1.
Free City of Cracow
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It was controlled by its three neighbours. It was a center of agitation for an independent Poland, in 1846, in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Kraków Uprising, it was annexed by the Austrian Empire. It was a remnant of the Duchy of Warsaw, which was partitioned between the three states in 1815 and it was an overwhelmingly Polish-speaking city-state, of its population 85% were Catholics, 14% were Jews while other religions comprised less than 1%. The city of Kraków itself had a Jewish population reaching nearly 40%, the Free City was approved and guaranteed by Article VII of the Treaty between Austria, Prussia, and Russia of 3 May 1815. The statelet received a constitution at the same time, revised and expanded in 1818. The Jagiellonian University could accept students from the territory of Poland. The Free City thus became a center of Polish political activity on the territories of partitioned Poland, during the November Uprising of 1830–31, Kraków was a base for the smuggling of arms into the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland. After the end of the uprising the autonomy of the Free City was restricted, the police were controlled by Austria and the election of the president had to be approved by all three powers. Kraków was subsequently occupied by the Austrian army from 1836 to 1841, after the unsuccessful Kraków Uprising of 1846, the Free City was annexed by Austria on November 16,1846 as the Grand Duchy of Cracow. The Free City of Kraków was created from the southwest part of the Duchy of Warsaw, the territory of the city comprised 1164–1234 km². It bordered the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire and it comprised the city of Kraków and its environs, the other settlements in the area administered by the Free City included 224 villages and three towns. In 1815 its population was 95,000, as of 1843 it had a population of 146,000, 85% of them were Catholics, 14% Jews, while other religions comprised 1%. The most notable szlachta family was the Potocki family of magnates, the statelet received an initial constitution in 1815 which had mainly been devised by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski. The constitution was revised and expanded in 1818, establishing significant autonomy for the city, legislative power was vested in the Assembly of Representatives, and the executive power was given to a Governing Senate. Freedom of press was also curtailed, in 1835 a secret treaty between the partitioning powers presented a plan in which in case of additional Polish unrest, Austria was given the right to occupy and annex the city. That would take place after the Kraków Uprising of 1846, the law was based on the Napoleonic civil code and French commercial and criminal law. In 1836 the local force was disbanded and replaced by Austrian police. The Free City of Kraków was the first purely republican government in the history of Poland, the Free City was a duty-free area, allowed to trade with Russia, Prussia and Austria
2.
Austria-Hungary
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The union was a result of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and came into existence on 30 March 1867. Austria-Hungary consisted of two monarchies, and one region, the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia under the Hungarian crown. It was ruled by the House of Habsburg, and constituted the last phase in the evolution of the Habsburg Monarchy. Following the 1867 reforms, the Austrian and the Hungarian states were co-equal, Foreign affairs and the military came under joint oversight, but all other governmental faculties were divided between respective states. Austria-Hungary was a state and one of the worlds great powers at the time. Austria-Hungary was geographically the second-largest country in Europe after the Russian Empire, at 621,538 km2, the Empire built up the fourth-largest machine building industry of the world, after the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom. After 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina was under Austro-Hungarian military and civilian rule until it was annexed in 1908. The annexation of Bosnia also led to Islam being recognized as a state religion due to Bosnias Muslim population. Austria-Hungary was one of the Central Powers in World War I and it was already effectively dissolved by the time the military authorities signed the armistice of Villa Giusti on 3 November 1918. The realms full, official name was The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council, each enjoyed considerable sovereignty with only a few joint affairs. Certain regions, such as Polish Galicia within Cisleithania and Croatia within Transleithania, enjoyed autonomous status, the division between Austria and Hungary was so marked that there was no common citizenship, one was either an Austrian citizen or a Hungarian citizen, never both. This also meant that there were always separate Austrian and Hungarian passports, however, neither Austrian nor Hungarian passports were used in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia-Dalmatia. Instead, the Kingdom issued its own passports which were written in Croatian and French and it is not known what kind of passports were used in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was under the control of both Austria and Hungary. The Kingdom of Hungary had always maintained a separate parliament, the Diet of Hungary, the administration and government of the Kingdom of Hungary remained largely untouched by the government structure of the overarching Austrian Empire. Hungarys central government structures remained well separated from the Austrian imperial government, the country was governed by the Council of Lieutenancy of Hungary – located in Pressburg and later in Pest – and by the Hungarian Royal Court Chancellery in Vienna. The Hungarian government and Hungarian parliament were suspended after the Hungarian revolution of 1848, despite Austria and Hungary sharing a common currency, they were fiscally sovereign and independent entities. Since the beginnings of the union, the government of the Kingdom of Hungary could preserve its separated. After the revolution of 1848–1849, the Hungarian budget was amalgamated with the Austrian, from 1527 to 1851, the Kingdom of Hungary maintained its own customs controls, which separated her from the other parts of the Habsburg-ruled territories
3.
Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts
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The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, or the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, is a public institution of higher learning located in downtown Kraków, Poland. It is the oldest Polish fine-arts academy, established in 1818, ASP is a state-run university that offers 5- and 6-year Masters degree programs. As of 2007, the Academys faculty comprised 94 professors and assistant professors as well as 147 Ph. D. s, the Academy of Fine Arts was originally a subdivision of the Jagiellonian Universitys Department of Literature and was initially called School of Drawing and Painting. ASP received the status of an independent institution of learning in 1873 as the School of Fine Arts. The main building based on a design by architect Maciej Moraczewski was erected in todays Matejko Square in 1879. In 1893–95 its principal was a broadly educated Władysław Łuszczkiewicz who also served as conservator of monuments in the city. Following the death of Jan Matejko in 1893, the next ASP President elected in 1895 was Julian Fałat, who remained at his post until 1909. On the 100th anniversary of its founding, in 1979, the Academy was named for Jan Matejko, its founder and first president, in 2008 the Academy joined Icograda and became that organizations first educational member in Poland
4.
Painting
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Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, Painting is a mode of creative expression, and the forms are numerous. Drawing, gesture, composition, narration, or abstraction, among other aesthetic modes, may serve to manifest the expressive, Paintings can be naturalistic and representational, photographic, abstract, narrative, symbolistic, emotive, or political in nature. A portion of the history of painting in both Eastern and Western art is dominated by motifs and ideas. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action, the term painting is also used outside of art as a common trade among craftsmen and builders. What enables painting is the perception and representation of intensity, every point in space has different intensity, which can be represented in painting by black and white and all the gray shades between. In practice, painters can articulate shapes by juxtaposing surfaces of different intensity, thus, the basic means of painting are distinct from ideological means, such as geometrical figures, various points of view and organization, and symbols. In technical drawing, thickness of line is ideal, demarcating ideal outlines of an object within a perceptual frame different from the one used by painters. Color and tone are the essence of painting as pitch and rhythm are the essence of music, color is highly subjective, but has observable psychological effects, although these can differ from one culture to the next. Black is associated with mourning in the West, but in the East, some painters, theoreticians, writers and scientists, including Goethe, Kandinsky, and Newton, have written their own color theory. Moreover, the use of language is only an abstraction for a color equivalent, the word red, for example, can cover a wide range of variations from the pure red of the visible spectrum of light. There is not a register of different colors in the way that there is agreement on different notes in music. For a painter, color is not simply divided into basic, painters deal practically with pigments, so blue for a painter can be any of the blues, phthalocyanine blue, Prussian blue, indigo, cobalt, ultramarine, and so on. Psychological and symbolical meanings of color are not, strictly speaking, colors only add to the potential, derived context of meanings, and because of this, the perception of a painting is highly subjective. The analogy with music is quite clear—sound in music is analogous to light in painting, shades to dynamics and these elements do not necessarily form a melody of themselves, rather, they can add different contexts to it. Modern artists have extended the practice of painting considerably to include, as one example, collage, some modern painters incorporate different materials such as sand, cement, straw or wood for their texture. Examples of this are the works of Jean Dubuffet and Anselm Kiefer, there is a growing community of artists who use computers to paint color onto a digital canvas using programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and many others. These images can be printed onto traditional canvas if required, rhythm is important in painting as it is in music
5.
Drawing
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Drawing is a form of visual art in which a person uses various drawing instruments to mark paper or another two-dimensional medium. A drawing instrument releases small amount of material onto a surface, the most common support for drawing is paper, although other materials, such as cardboard, plastic, leather, canvas, and board, may be used. Temporary drawings may be made on a blackboard or whiteboard or indeed almost anything, the medium has been a popular and fundamental means of public expression throughout human history. It is one of the simplest and most efficient means of communicating visual ideas, the wide availability of drawing instruments makes drawing one of the most common artistic activities. In addition to its artistic forms, drawing is frequently used in commercial illustration, animation, architecture, engineering. A quick, freehand drawing, usually not intended as a work, is sometimes called a sketch. An artist who practices or works in technical drawing may be called a drafter, Drawing is one of the major forms of expression within the visual arts. It is generally concerned with the marking of lines and areas of tone onto paper/other material, traditional drawings were monochrome, or at least had little colour, while modern colored-pencil drawings may approach or cross a boundary between drawing and painting. In Western terminology, drawing is distinct from painting, even though similar media often are employed in both tasks, dry media, normally associated with drawing, such as chalk, may be used in pastel paintings. Drawing may be done with a medium, applied with brushes or pens. Drawing is often exploratory, with emphasis on observation, problem-solving. Drawing is also used in preparation for a painting, further obfuscating their distinction. Drawings created for these purposes are called studies, there are several categories of drawing, including figure drawing, cartooning, doodling, free hand and shading. There are also many drawing methods, such as drawing, stippling, shading, the surrealist method of entopic graphomania. A quick, unrefined drawing may be called a sketch, in fields outside art, technical drawings or plans of buildings, machinery, circuitry and other things are often called drawings even when they have been transferred to another medium by printing. Drawing as a Form of Communication Drawing is one of the oldest forms of human expression and these drawings, known as pictograms, depicted objects and abstract concepts. The sketches and paintings produced in prehistoric times were eventually stylised and simplified, Drawing in the Arts Drawing is used to express ones creativity, and therefore has been prominent in the world of art. Throughout much of history, drawing was regarded as the foundation for artistic practise, initially, artists used and reused wooden tablets for the production of their drawings
6.
Battle of Grunwald (Matejko)
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The canvas dates to 1878 and is one of the most heroic representations of the history of Poland. It is displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw, the painting has been both hailed and criticized for its complexity. It is one of Matejkos most recognizable works, and has contributed to the popular image of the battle of Grunwald. Matejko began collecting materials for the painting in 1874 and he started painting the canvas some time in 1875 and finished it in 1878. Soon afterwards, he received a scepter from the council of Kraków in a ceremony, in recognition of his work. The painting was sold that year to Dawid Rosenblum, an individual in Warsaw. Displayed in numerous exhibitions, in 1902 the painting was bought from Rosenblums heirs by the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts. Like many other works, the Battle of Grunwald was hidden during the occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany, the painting survived the war years hidden near Lublin. Restored after World War II, since 1949 this oil painting has been on display in the National Museum in Warsaw. In 1999 the Battle of Grunwald was loaned to Lithuania, where it garnered a positive reception because it prominently features Vytautas, by the 2000s, the painting needed restoration. In 2010, the condition of the painting prevented its inclusion it in a special exhibition at Wawel Castle to mark the 600th anniversary of the battle. The painting was renovated, with the finished in 2012. After restoration the painting is once again on display at the National Museum, in the center of the painting is the Lithuanian duke Vytautas, dressed in red with a raised sword. Vytautas holds a prominent position in the painting than his cousin, Polish king Władysław Jagiełło. While Lithuanian sources claim that Vytautas The Great have got the major role in the battle by actually commanding troops. In the skies above the carnage, Saint Stanislaus, a patron of Poland, another central scene depicts death of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Ulrich von Jungingen. Dressed in white Order garb and riding a horse, von Jungingen is being killed by two anonymous figures, which historian of art Danuta Batorska identifies as savage looking Lithuanian peasants. Next to the spearman is an executioner, who symbolizes the punishment Jungingen receives for the Order raids, near Władysław are also, his relative, Zygmunt Korybut, Deputy Chancellor of the Crown, Mikołaj Trąba, Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia
7.
Prussian Homage (painting)
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The Prussian Homage is an oil on canvas painting by Polish painter Jan Matejko painted between 1879 and 1882 in Kraków. Matejko depicted over thirty important figures of the Polish Renaissance period, the painting glorifies this event in Polands past and its culture, and the majesty of its kings. Matejko created his painting to others about the history of the no-longer-independent country he loved. The painting is counted among his masterpieces, Matejko began to paint the Prussian Homage on Christmas Eve 1879 and finished it in 1882. He donated it to the Polish nation during the meeting of the Diet of Galicia in Lwów on 7 October 1882 to start a collection designed to revive the remodelling of Wawel Castle. It was subsequently exhibited in Kraków, Lwów and Warsaw, as well as in Berlin, Paris, Budapest, because of the pro-Polish and anti-Prussian character of the painting German emperor William I objected to a proposal to reward Matejko. During this period, Prussia was trying to suppress Polish culture in its territory, during World War II, the Nazis systematically tried to destroy all Polish cultural artefacts in occupied Poland. This painting, together with Matejkos painting of the Battle of Grunwald, was on their most wanted list, fortunately it was hidden and safeguarded throughout the war in the town of Zamość. Renovation work started in the Sukiennice Museum in June 2008, the painting previously had been restored in 1915 and 1938. During World War II it was damaged while it was at Zamość, in 1974, experts again tried to restore it to its original condition before it went on public exhibition in Moscow. The most recent restoration took place between 2006 and 2008, when the painting was finally returned to its former glory. It was on there between 23 September 2011 and 9 January 2012. This painting is considered among Matejkos most famous works and is one of his largest canvases. It portrays an event of significant political triumph for Poland, the Prussian Homage, Prussia latter gained independence and turned against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, becoming one of the nations that divided Poland among them. At the same time, the painting foreshadows the tragedies of the future through the gestures and this is visible, for example, in the figures of King Sigismund I the Old and Albrecht Hohenzollern, who is kneeling before him. Sigismund is portrayed as a powerful and majestic figure but not threatening and he treats Albrecht lightly—signifying that this event was only a temporary victory and not a total, lasting domination that crushed his opponent. Albrechts character is portrayed with many signs of his villainous intent and he kneels on both knees, which a duke should do only in front of a God, not a sovereign. This implies that he does not see Sigismund as a sovereign and he grips his standard strongly, but touches the Bible only lightly
8.
History painting
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History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than artistic style. History paintings usually depict a moment in a story, rather than a specific and static subject. The term is derived from the senses of the word historia in Latin and Italian, meaning story or narrative. Most history paintings are not of scenes from history, especially paintings from before about 1850, History paintings almost always contain a number of figures, often a large number, and normally show some type of action that is a moment in a narrative. The genre includes depictions of moments in religious narratives, above all the Life of Christ, as well as scenes from mythology. These groups were for long the most frequently painted, works such as Michelangelos Sistine Chapel ceiling are therefore history paintings, History painting may be used interchangeably with historical painting, and was especially so used before the 20th century. Where a distinction is made historical painting is the painting of scenes from secular history, in the 19th century historical painting in this sense became a distinct genre. In phrases such as historical painting materials, historical means in use before about 1900 and he placed emphasis on the ability to depict the interactions between the figures by gesture and expression. This view remained general until the 19th century, when artistic movements began to struggle against the establishment institutions of academic art, which continued to adhere to it. Scenes from ancient history had been popular in the early Renaissance, and once again became common in the Baroque and Rococo periods, and still more so with the rise of Neoclassicism. In some 19th or 20th century contexts, the term may refer specifically to paintings of scenes from history, rather than those from religious narratives. Scenes from ancient history and mythology were also popular, artists continued for centuries to strive to make their reputation by producing such works, often neglecting genres to which their talents were better suited. The large works of Raphael were long considered, with those of Michelangelo, un Peintre qui ne fait que des portraits, na pas encore cette haute perfection de lArt, & ne peut prétendre à lhonneur que reçoivent les plus sçavans. He who produces perfect landscapes is above another who only produces fruit, a painter who only does portraits still does not have the highest perfection of his art, and cannot expect the honour due to the most skilled. By the late 18th century, with religious and mytholological painting in decline, there was an increased demand for paintings of scenes from history. Classical history remained popular, but scenes from national histories were often the best-received, the unheroic nature of modern dress was regarded as a serious difficulty. When, in 1770, Benjamin West proposed to paint The Death of General Wolfe in contemporary dress and he ignored these comments and showed the scene in modern dress. Although George III refused to purchase the work, West succeeded both in overcoming his critics objections and inaugurating a more historically accurate style in such paintings. M. W, conveniently their clothes had been worn away to classical-seeming rags by the point the painting depicts
9.
Rejtan (painting)
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Tadeusz Rejtan was a deputy in the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1773, infamously known as the Partition Sejm. The Sejm convened to review the demands of three Commonwealths neighbours in order to legalize their territorial demands, known as the First Partition of Poland. The Sejm operated under threat of foreign forces present in the Commonwealth, leaving of the chamber would have signified an end to the discussion, and the acceptance of the motion, meaning the acceptance of foreign territorial demands. The painting portrays this scene, although as usual with Matejkos work and it serves as an allegory for all three Partitions of Poland and portrays a number of major historical figures of this era. Rejtan is the most visible, occupying the right side of the painting. His position on this painting exemplifies the golden ratio, to his left, in the center, are the traitors, many of them on the Russian payroll, and future members of the Targowica Confederation. Behind him are bishop Ignacy Massalski and Prince Antoni Stanisław Czetwertyński-Światopełk, to his right, Hetman Franciszek Ksawery Branicki hides his face in his hands, which likely was Matejkos solution for a prosaic problem — he probably did not have access to a likeness of Branicki. Szczęsny Potocki, with the sash, looks to the ground. Behind the overturned chair, his father, Franciszek Salezy Potocki, also embarrassed, drops a quill pen, between the two Potockis Jacek Małachowski is engaged in discussion with Samuel Korsak, while Karol Radziwiłł simply observes the situation, amused. On the ground, turned over, lies an amchair, with Branickis hat, to the left of the elder Potocki, the seated primate of Poland, Michał Jerzy Poniatowski, is engaged in a conversation with the chancellor Michał Fryderyk Czartoryski, both ignoring the disruption. Behind them in the waistcoat, King Stanisław August Poniatowski, annoyed, stands up from the throne, wanting to leave. From the gallery, the scene is observed by one of the architects of the partitions. He is seated between two ladies, likely Izabela Lubomirska and either Elżbieta Grabowska or Izabela Czartoryska, to his right, another important symbol is shown in the painting of Russian Tsarina Catherine of Russia. Finally, in the doors, behind Rejtan, stands a Russian soldier. Matejko began work on painting in August 1864 and finished it in November 1866. It was one of many paintings portraying key historical moments in the history of Poland that he would create over his life, Matejko however did not simply illustrate the history, he intended his paintings to have powerful educational and emotional values. The work caused a scandal in contemporary, still-partitioned Poland, it was discussed even before its unveiling and it offended a number of society figures, many tracing direct lineage to the major magnate families whose members are portrayed in the painting as traitors to the Polish cause. In Paris, a French-Polish aristocrat, Count Alexandre Joseph Colonna-Walewski, the painting, however, quickly garnered supporters, who in turn reproduced modified copies of it, replacing historical figures with major contemporary critics
10.
Mural
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A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other permanent surface. A distinguishing characteristic of painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture. Some wall paintings are painted on canvases, which are then attached to the wall. Whether these works can be accurately called murals is a subject of controversy in the art world. Murals of sorts date to Upper Paleolithic times such as the paintings in the Chauvet Cave in Ardèche department of southern France, many ancient murals have been found within ancient Egyptian tombs, the Minoan palaces and in Pompeii. During the Middle Ages murals were executed on dry plaster. The huge collection of Kerala mural painting dating from the 14th century are examples of fresco secco, in Italy, circa 1300, the technique of painting of frescos on wet plaster was reintroduced and led to a significant increase in the quality of mural painting. In modern times, the became more well-known with the Mexican muralism art movement. There are many different styles and techniques, the best-known is probably fresco, which uses water-soluble paints with a damp lime wash, a rapid use of the resulting mixture over a large surface, and often in parts. The colors lighten as they dry, the marouflage method has also been used for millennia. Murals today are painted in a variety of ways, using oil or water-based media, the styles can vary from abstract to trompe-lœil. Initiated by the works of artists like Graham Rust or Rainer Maria Latzke in the 1980s, trompe-loeil painting has experienced a renaissance in private. The buon fresco technique consists of painting in pigment mixed with water on a layer of wet, fresh. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster, after a number of hours. After this the painting stays for a time up to centuries in fresh. Fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster, the pigments thus require a binding medium, such as egg, glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall. By the end of the century this had largely displaced the buon fresco method. This technique had, in reduced form, the advantages of a secco work, in Greco-Roman times, mostly encaustic colors applied in a cold state were used
11.
Wojciech Korneli Stattler
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Wojciech Korneli Stattler was a Polish Romantic painter of Swiss aristocratic ancestry, and a long-standing professor of the School of Fine Arts in Kraków. His most famous pupil was Polands nominal painter Jan Matejko and he was the son of a city councilor, deputy to the Sejm of Kraków, City which became part of the Austrian Empire. Stattler began his studies in 1816, initially in the field of mathematics, a year later, he enrolled at the drawing class of the School of Fine Arts and made quick progress in the workshops of professors Antoni Brodowski, Józef Peszka and Franciszek Lampi. During 1819–25 he was the recipient of state scholarships, upon his return from abroad, Stattler was appointed Professor of the School of Fine Arts in Kraków in 1831. Just before that, in 1829 he was in Łańcut at the estate of Count Aleksander Potocki, portraying members and children of his family, in 1830 he was in Puławy, where he made preparatory sketches for a portrait of Prince Adam Czartoryski. Back in Kraków, he embarked on a programme of changes at the School of Fine Arts. He was friends with Juliusz Słowacki, Aleksander Fredro, Antoni Odyniec and prominent others, during Stattlers stay in Vienna as guest of Konstanty Czartoryski, he met an Italian-born Klementyna Zerboni di Colonna, also referred to as Katarzyna Zerboni by others. Mickiewicz himself attended their wedding, which place in 1830 in her native Rome. Stattler went to France in 1843–44 with his painting Maccabees, which won the Louis Philippe Gold Medal, working on-and-off, it took him 12 years to complete it. Juliusz Słowacki described it as the Polish epic in Roman costume, with Antiochus demanding submission and this painting is currently on display at the National Museum, Kraków. Stattler served as Professor of the Academy for 26 years, until 1857 and he also wrote articles and papers on art and art-education, including a memoir published decades later by Maciej Szukiewicz in 1916. Stattlers had a son, Henryk, born in 1834, financial needs prompted them to leave Kraków for Warsaw around 1870, nevertheless Stattler refused the lucrative offer to paint 50 copies of the Russian Tsar Alexander. He painted religious themes in his old age and died in Warsaw on November 6,1875 and he was buried at the Powązki Cemetery. Maciej Masłowski, Studia Malarskie Wojciecha Kornelego Stattlera w Krakowie i Rzymie, Wrocław 1964, ed. Ossolineum
12.
Maurycy Gottlieb
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Maurycy Gottlieb was a Polish Jewish realist painter of the Romantic period. He was born in Drohobych to a wealthy, Yiddish and Polish-speaking orthodox Jewish family living in Galicia and it was then part of the Austrian sector of Partitioned Poland, now Western Ukraine. Considered one of the most talented students of Jan Matejko, Gottllieb died at the age of 23, Maurycy was one of Isaac Gottlieb and Fanya née Tigermans eleven children. He was introduced to painting in Lemberg by Michał Godlewski, at fifteen, he enrolled at the Vienna Fine Arts Academy for three years. In 1873 he went to Kraków to study under Jan Matejko, however, an anti-semitic incident at the School of Fine Arts prompted him to leave Kraków after less than a year in spite of Malczewskis protests. He traveled to Norway and stayed in Molde and he returned to Vienna and from there travelled to Munich in 1875 to study under Karl Piloty and Alexander Wagner. In 1876 he won the Gold Medal at the Munich Academy for his painting, Shylock, in the same year, he moved back to Vienna to attend the workshop of Heinrich von Angeli. He lived and worked in Vienna for the two years and produced paintings with biblical themes, as well as illustrations for Friedrich Bruckmann Publishing of Munich. In the fall of 1878, Gottlieb travelled to Rome, where he befriended Henryk Siemiradzki, in 1879 Gottlieb settled in Kraków and began working on his new major project. He died in the year from health complications. Matejko attended his funeral and promised his father to look after his younger brother Marcin, Gottlieb won a gold medal at the Munich art competition for his painting, Shylock and Jessica, portraying a scene from Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice. The painting was exhibited in Lviv in 1877, and in 1878 at Zachęta in Warsaw, Gottlieb based Jessicas face on that of Laura Rosenfeld, to whom he had proposed marriage. However, Laura rejected his proposal and wed a Berlin banker, Gottlieb planned to marry Lola Rosengarten, but when he heard about Rosenfelds marriage, he knowingly exposed himself to the elements, dying of complications from a cold and sore throat. Despite his premature death at the age of 23, more than three hundred of his works survive, though not all are finished, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, many Polish collections unknown in the West were popularized, and his reputation grew greatly. His brother Leopold Gottlieb was born five years after his death, nehama Guralnik, In the Flower of Youth, Maurycy Gottlieb. Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Dvir Publishers,1991, arkady, Warsaw, ISBN 83-213-3891-7 Ezra Mendelsohn, Painting a people, Maurycy Gottlieb and Jewish Art. Brandeis University Press, Hanover, New Hampshire, ISBN 1-58465-179-2 Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur, głowa starca - oil painting by Gottlieb in Central Jewish Library
13.
Jacek Malczewski
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Jacek Malczewski is one of the most revered painters of Poland, associated with the patriotic Young Poland movement following the century of Partitions. He is regarded as the father of Polish Symbolism, Malczewski was born in Radom, part of Congress Poland controlled by the Russian Empire. On his mothers side, he was related to the Szymanowski family whom they visited on their country estate in Cygów. Malczewski moved to Kraków at age 17, and began his art education in 1872 under the eye of Leon Piccard. He attended his first art classes in the workshop of Władysław Łuszczkiewicz at the School of Fine Arts, a year later, in 1873, reassessed by Jan Matejko himself, Malczewski formally enrolled in the School, and studied with Łuszczkiewicz, Feliks Szynalewski and Florian Cynk. In 1876 he went to Paris, France and studied for a year at the École des Beaux-Arts and he attended also the Académie Suisse. Malczewski started his studies with Jan Matejko already in 1875 before embarking on a trip to France. In spite of aesthetic differences between them, Malczewski was greatly influenced by Matejkos historical painting filled with neo-romantic metaphor and patriotic themes. In 1879, Malczewski completed a course on composition under Matejko. He was equally impressed with the art of earlier Polish Romantic painter Artur Grottger. His painting revolved around a few carefully selected motifs, constantly retold and his own awakened imagination enabled Malczewski to free the creative voice within and give rise to new aesthetic ideas defining Polands school of Symbolism. Over the course of some 30 years between 1885 and 1916, Malczewski regularly visited Paris, Munich and Vienna and he made several trips to Italy, Greece and Turkey. He also took part in the expedition organized by his friend Karol Lanckoroński. He drew his inspiration from a variety of sources often exotic or even biblical. His most famous canvasses include Błędne koło, Melancholia, Natchnienie malarza, Wizja, the series of Thanatos as well as Bajki, many of his paintings prominently feature his own self-portraits in elaborate costume, a trade-mark of his style often displaying of a great sense of humor. In 1897–1900 and 1912–1921 Malczewski served as Professor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and he was elected Rector of the Academy in 1912. His art has been compared to that of French Gustave Moreau, Swiss Arnold Böcklin and his paintings received high honours at the international exhibits including Berlin in 1891, Munich in 1892, and Paris in 1900. It is believed that the subject of numerous studies in Malczewskis paintings
14.
Franciszek Ksawery Matejko
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Franciszek Ksawery Matejko was a Czech musician, father of Polish painter Jan Matejko. After his mothers death he lived in Olomouc with his uncle canon Urbánek and he learned music in Hradec Králové. After that he went to Poland and became a music teacher, on 22 November 1826 he married Joanna Karolina Rossberg, daughter of nobleman Jan Piotr Rossberg and his wife Anna Marianna Tusz. Maria Szypowska Jan Matejko wszystkim znany, Dom Słowa Polskiego, Warszawa 1988
15.
Czech language
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Czech, historically also Bohemian, is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group. It is spoken by over 10 million people and is the language of the Czech Republic. Czech is closely related to Slovak, to the point of being intelligible to a very high degree. In the later 18th to mid-19th century, the written standard was codified in the context of the Czech National Revival. The main vernacular, known as Common Czech, is based on the vernacular of Prague, the Moravian dialects spoken in the eastern part of the country are mostly also counted as Czech, although some of their eastern variants are closer to Slovak. The Czech phoneme inventory is moderate in size, comprising five vowels, words may contain uncommon consonant clusters, including one consonant represented by the grapheme ř, or lack vowels altogether. Czech orthography is simple, and has used as a model by phonologists. Czech is classified as a member of the West Slavic sub-branch of the Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family and this branch includes Polish, Kashubian, Upper and Lower Sorbian and Slovak. Slovak is by far the closest genetic neighbor of Czech, the West Slavic languages are spoken in an area classified as part of Central Europe. Around the 7th century, the Slavic expansion reached Central Europe, the West Slavic polity of Great Moravia formed by the 9th century. The Christianization of Bohemia took place during the 9th and 10th centuries, the Bohemian language is first recorded in writing in glosses and short notes during the 12th to 13th centuries. Literary works written in Czech appear in the early 14th century, the first complete Bible translation also dates to this period. Old Czech texts, including poetry and cookbooks, were produced outside the university as well, literary activity becomes widespread in the early 15th century in the context of the Bohemian Reformation. There was no standardization distinguishing between Czech and Slovak prior to the 15th century, the publication of the Kralice Bible between 1579 and 1593 became very important for standardization of the Czech language in the following centuries. In 1615, the Bohemian diet tried to declare Czech to be the official language of the kingdom. After the Bohemian Revolt which was defeated by the Habsburgs in 1620 and this emigration together with other consequences of the Thirty Years War had a negative impact on the further use of the Czech language. In 1627, Czech and German became official languages of the Kingdom of Bohemia and in the 18th century German became dominant in Bohemia and Moravia, the modern standard Czech language originates in standardization efforts of the 18th century. Changes include the shift of í to ej and é to í and the merging of í
16.
Roudnice
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Roudnice is a village in the Hradec Králové region in eastern Bohemia, the Czech Republic. It was the birthplace of František Xavier Matějka, the father of the famous Polish painter Jan Matejko, the village is home to Roudnice Castle, the fourth largest castle in the Czech Republic. The first structure on the site of the castle was a built in the 12th century. In the 14th and 15th centuries the original Romanesque building gained Gothic additions as it moved from religious to secular ownership, the fortress passed into the hands of the Lobkowicz family in 1603, when Zdeněk Vojtěch, 1st Prince Lobkowicz, married the castles owner, Polyxena Pernštejn. The new building included a theater, a tower. Although most of the fortress was demolished in the renovations. Roudnice became a repository for objects from the Lobkowicz family’s collections, including works of art, religious objects, musical instruments, during World War II, the castle and its collections were confiscated by the Nazi regime, and the building was used as an SS youth training camp. The library was gutted by the forces and the castle’s west wing was damaged by bombs in the last days of the war. When Maximilian Lobkowicz returned Roudnice after the end of the war, he began repairs to the damaged castle, which was confiscated again in 1948 when the Communist government came to power. The castle was restituted to the Lobkowicz family in the 1990s, and they continued to rent Roudnice to the music school
17.
Music education
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Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. Music training from preschool through post-secondary education is common in most nations because involvement with music is considered a component of human culture. Music, like language, is an accomplishment that distinguishes humans as a species, during the 20th century, many distinctive approaches were developed or further refined for the teaching of music, some of which have had widespread impact. The Dalcroze method was developed in the early 20th century by Swiss musician, the Kodály Method emphasizes the benefits of physical instruction and response to music. The Orff Schulwerk approach to music education students to develop their music abilities in a way that parallels the development of western music. The Suzuki method creates the environment for learning music that a person has for learning their native language. Gordon Music Learning Theory provides the music teacher with a method for teaching musicianship through audiation, conversational Solfège immerses students in the musical literature of their own culture, in this case American. The Carabo-Cone Method involves using props, costumes, and toys for children to basic musical concepts of staff, note duration. The concrete environment of the specially planned classroom allows the child to learn the fundamentals of music by exploring through touch, popular music pedagogy is the systematic teaching and learning of rock music and other forms of popular music both inside and outside formal classroom settings. The MMCP aims to shape attitudes, helping students see music not as static content to be mastered, but as personal, current, American fiddler Mark OConnor developed a method of violin education that is designed to guide students in developing musical techniques necessary to become a proficient violinist. During its tenure, the Mumbai-based Boss School of Music developed a method of education using audio-visual technology, simplified concepts. In primary schools in European countries, children learn to play instruments such as keyboards or recorders, sing in small choirs. In countries such as India, the harmonium is used in schools, students are normally taught basics of Indian Raga music. In some secondary schools, additional classes may also be available. In junior high school or its equivalent, music continues to be a required part of the curriculum. In addition, most North American and European universities offer music ensembles - such as choir, concert band, marching band, most universities also offer degree programs in music education, certifying students as primary and secondary music educators. Advanced degrees such as the D. M. A. or the Ph. D can lead to university employment. The study of art music is increasingly common in music education outside of North America and Europe, including Asian nations such as South Korea, Japan
18.
Kamienica (architecture)
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The term tenement originally referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation. In Scotland, it continues to be the most common word for a multiple-occupancy building, late 19th-century social reformers in the U. S. were hostile to both tenements and apartment houses. The adapted buildings were known as rookeries, and were a particular concern as they were prone to collapse. Mulberry Bend and Five Points were the sites of notorious rookeries that the city worked for decades to clear, in both rookeries and purpose-built tenements, communal water taps and water closets were squeezed into what open space there was between buildings. In parts of the Lower East Side, buildings were older and had courtyards, generally occupied by shops, stables. Prior to the 1867 law, tenements often covered more than 90 percent of the lot, were five or six stories high, yards were a few feet wide and filled with privies where they had not been entirely eliminated. Early housing reformers urged the construction of tenements to replace cellars, and beginning in 1859 the number of people living in cellars began to decline. This was amended by the Tenement House Act of 1879, known as the Old Law, which required lot coverage of no more than 65 percent. ”The New York City Board of Health, empowered to enforce the regulations, declined to do so. As a compromise, the Old Law tenement became the standard, this had a shape, with air and light shafts on either side in the center. Public concern about New York tenements was stirred by the publication in 1890 of Jacob Riis How the Other Half Lives and it used both charts and photographs, the first such official use of photographs. Together with the publication in 1895 by the U. S and these rules are still the basis of New York City law on low-rise buildings, and made single-lot development uneconomical. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum, a brick former tenement building in Manhattan that is a National Historic Site, is a museum devoted to tenements in the Lower East Side. Tenements make up a percentage of the housing stock of Edinburgh. Edinburghs tenements are much older, dating from the 17th century onwards, and some were up to 15 storeys high when first built, which made them among the tallest houses in the world at that time. Glasgow tenements were built no taller than the width of the street on which they were located, therefore. Virtually all Glasgow tenements were constructed using red or blonde sandstone, a large number of the tenements in Edinburgh and Glasgow were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s because of slum conditions, overcrowding and poor maintenance of the buildings. The Gorbals is a small area and at one time had an estimated 90,000 people living in its tenements, leading to very poor living conditions. However, the many remaining tenements in areas of both cities have experienced a resurgence in popularity due to their large rooms, high ceilings
19.
Sigismund I the Old
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Sigismund I of Poland, of the Jagiellon dynasty, reigned as King of Poland and also as the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until 1548. Earlier, Sigismund had been invested as Duke of Silesia, Sigismund I, the fifth son of Casimir IV and Elisabeth of Habsburg, had ruled Głogów, Silesia, since 1499 and became margrave of Lusatia and governor of all Silesia in 1504. In a short time his judicial and administrative reforms transformed those territories into model states and he succeeded his brother Alexander I as grand prince of Lithuania and king of Poland in 1506. Although he established fiscal and monetary reforms, he clashed with the Polish Diet over extensions of royal power. At the Diet’s demand he married Barbara, daughter of Prince Stephen Zápolya of Hungary, in 1512, to secure a defense treaty and she died three years later, however, leaving only daughters. In 1518 Sigismund married the niece of the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian, Bona Sforza of Milan, by whom he had one son, Sigismund II Augustus and his daughter Catherine later married John III of Sweden, from whom the Vasa kings of Poland were descended. In 1521 Sigismund made peace with his nephew Albert, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Sigismund added the duchy of Mazovia to the Polish state after the death, in 1529, of the last of its Piast dynasty rulers. Again under the command of Tarnowski, Sigismund’s army defeated the forces of Moldavia at Obertyn in 1531 and Muscovy in 1535. Sigismund, influenced by his wife, brought Italian artists to Kraków, although a devout Catholic, he accorded religious toleration to Greek Orthodox Christians and royal protection to Jews. At first he vigorously opposed Lutheranism but later resigned himself to its power in Poland. Sigismund I was a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon and Elisabeth of Austria, Sigismund followed his brothers John I of Poland and Alexander I of Poland to the Polish throne. Their elder brother Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary became king of Hungary, Sigismund was christened as the namesake of his mothers maternal grandfather, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, who had died in 1437. After his fathers death, Sigismund was the son who did not hold any land titles. In the years 1495-1496, he addressed his older brother, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander, and demanded the separation of a domain from the Lithuanian Duchy, Queen Dowager Elisabeth Habsburg also tried without success to ensure the succession of her son to the throne of Austria. Also, the disastrous and unsuccessful invasion of Bukovina led by his oldest brother King John I Albert dispelled the plans for placing Sigismund on the Moldavian throne. Eventually Sigismund came under the care of Vladislaus II, King of Bohemia and Hungary, from whom he received the duchy of Głogów and Opava and in 1504 became governor of Silesia and Lower Lusatia. On 8 December 1506, during the session of the Polish Senate in Piotrków and he arrived in Kraków on 20 January 1507 and was crowned four days later in Wawel Cathedral by Primate Andrzej Boryszewski. The internal situation in Poland was characterised by broad authorisation of the Chamber of Deputies, during Alexanders reign, the law of Nihil novi had been instituted, which forbade kings of Poland from enacting laws without the consent of the Sejm
20.
Jagiellonian University
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The Jagiellonian University is a research university in Kraków, Poland. Notable alumni include, among others, mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish king John III Sobieski, pope John Paul II, the campus of the Jagiellonian University is centrally located within the city of Kraków. The university consists of fifteen faculties — including the humanities, law, the natural and social sciences, the university employs roughly 4,000 academics, and has more than 40,000 students who study in some 80 disciplines. More than half of the student body are women, the language of instruction is usually Polish, although several degrees are offered in either German or English. The university library is one of Polands largest, and houses several medieval manuscripts, due to its history, the Jagiellonian University is traditionally considered Polands most reputable institution of higher learning — this standing equally being reflected in international rankings. The Jagiellonian University is a member of the Coimbra Group and Europaeum and his efforts to found an institution of higher learning in Poland were rewarded when Pope Urban V granted him permission to set up a university in Kraków. A royal charter of foundation was issued on 12 May 1364, and it is believed that, in all likelihood, the construction of a building to house the Studium Generale began on Plac Wolnica in what is today the district of Kazimierz. After a period of disinterest and lack of funds, the institution was restored in the 1390s by King Władysław II Jagiełło and his wife Saint Hedwig, the Queen donated all of her personal jewelry to the university, allowing it to enroll 203 students. The university was the first university in Europe to establish independent chairs in Mathematics, during the second half of the 15th century, over 40 percent of students came from outside the Kingdom of Poland. The first chancellor of the University was Piotr Wysz, and the first professors were Czechs, Germans and Poles, by 1520 Greek philology was introduced by Constanzo Claretti and Wenzel von Hirschberg, Hebrew was also taught. At this time, the Collegium Maius comprised seven reading rooms, six of which were named for the ancient scholars, Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Galen, Ptolemy. The librarys original rooms, in all books were chained to their cases in order to prevent theft, are no longer used as such. However, they are occasionally opened to host visiting lecturers talks. If the lecture halls underwent refurbishment they could be rented out to accommodate a laundry and this period thus represents one of the darkest periods in the universitys history and is almost certainly the one during which the closure of the institution seemed most imminent. After the third partition of Poland in 1795 and the ensuing Napoleonic Wars, Kraków became a city under the protection of the Austrian Empire. In 1846, after the Kraków Uprising, the city and its university became part of the Austrian Empire, however, the threat of closure of the University was ultimately dissipated by Kaiser Ferdinand I of Austrias decree to maintain it. By the 1870s the fortunes of the university had improved so greatly that many scholars had returned, the liquefaction of nitrogen and oxygen was successfully demonstrated by professors Zygmunt Wróblewski and Karol Olszewski in 1883. It was, conversely, from this building that in 1918 a large painting of Kaiser Franz Joseph was removed and destroyed by Polish students advocating the reestablishment of an independent Polish state
21.
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
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The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, the Academy of Fine Arts was founded 1808 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria in Munich as the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The Munich School refers to a group of painters who worked in Munich or were trained at the Academy between 1850 and 1918, the paintings are characterized by a naturalistic style and dark chiaroscuro. Typical painting subjects included landscape, portraits, genre, still-life, from 1900 to 1918 the academys director was Ferdinand Freiherr von Miller. In 1946, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts was merged with the School of arts and crafts, in 1953 its name was changed to the current Academy of Fine Arts. The large 19th-century Renaissance Revival style building complex, designed by Gottfried Neureuther, was completed in 1886 and it has housed the Academy since then. A new Deconstructivist style expansion, designed by the architectural firm Coop Himmelbau as an extension from the building, was completed in 2005
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Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
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The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is a public art school of higher education in Vienna, Austria. In 1701 he was ennobled by Emperor Joseph I as Freiherr of the Empire, with his death in 1714, the academy temporarily closed. On 20 January 1725, Emperor Charles VI appointed the Frenchman Jacob van Schuppen as Prefect and Director of the Academy, hofakademie der Maler, Bildhauer und Baukunst. Upon Charles death in 1740, the academy at first declined, however during the rule of his daughter Empress Maria Theresa, a new statute reformed the academy in 1751. The prestige of the academy grew during the deanships of Michelangelo Unterberger and Paul Troger, in 1772, there were further reforms to the organisational structure. Chancellor Wenzel Anton Kaunitz integrated all existing art schools into the k. k. vereinigten Akademie der bildenden Künste, the word vereinigten was later dropped. In 1822 the art cabinet grew significantly with the bequest of honorary member Anton Franz de Paula Graf Lamberg-Sprinzenstein and his collection still forms the backbone of the art on display. In 1872 Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria approved a statute making the academy the supreme government authority for the arts, a new building was constructed according to plans designed by the faculty Theophil Hansen in the course of the layout of the Ringstraße boulevard. On 3 April 1877, the building on Schillerplatz in the Innere Stadt district was inaugurated. In 1907 and 1908, young Adolf Hitler, who had come from Linz, was denied admission to the drawing class. He stayed in Vienna, subsisting on his allowance. Soon he had withdrawn into poverty and started selling amateur paintings, mostly watercolours, during the Austrian Anschluss to Nazi Germany from 1938–1945, the academy was forced to heavily reduce its number of Jewish staff. After World War II, the academy was reconstituted in 1955 and it has had university status since 1998, but retained its original name. It is currently the only Austrian university that doesnt have the university in its name. The Academy currently has about 900 students, almost a quarter of which are foreign students and its faculty includes stars such as Peter Sloterdijk. 110,000 volumes and its etching cabinet has about 150,000 drawings, the collection is one of the biggest in Austria, and is used for academic purposes, although portions are also open to the general public. Official website website of the Media Server Study in Austria, A Guide
23.
Christian Ruben
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Christian Ruben was a German painter. In 1836 he worked on designs for the decoration of Hohenschwangau Castle, in 1841 he was appointed director at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he decorated the belvedere with wall paintings. He also painted a hall for the Prince of Salm and three altarpieces for the church in Turnau, from 1852 to 1872 he was director at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where he died in 1875. One of his sons, Franz Ruben, was also a painter, rubens pupils included Jaroslav Čermák and Karel Javůrek
24.
Austro-Hungarian gulden
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The Gulden or forint was the currency of the lands of the House of Habsburg between 1754 and 1892, when it was replaced by the Krone/korona as part of the introduction of the gold standard. In Austria, the Gulden was initially divided into 60 Kreuzer, and in Hungary, the currency was decimalized in 1857, using the same names for the unit and subunit. The name Gulden was used on the pre-1867 Austrian banknotes and on the German language side of the post-1867 banknotes, in southern Germany, the word Gulden was the standard word for a major currency unit. The name Florin was used on Austrian coins and forint was used on the Hungarian language side of the post-1867 banknotes and it comes from the city of Florence, Italy where the first florins were minted. Until 1806, Austria was the state of the Holy Roman Empire. Following the winding up of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, in 1857, the Vereinsthaler was introduced across the German Confederation and Austria-Hungary, with a silver content of 16 2⁄3 grams. This was slightly less than 1 1⁄2 times the content of the Gulden. Consequently, Austria-Hungary adopted a new standard for the Gulden, containing two-thirds as much silver as the Vereinsthaler and this involved a debasement of the currency of 4. 97%. Austria-Hungary also decimalized at the time, resulting in a new currency system of 100 Kreuzer =1 Gulden. In 1892 the Austro-Hungarian Gulden was replaced by the Krone, at a rate of 2 Krone =1 Gulden, copper coins were initially issued in denominations of 1 Heller up to 1 Kreuzer, with silver coins in denominations from 3 Kreuzer up to 1 Conventionsthaler. The Turkish and Napoleonic Wars led to issues in various denominations. These included a 12 Kreuzer coin which only contained 6 Kreuzer worth of silver and was later overstruck to produce a 7 Kreuzer coin, in 1807, copper coins were issued in denominations of 15 and 30 Kreuzer by the Wiener Stadt Banco. These issues were tied in value to the paper money. The coinage returned to its state after 1814. The only copper coin was a poltura worth 1 1⁄2 krajczár, whilst there were silver 3,5,10,20 and 30 krajczár, all issues ceased in 1794 and did not resume until 1830, when silver coins of 20 krajczár and above were issued. Only in 1868, following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, did an issue of coins for Hungary begin. Denominations were fewer than in Austria, with copper 1⁄2,1 and 4 krajczár, silver 10 and 20 krajczár and 1 forint, between 1759 and 1811, the Wiener Stadt Banco issued paper money denominated in Gulden. However, the banknotes were not tied to the coinage and their values floated relative to one another, in 1858, new notes were issued denominated in Austrian Currency rather than Convention Currency
25.
January Uprising
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The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire. It began on 22 January 1863 and lasted until the last insurgents were captured in 1864, the uprising began as a spontaneous protest by young Poles against conscription into the Imperial Russian Army. It was soon joined by high-ranking Polish-Lithuanian officers and various politicians, the insurrectionists, severely outnumbered and lacking serious outside support, were forced to resort to guerrilla warfare tactics. Public executions and deportations to Siberia led many Poles to abandon armed struggle and turn instead to the idea of work, economic. After the Russian Empire lost the Crimean war and was weakened economically and politically, in Vilna alone 116 demonstrations were held in 1861. In August 1861, protests in Vilna ended in clashes with the Imperial Russian Army, in spite of Russian police and Cossack interference, a symbolic meeting of hymn-singing Poles and Lithuanians took place on the bridge across the Niemen River. Another mass gathering took place in Horodło, where the Union of Horodło had been signed in 1413, the crowds sang Boże, broń Polskę in Lithuanian and Belarusian. In the autumn of 1861 Russians had introduced a state of emergency in Vilna Governorate, Kovno Governorate, after a series of patriotic riots, the Russian Namestnik of Tsar Alexander II, General Karl Lambert, introduced martial law in Poland on 14 October 1861. Public gatherings were banned and some leaders were declared outlaws. The future leaders of the uprising gathered secretly in St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Vilna, Paris, after this series of meetings two major factions emerged. The Reds represented united peasants, workers, and some clergy, while The Whites represented liberal minded landlords, in 1862 two initiative groups were formed for the two components of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To deal with these units the Russian government had at its disposal an army of 90,000 men under General Ramsay in Poland. It looked as if the rebellion would be crushed quickly, the die was cast, however, the provisional government applied itself to this great task with fervor. It issued a manifesto in which it pronounced all sons of Poland are free and equal citizens without distinction of creed, condition and rank. The revolutionary government did its very best to supply with provisions the unarmed and scattered guerrillas who, during the month of February, met the Russians in eighty bloody encounters. Meanwhile, it issued an appeal to the nations of western Europe, pope Pius IX ordered a special prayer for the success of the Catholic Polish in their defence against the Orthodox Russians, and was very active in arousing sympathy for the Polish rebels. In Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, northern Ukraine and western Russia the uprising started on February 1,1863, a coalition government of the Reds and the Whites was formed. It was led by Zygmunt Sierakowski, Antanas Mackevičius and Konstanty Kalinowski and they fully supported their counterparts in Poland and adhered to the same policy
26.
Arms trafficking
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Arms trafficking, also known as gunrunning, is the trafficking of contraband weapons and ammunition. What constitutes legal trade in firearms varies widely, depending on local and national laws, the 1999 Report of the UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms provides a more refined and precise definition, which has become internationally accepted. This distinguishes between small arms, which are designed for personal use, and light weapons, which are designed for use by several persons serving as a unit. Ammunition and explosives also form a part of small arms. The suppression of gunrunning is one of the areas of increasing interest in the context of international law, the total value of the global arms market is estimated around $60 billion a year, with around $8 billion attributed to pistols, rifles, machine guns, and bullets. The total illegal trade is harder to estimate, but the illicit small arms market has been estimated at 10-20% of the total global arms trade. Numerous other documentaries about arms trafficking are linked on this films YouTube page, sons of Anarchy, a FX-TV series about a fictional outlaw motorcycle club whose main source of income is trafficking arms to a variety of criminal enterprises domestically and internationally. The Night Manager, a BBC miniseries where a former British soldier who is currently a manager in hotels infiltrates the inner circle of an arms dealer. In the Grand Theft Auto game series, the player access to weaponry through illegal arms trading. In Grand Theft Auto V, all arms are available through the Ammunation gun stores
27.
Sermon of Piotr Skarga
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The Sermon of Piotr Skarga or Skargas Sermon is a large oil painting by Jan Matejko, finished in 1864, now in the National Museum, Warsaw in Poland. Matejko finished the painting in May 1864 and it was the first large painting of Matejko. It was displayed in the gallery of the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Art, paintings premiere drew crowds and reviews comparable with modern movie premieres. Soon afterwards Count Maurycy Potocki bought it for 10,000 guldens, in that context, little heed was paid to the calls of many individuals for reform. Matejkos work became one of the elements of the legend of Piotr Skarga. Although Matejkos work fits within the genre of painting, with the Sermon. The painting portrays Piotr Skarga, a Jesuit, giving a sermon in the presbytery of the Wawel Cathedral and he is visible at the top right, clad in black, with his hands raised, paused in the middle of the speech. His face is that of Matejko himself, if significantly aged, Skarga is the only animated character in the composition, all other individuals are shown as immobile, standing or sitting. The title of the painting suggests that the theme of Skargas speech is his famous critique of the Polish government, in reality, however, there is no proof that Skargas work was ever delivered in the form of a real sermon. Various historical figures, listening to the sermon, react to it through posture, in the center, magnates Janusz Radziwiłł, Stanisław Stadnicki, Mikołaj Zebrzydowski, stand together, arrogant and unfazed. To their left, the king, Sigismund III Vasa, seems not to be paying too much attention to the preacher. His foreign garb stresses his unwillingness to integrate with his subjects, he considered himself more of a Swede than a Pole. Sigismund is portrayed by Matejko as the second most important character in the painting, as he is also illuminated by light, albeit immobile, sigismunds son, prince and future king Władysław IV Waza, stands above and to the left of the king. To his right, two women - Queen Anna Jagiellonka and Halszka Ostrogska are present, a glove on the floor between the king and the magnates is a sign of the upcoming civil war. At the top left, chancellor Jan Zamoyski listens, tired and this ambitious and successful politician and military commander seems to understand the gravity of Skargas words, but he is near the end of his life. Mikołaj Wolski is visible between the prince and the chancellor, underneath Zamoyski, archbishop Stanisław Karnkowski in purple is praying, and between these two the metropolitan of the Unites, Hipacy Pociej, is visibly not taken by the Jesuits oratory. The Papal nuncio Germanicus Malaspina, bishop of San Severo, is visible at Skargas bottom right, cardinal Enrico Caetani is shown below Skarga, and Spanish and Austrian envoys, bored and distanced, are behind him. On 5 November 1864, in recognition for his contributions to recreating historical themes as exemplified in this painting and this painting was the one that made Matejko famous not only in Poland, but beyond, in Europe
28.
Teodora Matejko
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Teodora Matejko née Giebułtowska (1846 –25 August 1896, was the wife of Polands national painter Jan Matejko, daughter of Antoni Giebułtowski and Paulina Sikorska. For many years, Teodora served as the model for her husbands portrayals of notable women from Polish history. Teodora was a member of the Giebułtowski family of retailers from Nowy Wiśnicz, on 21 November 1864 she married painter Jan Matejko, future Rector of the Fine Arts Academy, whom she knew already from childhood. After the wedding, they settled in downtown Kraków, where she gave birth to five children, Tadeusz, Helena, Beata, Jerzy, soon after the move, Matejkowa was diagnose with diabetes, and in her later years mental disorder for which she was briefly hospitalized twice. Jan Matejko, Kolekcja Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie, Olszanica 2005, ISBN 83-89747-16-2, wspomnienia rodzinne, Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków 1958. Szypowska M. Jan Matejko wszystkim znany, Zarząd Krajowy Związku Młodzieży Wiejskiej, ISBN 83-00-02435-2, Warszawa 1988
29.
Helena Unierzyska
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Helena Unierzyska née Matejko, was a Polish painter and sculptor, daughter of Polands national painter Jan Matejko and his wife Teodora Giebułtowska who often posed for his paintings. His daughter Helena is best remembered as the model for a series of her fathers symbolic portraits of girls. During her infancy she lived with her parents in Krzesławice, a suburb of Kraków and she was very sickly when she was a child. Helena often assisted her father in his trips and in his daily studio sessions. On 24 June 1891 she married one of her fathers students from the Academy of Fine Arts, notably, her own mother wasnt happy with her life-choice and didnt attend the ceremony. After the wedding they went to live in Boleń, a village near Kraków and they had no children of their own, but she adopted children from the village. She had helped Polish victims in World War I and was awarded the Cross of Independence by president Stanisław Wojciechowski in the interwar period, Jan Matejko, Kolekcja Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie, Olszanica 2005, ISBN 83-89747-16-2, ss. Wspomnienia rodzinne, Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków 1958, szypowska M. Jan Matejko wszystkim znany, Zarząd Krajowy Związku Młodzieży Wiejskiej, ISBN 83-00-02435-2, Warszawa 1988
30.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
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Cross of Independence
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Cross of Independence was second highest Polish military decorations between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought heroically for the independence of Poland, the Cross of Independence was established with a decree of the President of Poland of 29 October 1930. After 1938 it was awarded to people responsible for the reunification of Zaolzie with Poland. Although the cross without the swords was awarded mainly to the civilians, if awarded to a soldier it was worn before the 4th class of the Polonia Restituta and when awarded to a civilian – before the Volunteer Medal for the War. Both the Cross and the Medal were designed by professor Mieczysław Kotarbiński, the Cross of Independence had three classes, Cross of Independence with Swords Cross of Independence Medal of Independence The cross was 42 by 42 mm, made of gilt bronze. The obverse had a shield with stylised eagle in bas-relief. The reverse was covered with enamel and the motto Bojownikom Niepodległości. The version with Swords had two golden swords crossed above the cross, Medal of Independence was round,35 mm in diameter and made entirely of bronze. On the obverse there was a depiction of three Hydras stroke with two swords and surrounded by the Bojownikom Niepodległości motto. The reverse was plain with letters RP in the centre
listen); also known as Jan Mateyko; June 24, 1838[nb 1] – November 1, 1893) was a Polish painter known for paintings of notable historical Polish political and military events.[2][3] His works include large oil on canvas paintings like Rejtan (1866), Union of Lublin (1869) or Battle of Grunwald (1878), numerous portraits, a gallery of Polish kings, and murals in St. Mary's Basilica, Kraków. He is referred to as the most famous Polish painter or even the "national painter" of Poland.[2][3][4]
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