The Commonwealth at the Zenith of its Power. Golden Freedom. Election. A.D. 1573
The Commonwealth at the Zenith of its Power. Golden Freedom. Election. A.D. 1573
The long deliberations of the senate, under the royal tent, were punctuated by heated arguments among the crowded nobility over the choice of a new king from among the three final candidates: Ernest of Rákó, Henry of Valois and John of Sweden, not counting the fourth, Fiedor or Ivan, individually chosen by the Prussian-Lithuanian lords.
Cannon salvos greet the King Elect as his plenipotentiary envoys - the old Bishop of Montluc with the monastic Abbot and Monsieur de Lausac - rush to give the oath under the tent, where the Gospels await on a prie dieu with lit candles.
The shouts of joyful greeting evoked grateful bows from the French, intensifying the enthusiasm of the knights' circle, where Zamojski, having eloquently convinced the assembled of the importance of the individual's voice, found himself raised by the strong hands of the noble brothers Płaza and Tarło.
The carriages pull up - the end of a celebratory day. The sun sets, illuminating Warsaw - the future capital of the state of the elected kings.
Task: Jan Matejko
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
https://mnk.pl/exhibitions/matejko-the-painter-and-history