Materiały i pamiątki po Janie Matejce w zbiorach rękopisów Biblioteki Naukowej PAU i PAN w Krakowie

Due to the 185th anniversary of Jan Matejko’s birth and 130th of his death, to appreciate his artistic work as well as patriotic and social activity, the Senat of the Republic of Poland in its resolution of 16 November 2022 announced the year 2023 the Year of Jan Matejko. The celebrations of the Year of Jan Matejko create a perfect opportunity for an overview and familiarisation with keepsakes related to the Cracovian painter kept in the manuscripts collection of the Scientific Library of the PAAS and the PAS in Krakow. Among the most precious ones are the painter’s sketches from the album titled The Dead and Alive by a romantic poet Teofil Lenartowicz as well as letters written by Jan Matejko: three to the editorial board of “Kłosy” weekly magazine included in the collection of autographs gathered by Cyprian Walewski and two included in Stanisław Tomkowicz’s correspondence, related to artistic activity, financial matters as well as the artist’s health issues. Among various manuscripts there are some materials related to Jan Matejko’s life and arts, as well as those commemorating and critically analysing his life and activity, such as a manuscript of Jan Matejko’s artistic biography written by Stanisław Witkiewicz. A query revealed also numerous photographs showing the artist, some with his hand-written dedications. Thanks to the popularity of Jan Matejko’s paintings, the manuscripts collection includes also a great deal of replicas of his most famous but also some unique works printed on postcards, photographs and newspaper clips. The discovered materials do not form a coherent collection but through their diversity they can be considered an interesting source for the research on Jan Matejko’s life and work as well as on the perception of his paintings among his contemporaries and following generations.