublin so important and why does it stand out against the Union of Krewel? Well, after the Union of Krewel, the state was only bound together through a dynastic union. Thus, when the last of the dynasty died out, there was nothing keeping the realms together, but yet they grew so intertwined that they chose a mutual destiny. The final king of the Jagiellonian dynasty, his heirless death was indeed anticipated by everyone in the court. King Sigismund II Augustus wrote up the Union of Lublin before he died, binding the two states into what contemporaries called the Republic or Rzeczpospolita, a bi-federal state with an elective monarchy. It came with various reforms such as religious freedoms unparalleled to other countries in Europe at the time. After the death of every king, a new king was elected known as the Free Elections. There was also toleration for ethnic minorities as well as standing armies and codified laws. The country was wealthy. Back to the 19th century and Jan Matejko's Poland, the Polish language, way of life and religions were completely suppressed by the of Germany and Russia. Jan Matejko was a celebrated artist during his own lifetime and he was the recipient of many awards. In 1870, during a showing in Paris, Jan Matejko was awarded France's highest state award for artists for this piece in particular. The award is called The Union of Lublin is a rather large piece. It's 298 centimeters by 512 centimeters, approximately 9.8 feet by 16.8 feet. It is complemented by a golden gilded frame. These frames change over time with the destinations of the showings of the painting, so it seems its own bespoke frame was never taken into consideration during the initial painting of this piece. The painting is oil on canvas, reinforced by a large multi-bar wooden stretcher or strainer behind the canvas, including crossbars and braces. The canvas itself is stretched and tacked to the wooden frame and kept under even tension. Before painting, the canvas was seized with glue, primed with gesso. This reinforcement prevents oil from degrading the fibers, provides a stable surface for the paint. For brushes, Matejko used bristle brushes with hog hair. Those were the large flat and filbert hog hair brushes used for blocking in large areas, architecture, garments and underpainting. He also used finer natural hair brushes, sable or marten hair brushes with small round tips for things like faces, hands, jewelry, insignia and embroidery. This allowed for precise and smooth detailing. Occasionally, he used fan or soft blending brushes for soft transitions and shadow blendings. His overall strokes and the character of his brush strokes are controlled and deliberate, mostly invisible from a distance, typical of academic history painting. He uses broad directional strokes in garments and backgrounds, endemic of his tactic to guide the viewer's eye toward the center of the painting. He uses short tight strokes in faces and hands to emphasize individuality and psychological tension. He uses layered strokes and textiles to simulate weight and folds and the richness of fabrics. Matejko tended to avoid visible and expressive brushwork, such as impressionism. His overall technique used layered painting as a typical academic method, began with drawing, tonal underpainting, built up paint in successive layers, and this ultimately allowed him room for correction and refinement over time. He focused on a lot of light dark compositions and contrasts and known in the art world as chiaroscuro. He uses another technique called glazing, which is the use of thin translucent layers of oil paint used to deepen reds and golds and enrich shadows and create luminosity in skin and fabric. Matejko carefully blended meticulous historical research with intentional drama, mainly to inspire the Polish nation. He blended reality with an idealized version of events such as this. That's not to say he was ignorant of historical research. On the contrary, he actually put in a lot of research to everything exactly what people would be wearing at the time. There are a few characters here that are real, some aren't, and for the lack of a better term, there may be an easter egg or two. Again, this is him utilizing his artistic license to emphasize the symbolic weight of these historical events. So let's begin with the room and the location. He chose to paint the inside of Lublin Castle, which is the historic site of the signing and the negotiations. The only other site relevant to this act of union was the church of Saint Stanislav, where the oaths were taken. Going back to the castle and the events happening there, Matejko has depicted the oaths taking place within the walls of the castle, specifically in the Great Hall, or known locally as the Royal Hall. The oaths were actually taken in the refectory, or in other words, the Grand Dining Hall of the Dominican Monastery of Saint Stanislav. There are no images of either of these rooms available online, however, there are clues within the paintings that can help us deduce which room it may be within the building. For example, looking at the back window, one can see a clock tower peaking. Now, there are a few towers in the area of Lublin, but I do believe this may be the Krakow Gate. It is the only one of these towers that has a clock face. The roof is black, whereas the mortar on the walls is white. This is a resemblance between the Krakow Gate and the depiction of the tower in the window in the painting. However, the tower looks to me to be gothic, whereas the Krakow Gate looks like it has a more of a baroque dome. It is 680 years old and it was built in 1341 under the orders of Kazimir the Great, King of Poland. It has been reconstructed and renovated several times, however, one being in the 1770s, which was a baroque time period, and one in the 1550s. The 1550s would have given it a more gothic look. There have been other reconstructions, one being in the 1950s, so the tower may have changed its characteristics over time. I'm yet to conclude my research on this, however, I am yet to find any decent resources on this matter. This is the view of the castle from the Trinity Tower, one of the candidates for the possible towers. The Krakow Tower is out of view, but is located to the west of this picture, or to the left of this picture. If it was to be either of these two towers, then we'd be looking back at either the room where the signatories signed the Act of Union, or another room based on Matejko's imagination within the castle. In a future video, I plan to visit these places and hopefully have pictures of my own to show you, but I digress. The official name of the document was the Act of Union of Lublin. There were actually two parts to the document. There was the Polish part and the Lithuanian part, of course. There was a total of 77 signatories on this document. However, as you can see, there aren't 77 people in this painting. Some of these individuals or characters represent more than one person in real life. Who exactly will become apparent in the duration of this video? Moving on to the location of this document within the painting, the Act of Union is located in the hands of Marcin Zborowski, in the front center of the painting, depicted as a scroll, with the country seal located on the scroll. Moving on to Zborowski's other hand, this is his right hand, and he is swearing an oath on a gospel book exquisitely painted and ornately decorated. It is a medieval manuscript dating from around the 6th century CE. It belongs to the Archbishop of Gniezno, Archbishop Jakub Uchański. This manuscript in Polish is called Rekopiszmienny Ewangiarz. This is the previously mentioned Marcin Zborowski. He was voivode of Poznań and a huge advocate of the Commonwealth movement prior to its creation in 1569. His voice was instrumental to the creation of the Commonwealth. However, he tragically died prior to the events depicted here. So, his presence here in this painting is somewhat of an anachronism. However, he was so instrumental to the movement that Matejko found it necessary to add him in, and he is depicted swearing his oath affirming the creation of the Commonwealth. Next to him in white is Jakub Uchański. He was the current Archbishop of Gniezno and primate of Poland. He was the highest ranking Catholic cleric present and would often serve as regent during an interregnum. He is depicted in a posture of affirmation toward the event. He is in control of the ceremony as he is guiding Zborowski's hand to where he needs to make the oath. Directly over his right shoulder we have the Bishop of Kraków, Filip Padniewski. He was responsible for the day-to-day running of the realm, as unlike the Archbishop who was based in Gniezno, he was co-located with the King. Some say he is praying, others say he is reading out laws of conduct. Next to him, front and center, we have the aforementioned King Sigismund II Augustus. There is no coincidence these two candles are placed here. Both candles represent church and state, the two pillars of the feudal realm. The individuals of King Sigismund and the two high-ranking clergymen represent the physical embodiment of those candles. He is also known as Grand Duke of Lithuania and the Rus'. The rank of King tended to outrank the rank of Grand Duke and I believe this is depicted behind the King in the sigils hanging on the walls. Poland is depicted as a large tapestry whereas Lithuania and Ruthenia are both the same as all the other sigils littered around the room. Though Lithuania and Ruthenia are on either side of the Polish Eagle and I think that is a degree of significance over all the other titles because they're associated with entire nations rather than smaller size areas. It could just be because Lublin is on the Polish side of the Commonwealth and they just didn't renovate. It's also conveying a type of Poland Matejko wanted to convey. To him, Poland was a federation of different nations, not just one nation as we know it today. But look closer at this image, this area right in the the tapestry, the cross and the King. As a flat two-dimensional piece, it really shows what he tried to convey Poland was and the legitimacy it held. Back to the King and he is seen holding a loft, a cross. It emphasizes the King's personal commitment to the reshaping of the state as well as a public declaration before God and the Commonwealth. Moving toward the back of the room and to the top left corner, here we have Albert Frederick, the Duke of Prussia, son of Albert, Duke of Prussia, the first Hohenzollern secular ruler of Prussia. During this point in time, the Duchy of Prussia was part of the Polish Kingdom and Frederick Albert recognized Polish sovereignty over Prussia. Albert Frederick is depicted waving enthusiastically. Albert Frederick, however, was only 16 at the time, which has led many to speculate that this could be Albert, his father. However, that would also be an anachronism because his father died in 1568 prior to the events seen here. I believe this individual is likely a manifestation of both Albert, Duke of Prussia and Frederick Albert, Duke of Prussia, as both of them chose to be part of the Commonwealth regardless whether they were present or not. Next to him we have Andrzej Tończynski. He was the Voivode of Krakow. He was one of the richest and most popular men in the realm and he died in 1588, 19 years after the events here. In front of him is Marcin Kromer. He started life as a commoner and was newly knighted in the year 1561. He later became Bishop of Warmia. His family greatly benefited from the progressive laws of the Commonwealth and thus he became a staunch defender of its laws and a reliable bureaucrat and diplomat in the interests of the Commonwealth. In green we have Stanisław Spytek-Tarnowski. He was a prominent statesman and military leader, famous for modernizing Polish tactics, particularly against the Tartars. He also served a stint as the Treasurer of the Crown, as well as the Royal Sword Bearer and the Voivode of Sandomierz. At the edge of the picture we have Jan Firey. He was Voivode of Lublin and Belze, as well as Royal Secretary. Due to the characteristics depicted here and his distance from the main events in the center of the painting has led many to believe that this is in fact Jan Matejko adding himself into this painting. He has done it with some of his other paintings, though there are no overt sources that clearly state he has done this here. Sat next to him is Cardinal Hojusz. He served as Bishop of Warmia before he became Cardinal. He was the Commonwealth's direct connection to Rome and extremely influential. He's depicted here moving his hands as though he's helping manipulate from a distance. Next to him is Łukasz Górski. His positioning toward the front of the painting is deliberate, as he represents the province of Greater Poland, which was the oldest province of the Commonwealth. He was a magnate and Voivode of Kalisz. He became the highest ranking Lutheran in the realm once he converted. Matejko put him deliberately next to Cardinal Hojusz because he wanted to show them harmoniously working together for the good of the state, regardless of their religious convictions, and they were of course contemporaries. Next to him we have Vasily Ostrogski and his son Janusz Ostrogski. They are of princely stock. Ostrogski is chiefly responsible for the transfer of the Ruthenian Voivodeships, such as Volhynia and Kiev, to the newly created province of Lesser Poland. He is firmly seated on the side of the Kingdom of Poland, representing this province next to Górski and the province of Greater Poland, marking the transfer from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into the Kingdom of Poland. The Ostrogskis were orthodox at the time. Sitting next to a Lutheran and a Catholic shows the synergy and peace the Commonwealth had. Janusz later converted to Catholicism and became the Voivode of Volhynia. Behind them stands Walenty Dembinski. He served as Chancellor during the Union of Lublin and greatly contributed to the enabling of the Act of Union. Next to him stands Piotr Myszkowski. He was the Vice-Chancellor of the Crown, as well as Bishop of Płock. Lastly, way in the back is Albert Łaszki, a courtier and statesman during this period, and brother of the famous reformist Jan Łaszki. He was a Calvinist and seen by Jan Matejko as somewhat of a founding father to the Commonwealth, and that's why he is so prominently at the front of the composition. He is cradling the Archbishop of Vilnius, Valery Prostasewicz. Valery was known for being passive and warm toward Protestantism. He was a guardian of Lithuanian rights throughout the Commonwealth. This is why he seems poised and ready to voice his concern about the proceedings. Across to the other side of the room, and we'll begin with Mikołaj Radziwiłł the Red, Voivode of Vilnius and Grand Hetman of Lithuania. After the death of King Sigismund Augustus, he opposed the Commonwealth, and this is said to be denoted by his drawn sword. Next to him is the Grand Crown Hetman Mikołaj Mielecki. He married into the Radziwiłł family by marrying Elizabeth Radziwiłł, who was the daughter of Mikołaj the Black. Mikołaj is cousins with Mikołaj the Red. This is why they are embracing. Mielecki is best known for his campaigns in Moldavia and his campaigns against Ivan the Terrible of Russia. Seated behind him is the Marshal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Jan Chodkiewicz. He later became governor of the province of Livonia due to his instrumental leadership skills during the Livonian Wars. He is depicted to be praying and pensive. This is because he came from a Calvinist household, later converted to Catholicism. The individual in the foreground is thought to be Mikołaj the Red's squire. There is a possibility it could be his son, Krzysztof Radziwiłł. As you can see, he is depicted holding the sheath to Mikołaj the Red's sword. Next we have Andrzej Fritz Modrzewski, helping an allegorical young man that's supposed to represent the common people of Lithuania. This is because he was a famous renaissance and humanist author. He was also a statesman and greatly pushed for this reformation to occur. And for a time he was the Volborske Voivode. Many people have stated this proverbial Lithuanian's characteristics are much like Nicholas Copernicus, a famous Polish astronomer at this time, though he passed away in 1543, which was two decades before the events here. Next we have Jan Kostka, who is getting ready to get up and take his oath. He served as Kastelan of Gdańsk and later was one of the candidates up for election as the new king of Poland in the 1572 elections. He was also actually present during the real union of Lublin. Along the same bench we have Ostawy Bogdanović-Bović, who was the vice chancellor of Lithuania and close confidant of King Sigismund II Augustus. Next to him is Roman Sangusko. He is of the princely house of Jagiellon and is a distant relative of the king. He is an advocate of the union and this is represented by him holding both flags. He is also Voivode of Bratislava and is depicted in full Hussar armor to show his princely origins. As well as this Matejko wanted to create this feeling that he came straight from the battlefield, fresh from the fight either in the south or in the east. Next to him, also donning his armor, is Michał Wiśniowiecki. He was a powerful noble who married into the Kiev princely house of Zbarawski, who claimed their descent back to the Rurikids. He became the headman of the Cossacks and is also grandfather to future Polish king Michał Kobylut Wiśniowiecki. Next, right at the back is Stanisław Czarnkowski. He was royal secretary and commander of the Knights of Saint John of Poznań. Before the Commonwealth was established, he was a prominent statesman in the royal court of Poland. He was an advocate of the union, however, sadly, he lost his prominence once the royal court became the commonwealth court. This is likely why he is depicted at the back of the room, almost forgotten about. Next to him, stands Rafał Leszczyński. He was one of the leaders of the executionist movement and part of the Polish reformation as one of the leaders of the evangelical church in Poland. The executionist movement was a political movement that empowered the lower classes in Poland. He has his hand on his head in a sort of happy disbelief. He was also a voivode of Brzezd Kujawski in Greater Poland. Right at the back, we have prominent statesman Jan Herbut. He was a Ruthenian nobleman and political thinker. It was him who codified the statutes of the Kingdom of Poland. He was an opponent of the union and some say he never came to the signing of the Commonwealth and his brother Stanisław came instead. I think this is why Matejko has put him as a shadowy figure in the back of the room, barely even there. He may have had reason to believe these rumors. Next, we have Anna Jagiellonka. She is sister to King Sigismund II Augustus and future queen. In the future, she will marry King Stefan Batory. Although she was a contemporary, she wasn't present. She is depicted here because Matejko saw her as an important historical figure during this period and is depicted as some kind of legal arbiter and royal representative. Next to the future queen sits Beata Koscielecka. She was the illegitimate daughter of King Sigismund the Old, making her the sister of the king. She had many Slovakian lands in her possessions, which were a fine addition to the Commonwealth. Over to her right shoulder is the wife and daughter of Andrzej Tęczyński. They were included by the artist to humanize the Commonwealth a little bit. They themselves were influential women. Zofia, his daughter, married into the princely house of Ostrów. To the left of the queen in waiting, Anna Jagiellonka, sits Zofia Szydłowiecka. She was an incredibly influential noblewoman. Her presence in the court signifies her real-life contribution to politicking, as well as the unparalleled progressiveness of the state. Sadly, not very much information on her story survives to this day. The last person I'm going to be talking about is the person behind Zofia. She is Katarzyna Hubertowa and wife of Jan Hubert. She is also the daughter of Paris Torokhojowski. She is conflicted and yet hopeful that her husband will arrive, as we've already spoken about the scandal where it may have been his brother that signed. So I'd like to finish with a couple of honorable mentions. Firstly, I'd like to point out that this rendition of the painting cut out a character. She was Barbara Firejowa and she was wife of Jan Firej. She's depicted praying up in the gallery. From what few sources I could gather on her, she was known to be a pious lady. Her maiden name was Mniszek and her date of birth and date of death are unknown. The next honorable mention I wanted to point out is this area by the king's cloak. Notice its monotone color and its lack of stroke. I believe this was placed afterwards or towards the finish of the painting, as he wanted to break up the image from Waski's head to the king's cloak, as the viewer would have a better visual response to this, seeing individuals broken up rather than stuck in a mass of black, textualist void connecting to each other. This concludes my visual analysis on the Union of Lublin by Jan Matejko. If you made it this far, I sincerely appreciate you watching. If there's anything you'd like to add that you think I'd appreciate about this video, feel free to write it down in the comments box down below. Otherwise, look forward to my next video, which will be coming out next month.