| Artist | Jan Matejko |
|---|---|
| Year | 1891 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 247 cm × 446 cm (97 in × 176 in) |
| Location | Royal Castle, Warsaw, Warsaw |
Constitution of May 3, 1791[a] (Polish: Konstytucja 3 Maja 1791 roku) is a late 19th century Romantic genre painting by the Polish artist Jan Matejko, commemorating the centenary of an important event in the history of Poland. It is an oil painting on canvas measuring 247 x 446 cm, and like many of Matejko's works, is a large and crowded scene. It is an iconic representation of the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, an important moment in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Polish Enlightenment.[1][2]
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Matejko began work on the painting in January 1891, to coincide with the centenary of the constitution. Although the painting was not finished until October, by May it was sufficiently advanced to be shown at the anniversary exhibition in Sukiennice, Kraków. This grand historical painting was one of the last works by Matejko, who died in November 1893.[3]
The painting is now in the collection of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, where Matejko declared that he would like the painting to be.[3] The painting is one of Matejko's best known works and is seen as one of his masterpieces, an "education in national history."[4]
The painting, set in the late afternoon of May 3, 1791, shows the procession of deputies from the Royal Castle (seen in the background) to St. John's Archcathedral (on the left) in order to swear, once again, the oath to the text of the Constitution that had just been passed by the Great Sejm.[3] The procession is moving along Świętojańska Street and is surrounded by enthusiastic Warsaw residents and visitors.[3] The deputies are guarded by soldiers.[3] While the procession was a real historical occurrence, Matejko took many artistic liberties, up to the inclusion of people who were not present, or were already dead.[3] He did so as he intended the painting to be a synthesis of the last years of the Commonwealth.[5]
The painting is centered on the Sejm marshal Stanisław Małachowski (11), in a white, French-inspired costume.[3] Małachowski holds the marshal staff in his left hand and in his right hand, he triumphantly raises the text of the Constitution.[3] Although the real document is titled Ustawa rządowa (Government Ordinance), Matejko decided to make the title page more explicit—and at the same time put the name of the painting right in its center.[3] He is carried by deputies Aleksander Linowski of Kraków and Ignacy Zakrzewski of Poznań (12). Kraków and Poznań are principal cities of two major regions of Poland: Lesser Poland and Greater Poland, respectively. Underneath Małachowski's right hand there is a figure holding a flag, with a bandaged head; this is Tadeusz Kościuszko (13); his head wound is a reference to the battle of Maciejowice that took place three years later, in 1794, during the Kościuszko Uprising.[5] Kościuszko stands next to another participant in the Uprising and future mayor of Warsaw, the aforementioned Ignacy Zakrzewski (12).
The second figure who is being carried, to the right of Małachowski, is Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha (14), marshal of the Lithuanian confederation and the second Sejm marshal.[3] He is dressed in more traditional Polish clothing.[3]
In the lower center of the painting, Matejko shows a scene that happened in the Royal Castle.[3] An opponent of the constitution, Jan Suchorzewski (15), deputy from Kalisz, has fallen to the ground, holding his young son with one arm; his other hand, holding a knife, is held by Stanisław Kublicki, deputy of Inflanty and an active supporter of the Constitution.[3][6] Suchorzewski unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the king from signing the Constitution, blocking his way and threatening to kill his own son to save him from the "slavery of the Constitution". From Suchorzewski's pocket, a deck of cards has fallen out, an allusion to the way he was bribed by the anti-Constitution Russian ambassador Otto Magnus von Stackelberg and hetman Branicki.[3] Suchorzewski had been noticed to suddenly start winning large sums of money in games, despite his poor skills as a gambler.[3] Branicki (7) can be seen standing between the king and Suchorzewski, dressed in Russian uniform, foreshadowing the rank of general he would receive in the Russian Army in a few years. In reality he, like most of the Constitution opponents, refused to participate in the procession.[3]
Notable figures in the center of the painting, to the left of Małachowski, include several supporters of the Constitution: priest Hugo Kołłątaj (8) is the most prominent, gesturing in disdain at Suchorzewski.[6][3] Several other figures in the vicinity are described in sources, but their precise location is unclear, or the sources contradict one another. The priest holding the Bible is most likely either Feliks Turski or Tymoteusz Gorzeński.[6][3] The figure to the right of Kołłątaj represents either the Grand Lithuanian Marshal, Ignacy Potocki,[3] or Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski. Surrounding Kołłątaj are likely the priest Scipione Piattoli and Tadeusz Matuszewicz (Matusiewicz).[6]
On the stairs of the archcathedral, King Stanisław August Poniatowski (1) is ascending.[3] Matejko was not very fond of Poniatowski, and he portrayed him in a rather pompous posture, with his hand extended to be kissed, and in the company of numerous pretty ladies, supporting his reputation as a "lady's man".[3] Poniatowski's inclusion in the procession is one of Matejko's artistic liberties, as he had arrived at the archcathedral earlier.[3] Next to him, a laurel wreath is being handed to him by the Courland princess Dorothea von Medem (Dorothea Biron). Behind her stands Elżbieta Grabowska, the king's mistress and mother of his children. Bowing at the church doors is the former mayor of Warsaw, Jan Dekert (2).[3] He is accompanied by his wife,[3] with their daughter Marianna (in yellow dress, facing away) taking a prominent position near the king.[7] Dekert's inclusion in the painting is another historical error, but intentional: while he died in October 1790, he represents the importance of the burghers and the Free Royal Cities Act. Behind the king, holding his hands to his head, is Prince Antoni Stanisław Czetwertyński-Światopełk (6), another opponent of the Constitution, known for being on a Russian payroll; he would be imprisoned and hanged a few years later during the Kościuszko Uprising.[6] Underneath him is another opponent of the constitution, Antoni Złotnicki.[6]
In the group of people gathered below the king, in another acknowledgement of the burghers' importance, is burgher Jan Kiliński (4), one of the leaders of the Kościuszko Uprising. To his right, at the edge of the crowd, is the priest Clemens Maria Hofbauer (5), a future Saint, who at that time ran an orphanage and a school in Warsaw.[3]
To the right of Sapieha are the peasant case defender, Stanisław Staszic (17), and, with his hand around Staszic, Andrzej Zamoyski (18), author of the Zamoyski Codex, an earlier attempt to reform the state.[3] Beneath them, with an outstretched hand, is Kazimierz Konopka (16), Kołłątaj's secretary and one of the Polish Jacobins (with a French blue-white-red flower in his hat, and holding the czekan—ax- and hammer-like weapon).[7] To the right of Zamoyski is an unnamed peasant (19).
In another foreshadowing, to the right of them, riding a grey horse, in the uniform of the light cavalry of the Duchy of Warsaw, is the king's nephew, prince Józef Poniatowski.[3] He would be commander-in-chief of the Duchy's army, and would die during the French invasion of Russia. At the time of the passing of the Constitution, he was the commander of the Warsaw garrison, and is shown keeping an eye on the procession, with his soldiers lined up and guarding the street.[3]
At the very bottom right corner, an old Polish Jew (21) is on the edge of the scene; his hand making a Sy, git ("that's good") gesture.[3]
This is the list of characters portrayed on the painting and indicated with numbers on the associated guide picture:
The following characters are not included in the guide picture:
a ^ The painting does not have one dominant title, either in Polish or English. It is referred to variously, with different renderings of the name of the Constitution of May 3 (such as "The Constitution of the 3rd May",[8] "The Third of May Constitution"[1] or "Constitution of 3 May 1791",[9]) or in an even more elaborate fashion. For example, Reddaway calls it "King Stanislaw Augustus entering Warsaw Cathedral after the passing of the reformed Constitution of 1791".[4]