Polish history is very colorful. The (rather thick, but reasonably impartial) recommended read on Polish history over centuries is Norman Davies's "God's Playground" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God%27s_Playground
> The full title of the painting is Stańczyk during a Ball at the Court of Queen Bona in the Face of the Loss of Smoleńsk. It depicts a royal jester sitting in an armchair, immersed in thought. In the corner of the painting, through an open door, one can see that a bustling party is taking place right next door. However, Stańczyk does not take part in it, most likely saddened or overwhelmed by the information he received in the letter visible on the table on his right. Stańczyk sits in a dark chamber, contrasting with the illuminated ballroom. The window painted on the opposite side of the canvas acts as a counterbalance to it. Through it, one can see the tower of Wawel Cathedral and a comet cutting through the night sky – a clear omen of an upcoming catastrophe.
> The historical background for this painting was the war between the combined forces of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania against Russia in the years 1512-1522, and above all one of its battles: the siege of Smolensk, as a result of which, in 1514, the Russians gained control of the fortress for nearly a hundred years. Due to its strategic location, this was extremely unfavourable, threatening the security of both Poland and Lithuania and blocking the possibility of expansion to the east.
> However, Matejko’s goal was not to tell the story of the struggle for the fortress of Smolensk. By recalling events from the distant past, the painter wanted to show the consequences of bad decisions, manipulation, and scheming; the consequences of poorly thought-out actions and the lack of national unity
I too highly recommend God's Playground. Great book on Polish history. It is one of the first books of Norman Davies on this topic, so it's not very biased.
Comedian at a court at the height of power seeing the beginnings of the inevitable fall but unable to persuade others or be treated seriously.
It depicts "good old times" and was painted when Poland was partitioned between Russia, Germany and Austro-Hungary, and doing a failed uprising every 20 years.
The first level is the concrete historical event as described by majke.
The second level is the historical context of the painting itself. It was created when Poland did not exist anymore, so you can think of it as a precognition cast into the past. The wise jester is (rightly) worried about the future, as opposed to the gentry visible in the background.
The third level is universal. Humor is not always about the lulz - it might point your attention to something serious and sad. I think that "sad jester" should actually be an archetype but I haven't seen it catalogued as such.
I don't think any of the pictures do justice to the painting - I personally couldn't understand what the fuss was about until I saw it in person. If you have a chance, go see it!
I really like Rembrandt's 'A Polish Nobleman' [1]. I've read "Polen, land, volk, cultuur" by Milo Anstadt. Unfortunately it was never translated from Dutch afaik, a shame because it's the best historical book I've ever read and I wish there was a book of this quality, balance and comprehensiveness about my native Netherlands (and that Polish people could read it as well). He's a Polish Jew who's family fled from his native then Polish Lviv/Lwow to the Netherlands and became a noted historian. Rembrandt's image fits the history as investigated and told by Anstadt perfectly.
He is remembered as a man of great intelligence and a political philosopher gifted with formidable insight into Poland's current and future situation. He used his job to criticize and warn his contemporaries by the use of satire. His witty jokes often pertained to current political or court matters.
I've recently seen this painting used in the “Boo Boo the Fool” meme. Media critic Lindsay Ellis has used that meme image while discussing the final season of Game of Thrones.
13 comments
[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 46.4 ms ] threadWe have more! There is Rejtan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rejtan_(painting)
Prussian Homage (also featuring worried Stańczyk): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_Homage_(painting)
Slightly off-topic but my fav is a modern painter Zdzisław Beksiński: https://www.wikiart.org/en/zdislav-beksinski
One of the websites that writes about new and old art is: https://culture.pl/en
see for example:
https://culture.pl/en/work/stanczyk-jan-matejko
https://culture.pl/en/work/rejtan-jan-matejko
Also check out https://culture.pl/pl/tworca/jozef-chelmonski "Józef Chełmoński, "Czwórka"
Citing https://culture.pl/en/work/stanczyk-jan-matejko
> The full title of the painting is Stańczyk during a Ball at the Court of Queen Bona in the Face of the Loss of Smoleńsk. It depicts a royal jester sitting in an armchair, immersed in thought. In the corner of the painting, through an open door, one can see that a bustling party is taking place right next door. However, Stańczyk does not take part in it, most likely saddened or overwhelmed by the information he received in the letter visible on the table on his right. Stańczyk sits in a dark chamber, contrasting with the illuminated ballroom. The window painted on the opposite side of the canvas acts as a counterbalance to it. Through it, one can see the tower of Wawel Cathedral and a comet cutting through the night sky – a clear omen of an upcoming catastrophe.
> The historical background for this painting was the war between the combined forces of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania against Russia in the years 1512-1522, and above all one of its battles: the siege of Smolensk, as a result of which, in 1514, the Russians gained control of the fortress for nearly a hundred years. Due to its strategic location, this was extremely unfavourable, threatening the security of both Poland and Lithuania and blocking the possibility of expansion to the east.
> However, Matejko’s goal was not to tell the story of the struggle for the fortress of Smolensk. By recalling events from the distant past, the painter wanted to show the consequences of bad decisions, manipulation, and scheming; the consequences of poorly thought-out actions and the lack of national unity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_Sforza
She was a culinary expert. I mean Italian. https://pajtoday.blogspot.com/2009/05/history-polands-italia...
She brought to Poland certain (common these days) vegetables, and till this day we call these "Italianos" (pardon poor attempt at translation)
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82oszczyzna
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volok_Reform
It depicts "good old times" and was painted when Poland was partitioned between Russia, Germany and Austro-Hungary, and doing a failed uprising every 20 years.
The second level is the historical context of the painting itself. It was created when Poland did not exist anymore, so you can think of it as a precognition cast into the past. The wise jester is (rightly) worried about the future, as opposed to the gentry visible in the background.
The third level is universal. Humor is not always about the lulz - it might point your attention to something serious and sad. I think that "sad jester" should actually be an archetype but I haven't seen it catalogued as such.
I don't think any of the pictures do justice to the painting - I personally couldn't understand what the fuss was about until I saw it in person. If you have a chance, go see it!
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Polish_Nobleman
So Jon Stewart, essentially?
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/boo-boo-the-fool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hys_m3BPTS8