The Hanging of the Sigismund Bell

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Zawieszenie dzwonu Zygmunta
National Museum, Warsaw

The Hanging of the Sigismund Bell (

Kingdom of Poland
.

There are several alternative names for the painting. They include The consecrating of the Sigismund bell... (Poświęcenie dzwonu Zygmunta...), as proposed by Mieczysław Treter,[5] The raising of the Sigismund bell...,[6] King Sigismund's Bell,[7] or just Sigismund Bell (Dzwon Zygmunta).[5][8]

History

The Sigismund Bell painting was created in 1874.[5] During his work, Matejko commissioned craftsmen to create a replica of a scaffolding that was used to move the bell, and he identified its likely original location, in order for it to be portrayed realistically.[5]

There are numerous anecdotes associated with this painting.

Académie française; three years later it was displayed there again, during the Exposition Universelle (1878), and (together with two other paintings – the Unia lubelska (Union of Lublin) and Wacław Wilczek) yielded him an honorary golden medal.[9][10][11]

The painting is in the collection of the

National Museum, Warsaw.[12]

Composition and significance

Matejko was deeply interested in the era of the

historical paintings that he set in that period.[5] The composition is very colorful, yet realistic.[5] It conveys the Golden Era of Polish Renaissance, and the power of the contemporary Kingdom of Poland, both its elites and the common people.[5] The left side of the painting is focused on the richness and glory of the era, while the right notes the hard work of ordinary people that made this greatness possible.[9] Although the painting is usually known as The hanging of the Sigismund bell.., in fact it shows not the moment of hanging but the moment of the bell's emergence from the mold in which it was cast.[13]

The painting shows a crowd, with a number of identifiable figures of historical importance. On the left, there is the royal court, but only the king,

Sigismund August, were Polish kings that inspired other works of Matejko, including The Babin Republic (1881) and The Founding of the Lubranski Academy in Poznań (1886).[1] Sigismund I's portrayal on the Hanging... painting is the one where Matejko shows him with pride and respect.[5] Other figures in the court include banker Jan Boner, merchant and official Seweryn Bethman, and castellan and voivode Stanisław Kmita.[9] Bishop Jan Chojeński is also shown on the painting, consecrating the bell, with canon Grzegorz Lubrański nearby.[9][13]

Outside the court, master bell-founder Hans Beham is seen above the bell. Between him and the court there are two dark-clad figures. These are the Wawel architect

Valentin Bakfark, who according to a legend threw a string from his instrument into the melted bronze (in fact, he arrived in Poland two decades after the bell was cast).[5] In the background, Wawel Castle can be seen.[9]

As he would often do, Matejko included people whom he considered significant for the era, but who could not be present in the scene, like Sigismund I's son,

their era.[5]

References

  1. ^
    National Museum in Warsaw. Archived from the original
    on 12 December 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  2. ISBN 978-83-223-2115-7
    . Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  3. ^ "The Royal Sigismund Bell". The Wawel Royal Cathedral of St Stanislaus BM and St Wenceslaus M. Parafia Archikatedralna św. Stanisława BM i św. Wacława. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Sigismund Bell | poland.gov.pl". En.poland.gov.pl. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n (in Polish) Marek Rezler, Z Matejką przez polskie dzieje: Zawieszenie dzwonu Zygmunta . Interklasa: polski portal edukacyjny. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  6. ISBN 978-83-223-1997-0
    . Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  7. ISBN 978-3-7845-7611-4
    . Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  8. ^ Art Institute of Chicago; Stanisław Lorentz; National Gallery of Canada (1966). Treasures from Poland: a loan exhibition from the State Art Collection of Wawel Castle; Cracow; the Treasury of Wawel Cathedral; the National Museum of Cracow; and the National Museum of Warsaw. Art Institute of Chicago. p. 51. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g "Kopie obrazów dawnych mistrzów-Malarstwo historyczne Zawieszenie Dzwonu Zygmunta". Piotrwalerski.alte.pl. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  10. ^ Jan Matejko; Janusz Maciej Michałowski (1979). Jan Matejko. Arkady. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  11. ^ Maria Szypowska (1992). Jan Matejko wszystkim znany. Fundacja Artibus-Wurlitzer oraz Wydawn. Domu Słowa Polskiego. p. 266. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  12. ^ "Serce, które waży... 350 kg!, Monika Hyla". TK Niedziela. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  13. ^ a b SPACER PO MUZEUM NARODOWYM W WARSZAWIE. DRUK EDUKACYJNY DLA DZIECI W WIEKU 7–12 LAT PRZYGOTOWANY PRZEZ OŚRODEK OŚWIATOWY MNW. Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie. Retrieved 3 June 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paintings by Jan Matejko.
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