Satire and comics by Jan Matejko

The Jan Matejko House Museum was established in the family home of Jan Matejko (1838–1893), the most eminent Polish representative of the historical painting movement, collector, pioneer of conservation and preservation, professor and long-standing director of the School of Fine Arts in Krakow, member of many artistic, scientific and social societies and associations.

The historic Krakow townhouse (rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries), located on the former Royal Route, is where the artist was born, lived with his family, created and died.
The Society named after him, established shortly after his death, set itself the task of honouring the outstanding painter by creating a biographical museum dedicated to him. With a great deal of effort, a variety of artefacts related to Matejko, including the artist's collection, were gathered in the house bought from his family through systematic purchases and donations, and were presented to the public for the first time as early as 1898.

The biographical museum was then transferred to the management of the National Museum in Krakow. The collection includes works representing all phases of the painter's oeuvre: early oil studies, small compositional sketches for large canvases on historical subjects (including Nicolaus Copernicus , Jan Sobieski handing the canon Denhoff a letter to the Pope with news of his victory over the Turks at Vienna in 1683), portraits of family members and friends, as well as a Self-Portrait from 1887. The valuable collection of drawings includes sketches for historical compositions, portrait studies, costume studies, architectural and landscape studies and arts and crafts.

A special place is occupied by satirical drawings showing a different face of Jan Matejko: a man full of emotion and reflection, with a sense of humour, endowed with self-irony and distance. They are presented in the temporary exhibition ‘Satire and Comics by Jan Matejko’. The stories told by Matejko through drawing are a commentary on the reality around him. The works mock the pathos and celebrity of the world of the time, in which the famous artist often had to participate. He talked about it in a caricature, in a joke, in a somewhat disguised way – in the privacy of his home.