Jan Matejko (1838 Kraków - 1893 Kraków), Polychrome design for the Church of the Virgin Mary in Kraków, 1891

gouache, paper; 69 x 44 cm light frame;
Signed and dated lower center: JM / r.p. 1891/V.;
On the back a sticker with the inscription: One of the plates / for polychrome / of the Church of the Virgin Mary / stylized plants
Estimate 40,000 - 60,000
The work has museum glass.
Provenance:
- Desa Kraków purchase (1970s).
- private collection, Cracow
Bibliography:
Starzyński J., Jan Matejko, Arkady Publishing House, Warsaw 1962.

The work described here is a fragment of one of the polychrome projects for St. Mary's Church in Krakow, where Matejko worked on monumental painting from 1889 to 1891. It is considered one of the artist's greatest achievements in this field. The painter was the author of the sketches and designs that formed the basis for the polychrome wall of the chancel and nave of Krakow's most famous church. Master Matejko used, among other things, floral and geometric ornamentation in his work, of which the presented work is an excellent example. Juliusz Starzyński described: "Matejko wanted to create wall paintings with an original artistic expression, and at the same time harmonized with the surroundings, which included Wit Stwosz's masterpiece and magnificent Gothic stained glass windows, as well as no less noteworthy monuments to the bourgeois culture of the Polish Renaissance. Accordingly, Matejko designed the cartouches for a number of decorative compositions, boldly using floral, subject and figural motifs, mostly drawn from the artistic tradition of the early Polish Renaissance, but given a free linear and color interpretation." Thus, Starzynski counts these works among some of the most important works of Polish decorative art. At the same time, he points out that Matejko's works inspired other great artists, such as Wyspianski and Mehoffer. In the year of the creation of the project on display, Matejko participated in an international exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Verein Berliner Künstler (his works were included in the international hall of the most outstanding works). In 1892, the painter took part in the Glaspalast international art exhibition in Munich or the Internationale Ausstellung für Musik- und Theaterwesen in Vienna. The polychrome design is an example of the artist's immense contribution to decorative arts.