The MNK Matejko House Museum is located in the artist’s family home at 41 Floriańska Street.
MNK Matejko (1838–1893) – the most outstanding representative of the Polish school of historical painting, a collector, professor and long-standing director of the School of Fine Arts in Kraków – was also a pioneer in the conservation and protection of historical monuments, and a member of numerous artistic, scientific and social societies and associations.
Following the artist’s death, a society bearing his name was established, which set itself the aim of honouring the outstanding painter by creating a biographical museum in the house where he was born, lived with his family, worked and died.
In the townhouse purchased from the family, exhibits related to Jan MNK Matejko and his family were gathered through systematic acquisitions and donations, and were presented to the public for the first time as early as 1898.
In 1904, the MNK Matejko Society transferred the biographical museum it had established to the management of the National Museum in Kraków.
Currently, the collection comprisesover 8,000 exhibits. These include everyday objects and mementoes of the artist and his closest family: his wife Teodora Matejkowa (née Giebułtowska, 1846–1896), his children: Tadeusz (1865–1911), Helena Unierzyska (1867–1932), Beata Kirchmayerowa (1869–1926), Jerzy (1873–1827) and Regina (1878–1878), as well as other family members.
The collection includes works representing all phases of the painter’s career: early oil studies, small compositional sketches for large canvases on historical themes (including: ‘Nicolaus Copernicus’ [1871], ‘Jan Sobieski presents Canon Denhoff with a letter to the Pope announcing the victory over the Turks at Vienna in 1683’ [1880]), examples of portraits of family and friends, as well as the ‘Self-Portrait’ from 1887.
The valuable collection of drawings has been grouped into sketches for historical compositions, portrait, costume, architectural and landscape studies, and applied arts. Family caricatures and watercolours on historical themes occupy a special place.
Also preserved are numerous design cartoons for polychromy for St Mary’s Church in Kraków (1889–1891). This project contributed to a renewed interest in mural painting among his pupils: Stanisław MNK Wyspiański and Józef MNK Mehoffer.
MNK Matejko’s achievements are recognised through numerous Polish and international medals, diplomas, certificates of membership in artistic and scientific associations, as well as the ‘sceptre as a symbol of reign in art’ presented to the artist by the Kraków City Council in 1878.
The collection also includes valuable documents, such as MNK Matejko’s letters to family and friends, as well as autographs by, among others, Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław Czartoryski, Jacek Malczewski, Stanisław Tarnowski and Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz.
The museum’s founders also collected photographic documentation of the painter’s work, and many photographs come from the artist’s own collection, for example, depicting MNK Matejko, people from his circle, and those who posed for the master.
The MNK Matejko Collection includes a collection of arts and crafts, textiles, clothing and military items, which often served the artist as props in his professional work, and many of them are extraordinary, interesting artefacts of significant artistic and material value. One such example is a unique set of torture instruments saved by MNK Matejko from destruction during the renovation of the tower of the former town hall. Jan Matejko’s book collection includes early printed books from the 16th to the 18th century, as well as historical and art publications, often bearing dedications to the artist. There are also works concerning MNK Matejko published after his death, i.e. after 1893.
Objects not included in the permanent gallery are displayed during temporary exhibitions.
The MNK Matejko House both catalogues the collections housed within it and promotes lesser-known aspects of the artist’s life and work.
Compiled by: Agnieszka Zagrajek
Head of Department: Marta Kłak-Ambrożkiewicz
