Jan Matejko with his Wife Teodora and Daughter Helena

Description

The photograph shows a group of three people: Jan Matejko with his wife Teodora, née Giebułtowska Matejkowa, and their daughter Helena. Jan Matejko, seated in a deep armchair wearing glasses and holding a cane in his left hand, embraces his ten-year-old daughter Helena, who stands beside him and looks at her father. Beside them, leaning against the back of the chair, stands Teodora Matejkowa (née Giebułtowska), dressed in a dark dress and a matching coat with wide sleeves, and a hat pinned to her head. The photograph was taken against a neutral background in Jan Mieczkowski’s studio, which operated in Warszawa in the 1870s. This is indicated by the name of the studio owner visible in the bottom left-hand corner of the cardboard mount onto which the photographic print was affixed. The photo was taken during an artistic journey that led through Częstochowa and Warszawa to the fields of Grunwald, and then through Malbork and Toruń to Pomorze, all the way to Gdańsk. According to the biographer’s memoirs, Matejko stayed in Warszawa for a few days at the end of September 1877.

We invite you to explore the information about this item in the digital catalogue of the National Museum in Kraków. Author of the entry: Agnieszka Zagrajek