This black-and-white horizontal drawing depicts a naked, deceased man lying horizontally among a group of figures. The space is ambiguous: the background consists largely of dark charcoal shading. Along the top edge, a wavy line separates the dark area from a white space, suggesting a mountainous landscape.

The dead man lies at the centre of the composition, his figure occupying three-quarters of the drawing’s width. He is lying on his back, with his head near the centre and his legs extending to the left edge. His left shoulder faces the viewer. His head is tilted back. Visible are his thick, dark shoulder-length hair, part of his nose, and extended neck. His body is slender. His left arm rests alongside his torso, while his right arm lies across his thighs. His knees are bent, and his calves drop downward. His feet are obscured by a dark fabric on which his body rests.

Above his head stands a man, shown from head to torso, facing the viewer. He has short, straight, dark hair combed to the left. His face is elongated, with slightly protruding ears. His eyes are closed, and his dark eyebrows are rendered with a single black stroke. His nose is narrow, and his mouth is open. He wears a white long-sleeved shirt and a black vest. His arms are raised to head level, palms facing the viewer, with bent fingers.

On the left side of the drawing stands a woman, shown from the waist up, turned toward the deceased. She has long, light-coloured hair flowing upward and to the left. Her face is slender. Her eyebrows are furrowed, and her dark eyes are fixed on the dead man. Her nose is narrow, and her lips slightly parted. Her arms are raised to head height, palms turned toward the deceased. She wears a full-length dress with long sleeves, decorated with vertical black stripes. Two thicker dark bands run vertically from the neckline. The lower part of her dress is visible behind the knees of the dead man.

On the right side stands another woman, facing the deceased, her left side to the viewer. Her long, dark hair flows upward and to the right. Her face is slender, with a small nose and sharply pointed chin. Her eyes and eyebrows are rendered as a dark smudge. She wears a long, dark, long-sleeved dress. She holds a harp in her hands and is playing it.

In the lower right corner, three adolescent figures are depicted from the waist up, facing the viewer and turned away from the central scene. In the middle stands a boy with short dark hair and an elongated face. His head tilts toward his left shoulder. He has dark eyebrows, light eyes, a narrow nose, and closed lips. His hands are clasped near his chin. He wears a dress or shirt with long puffed sleeves. To his right crouches a figure with head bowed and covered by their hands, obscuring the face. To the left of the central boy, behind his shoulder, stands another boy with his head slightly raised. His hair merges with the dress of the harp-playing woman behind him. His face is narrow, with dark, raised eyebrows. His eyes are dark and wide open, and his thin lips are closed. He holds his hands over his chest, the right hand placed over the left. He wears a long-sleeved shirt or jacket.

Jan Rembowski depicted the knight of Giewont as a dead man, surrounded by mourning figures—some weeping, others performing funeral songs. The work likely refers to the legend of Giewont, a sleeping knight who is to awaken in the nation’s time of need. Rembowski may have given the legend a prophetic dimension by showing the knight as lifeless.

Source: Text by Urszula Makowska on The Legend of Giewont
Audiodescription: Emilia Szymańska
Consultation: Adrian Wyka
Expert Content Consultation: Irena Buchenfeld