“SztukArterie” – Jan Matejko – Artist or cheapskate?

There is probably no more famous artist in Polish art than Jan Matejko, who is responsible for the creation of the entire Polish visual thinking. When talking about important events in the history of Poland, we think about Matejko’s paintings and see his vision of history. Moreover, when we learn that this thinking is often contrary to the facts, we cannot accept it, it has become so embedded in our national consciousness.

When talking about Matejko, art historians always show a certain duality. On the one hand, they appreciate the enormous amount of work that illustrated the history of our country, and on the other, they criticize its formal derivativeness and artistic kitsch. These ambivalent voices can lead to confusion. How to look at Matejko properly? Is he just a kitschman obsessively producing historical canvases in accordance with God’s homeland ideas, or maybe a historian using a brush to condemn the flaws of a nation for which form was only a button on the coat of arms of content? The literature on the subject still does not provide a clear answer.

However, we will try to clarify all these doubts during the next SztukArteria, trying to understand who he really was and what his art is today.

As always, the speech will be enriched with multimedia and many intriguing anecdotes.

The lecture will be traditionally led by Łukasz Wudarski