
Stańczyk - smacktoward
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sta%C5%84czyk
======
majke
Thanks for interest in Polish art and history!

We have more! There is Rejtan:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rejtan_(painting)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rejtan_\(painting\))

Prussian Homage (also featuring worried Stańczyk):
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_Homage_(painting)](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](https://www.wikiart.org/en/zdislav-beksinski)

One of the websites that writes about new and old art is:
[https://culture.pl/en](https://culture.pl/en)

see for example:

[https://culture.pl/en/work/stanczyk-jan-
matejko](https://culture.pl/en/work/stanczyk-jan-matejko)

[https://culture.pl/en/work/rejtan-jan-
matejko](https://culture.pl/en/work/rejtan-jan-matejko)

Also check out [https://culture.pl/pl/tworca/jozef-
chelmonski](https://culture.pl/pl/tworca/jozef-chelmonski) "Józef Chełmoński,
"Czwórka"

~~~
machinelearning
I'm curious about the role of the worried Stańczyk in the paintings. What is
it intended to imply?

~~~
majke
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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God%27s_Playground)

Citing [https://culture.pl/en/work/stanczyk-jan-
matejko](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

~~~
majke
Oh, oh, oh. Since we are at Queen Bona, she was super cool.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_Sforza](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_Sforza)

She was a culinary expert. I mean Italian.
[https://pajtoday.blogspot.com/2009/05/history-polands-
italia...](https://pajtoday.blogspot.com/2009/05/history-polands-italian-
queen-bona.html)

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](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82oszczyzna)

~~~
mci
More importantly, she came up with a land reform that quadrupled the annual
state revenue [1].

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volok_Reform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volok_Reform)

------
brnt
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.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Polish_Nobleman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Polish_Nobleman)

------
booleandilemma
_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._

So Jon Stewart, essentially?

------
DerekL
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.

[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/boo-boo-the-
fool](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/boo-boo-the-fool)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hys_m3BPTS8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hys_m3BPTS8)

------
localhost3000
I was very surprised to see my surname on the front page of hacker news today.
No relation, afaik.

