Polonia (personification)

Last updated
Jan Matejko, Polonia (Poland), 1863. Oil on canvas, 156 x 232 cm, National Museum, Krakow. Pictured is the aftermath of the failed January 1863 Uprising; one of the most patriotic and symbolic paintings by Matejko. Captives await exile to Siberia. Russian officers and soldiers supervise a blacksmith placing shackles on the woman (Polonia). The blonde haired woman next to her represents Lithuania. Jan Matejko - Polonia 1863 (Poland Enchained) - MNK XII-453 - National Museum Krakow.jpg
Jan Matejko, Polonia (Poland), 1863. Oil on canvas, 156 × 232 cm, National Museum, Kraków. Pictured is the aftermath of the failed January 1863 Uprising; one of the most patriotic and symbolic paintings by Matejko. Captives await exile to Siberia. Russian officers and soldiers supervise a blacksmith placing shackles on the woman (Polonia). The blonde haired woman next to her represents Lithuania.

Polonia, the name for Poland in Latin and many Romance and other languages, is most often used in modern Polish to refer to the Polish diaspora. However, as can be seen from the image, it was also used as a national personification.

Contents

The symbolic depiction of a country as a woman called by the Latin name of that country was common in the 19th century (see Germania, Britannia, Hibernia, Helvetia).

Personifications of Poland in art

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zamość</span> Place in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland

Zamość is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about 90 km (56 mi) from Lublin, 247 km (153 mi) from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Matejko</span> Polish painter (1838–1893)

Jan Alojzy Matejko was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale oil paintings such as Stańczyk (1862), Rejtan (1866), Union of Lublin (1869), Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God (1873), or Battle of Grunwald (1878). He was the author of numerous portraits, a gallery of Polish monarchs in book form, and murals in St. Mary's Basilica, Kraków. He is considered by many as the most celebrated Polish painter, and sometimes as the "national painter" of Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Poland</span> 1890–1918 modernist arts movement in Poland

Young Poland was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Poland promoted trends of decadence, neo-romanticism, symbolism, Impressionism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stańczyk</span> Polish court jester

Stańczyk was the most famous Polish court jester. He was employed by three Polish kings: Alexander, Sigismund the Old and Sigismund Augustus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Poland</span>

The culture of Poland is the product of its geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to an intricate thousand-year history. Poland has a Roman Catholic majority, and religion plays an important role in the lives of many Polish people. The unique character of Polish culture developed as a result of its geography at the confluence of various European regions.

Romanticism in Poland, a literary, artistic and intellectual period in the evolution of Polish culture, began around 1820, coinciding with the publication of Adam Mickiewicz's first poems in 1822. It ended with the suppression of the January 1863 Uprising against the Russian Empire in 1864. The latter event ushered in a new era in Polish culture known as Positivism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacek Malczewski</span> Polish painter (1854–1929)

Jacek Malczewski was a Polish symbolist painter who was one of the central figures of the patriotic Young Poland movement. His creative output combined the predominant style of his times with historical motifs of Polish martyrdom, the romantic ideals of independence, Christian and Greek mythology, folk tales, as well as his love of the natural world. He was the father of painter Rafał Malczewski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silesian Museum (Katowice)</span> Voivodeship museum in Katowice, Poland

Silesian Museum in Katowice is a museum in the city of Katowice, Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts</span> Art school in Kraków, Poland

The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, is a public institution of higher education located in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It is the oldest Polish fine art academy, established in 1818 and granted full autonomy in 1873.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Museum in Kraków</span> National museum in Kraków, Poland

The National Museum in Kraków, popularly abbreviated as MNK, is the largest museum in Poland, and the main branch of Poland's National Museum, which has several independent branches with permanent collections around the country. Established in 1879, the museum consists of 21 departments which are divided by art period: 11 galleries, 2 libraries, and 12 conservation workshops. It holds some 780,000 art objects, spanning from classical archeology to modern art, with special focus on Polish painting. In 2023, the museum was visited by over 1.65 million people, making it the third most-visited art museum in Poland and the 37th most-visited art museum in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Włodzimierz Tetmajer</span> Polish painter

Włodzimierz Tetmajer was a Polish painter with works in collections of the Warsaw National Museum and Kraków.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teodor Axentowicz</span>

Teodor Axentowicz was a Polish-Armenian painter and university professor. He was also the rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. As an artist, Axentowicz was famous for his portraits and scenes of Hutsul life, set in the Carpathians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artur Grottger</span> Polish painter (1837–1867)

Artur Grottger was a Polish Romantic painter and graphic artist, one of the most prominent artists of the mid 19th century under the partitions of Poland, despite a life cut short by incurable illness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Szeptycki family</span> Ruthenian noble family

Szeptycki was a major noble family in Ruthenia. The family was related to a number of other noble families, such as the Wiśniowiecki, the Ledóchowski or the Fredro.

<i>Polish Hamlet. Portrait of Aleksander Wielopolski</i> 1903 painting by Jacek Malczewski

Polish Hamlet. Portrait of Alexander Wielopolskiis an oil painting by Jacek Malczewski from 1903, presenting the allegorical grandson Aleksander Wielopolski and two different visions of the fate of the Polish nation.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Jan Cavanaugh. Out Looking in: Early Modern Polish Art, 1890-1918. University of California Press. 2000. pp. 18, 106-107, 188.
  2. Jeremy Howard. Art Nouveau: International and National Styles in Europe. Manchester University Press. 1996. p. 135.