Jan Matejko

Who was Jan Matejko?

Jan Alojzy Matejko was a Polish painter known for paintings of notable historical Polish political and military events. His works include large oil on canvas paintings like Rejtan, Union of Lublin or Battle of Grunwald, numerous portraits, a gallery of Polish kings, and murals in St. Mary's Basilica, Kraków. He is counted among the most famous Polish painters.

Matejko spent most of his life in Kraków. His teachers at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts included Wojciech Korneli Stattler and Władysław Łuszczkiewicz. Later, he became a director at this institution, which eventually was renamed to Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts. A number of his students became prominent painters themselves, including Maurycy Gottlieb, Jacek Malczewski, Józef Mehoffer and Stanisław Wyspiański.