Matejko, Jan: Copernicus

Copernicus, 1873
oil, canvas, 322 x 545 cm;
Jagiellonian University in Cracow

Matejko's vision of Nicolaus Copernicus, based on the study of the astronomer's portraits, exact and faithful as regards the external resemblance of the face, however, it has remarkably individual features. The painting is not a portrait, static image of the character, but an attempt to present the scholar among books and scientific utensils in the moment, when an innovative concept is born in his mind. Hence the impression of admiration and admiration in the face of Copernicus, hence his ecstatic gesture bordering on theatricality and unnaturalness. Contrary to many other compositions by Jan Matejko, formed in the artist's imagination as if in stages, in which it was slowly reaching its final shape, through conceptual sketches of the whole and studies of individual characters, tu – as we know from drawing and painting sketches – the concept of the work was created right away, in its almost final version. In combination with crowded historical scenes, this painting is astonishing with its laconic composition; all the details of the surroundings are subordinated to the figure of Copernicus, a lone scientist, which concentrated comes to the formulation of the laws governing the universe.