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Stańczyk (painting)
''Stańczyk'' (Full title: ''Stańczyk during a ball at the court of Queen Bona in the face of the loss of Smolensk'', pl, Stańczyk w czasie balu na dworze królowej Bony wobec straconego Smoleńska) is a painting by Jan Matejko finished in 1862. This painting was acquired by the Warsaw National Museum in 1924. During World War II it was looted by the Nazis and subsequently by the Soviet Union, but was returned to Poland around 1956. It is one of Matejko's most famous works and the one that launched him to fame. It has been described as one of the most recognizable paintings in the Warsaw National Museum, and is a flagship painting for the "Collection of Polish paintings prior to 1914". Its primary component is the contrast between the solemn jester (the titular Stańczyk) and the lively ball going on in the background. The painting has created an image of Stańczyk that has become iconic and widely recognized in Poland. Stańczyk Stańczyk, the male figure depicted in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Matejko
Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale oil paintings such as '' Rejtan'' (1866), ''the Union of Lublin'' (1869), '' the Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God'' (1873), or ''the Battle of Grunwald'' (1878). He was the author of numerous portraits, a gallery of Polish monarchs in book form, and murals in St. Mary's Basilica, Kraków. He is considered by many as the most celebrated Polish painter, and sometimes as the "national painter" of Poland. Matejko was among the notable people to receive an unsolicited letter from the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, as the latter tipped, in January 1889, into his psychotic breakdown while in Turin. Matejko spent most of his life in Kraków. His teachers at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts included Wojciech Korneli Stattle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Eminence
Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed of black and white. It is the color of a cloud-covered sky, of ash and of lead. The first recorded use of ''grey'' as a color name in the English language was in 700 CE.Maerz and Paul ''A Dictionary of Color'' New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 196 ''Grey'' is the dominant spelling in European and Commonwealth English, while ''gray'' has been the preferred spelling in American English; both spellings are valid in both varieties of English. In Europe and North America, surveys show that grey is the color most commonly associated with neutrality, conformity, boredom, uncertainty, old age, indifference, and modesty. Only one percent of respondents chose it as their favorite color. Etymology ''Grey'' comes from the Middle English or , ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can refer to an instrument from the family of European lutes. The term also refers generally to any string instrument having the strings running in a plane parallel to the sound table (in the Hornbostel–Sachs system). The strings are attached to pegs or posts at the end of the neck, which have some type of turning mechanism to enable the player to tighten the tension on the string or loosen the tension before playing (which respectively raise or lower the pitch of a string), so that each string is tuned to a specific pitch (or note). The lute is plucked or strummed with one hand while the other hand "frets" (presses down) the strings on the neck's fingerboard. By pressing the strings on different places of the fingerboard, the player can sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Orsha
The Battle of Orsha ( be, Бітва пад Оршай, translit=Bitva pad Oršaj, lt, Oršos mūšis, pl, bitwa pod Orszą, uk, Битва під Оршею), was a battle fought on 8 September 1514, between the allied forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, under the command of Lithuanian Grand Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski; and the army of the Grand Duchy of Moscow under Konyushy Ivan Chelyadnin and Kniaz Mikhail Bulgakov-Golitsa. The Battle of Orsha was part of a long series of Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars conducted by Muscovite rulers striving to gather all the former Kievan Rus' lands under their rule. According to '' Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii'' by Sigismund von Herberstein, the primary source for information on the battle, the much smaller army of Lithuania–Poland (under 30,000 men) defeated a force of 80,000 Muscovite soldiers, capturing their camp and commander. These numbers and proportions have been disputed by some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Duchy Of Moscow
The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Latin ) was a Rus' principality of the Late Middle Ages centered on Moscow, and the predecessor state of the Tsardom of Russia in the early modern period. It was ruled by the Rurik dynasty, who had ruled Rus' since the foundation of Novgorod in 862. Ivan III the Great titled himself as Sovereign and Grand Duke of All Rus' (russian: государь и великий князь всея Руси, gosudar' i velikiy knyaz' vseya Rusi). The state originated with the rule of Alexander Nevsky of the Rurik dynasty, when in 1263, his son, Daniel I, was appointed to rule the newly created Grand Principality of Moscow, which was a vassal state to the Mongol Empire (under the " Tatar Yoke"), and which eclipsed and eventually absorbed its parent du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Smolensk (1514)
The siege of Smolensk of 1514 took place during the fourth Muscovite–Lithuanian War (1512–1520). The growing and strengthening Grand Duchy of Moscow clashed with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the territories of the former Kievan Rus'. The tension resulted in a series of wars starting in 1492. When war broke out again in November 1512, Moscow's main objective was to capture Smolensk, an important fortress and trade center that had been part of Lithuania since 1404. The Russians, commanded personally by Tsar Vasili III of Russia, laid a six-week siege in January–February 1513, but Grand Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski repelled the attack. Another four-week siege followed in August–September 1513. In May 1514, Vasili III again led his army against Smolensk. This time the Russian army included a number of artillerymen, brought from the Holy Roman Empire by Michael Glinski. After a lengthy preparation, shelling of the city from nearby hills began in July. After a few days ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lithuanians, who were at the time a polytheistic nation born from several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija. The Grand Duchy expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other neighbouring states, including what is now Lithuania, Belarus and parts of Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Russia and Moldova. At its greatest extent, in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe. It was a multi-ethnic and multiconfessional state, with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage. The consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 13th century. Mindaugas, the first ruler of the Grand Duchy, was crowned as Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in a religious crusad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Madonna Of Częstochowa
The Black Madonna of Częstochowa ( pl, Czarna Madonna / Matka Boska Częstochowska; la, Imago thaumaturga Beatae Virginis Mariae Immaculatae Conceptae, in Claro Monte, lit=Miraculous Image of the Immaculate Conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary in Clear Mountain), also known as Our Lady of Częstochowa, is a venerated icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary housed at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland. Several pontiffs have recognised the venerated icon, beginning with Pope Clement XI, who issued a canonical coronation to the image on 8 September 1717 via the Vatican Chapter. It has also merited three pontifical golden roses to date. The icon The painting (122 × 82 centimetres) displays a traditional composition well known in the icons of Orthodox Christianity. The Virgin Mary is shown as the "Hodegetria" version (meaning "One Who Shows the Way" or “Οδηγήτρια” in Greek). In it, Mary directs attention away from herself, gesturing with her right hand towar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marotte
A marotte is a prop stick or sceptre with a carved head on it. Jesters usually used a marotte. The word is borrowed from the French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ..., where it signifies either a fool's (literal) "bauble" or a fad. Typically carried by a jester or Arlecchino, the miniature head often reflects the costume of the jester who carries it. Modern marottes typically have music boxes or other machinery built into the head. Older marottes may utilize swivel heads with bells. In popular culture In the children's TV series '' Rentaghost'', the stick was referred to as a "Tiny Timothy". In Verdi's opera '' Rigoletto'', the singer of the title role, a jester, carries a marotte, which often has on it the faces of comedy and tragedy. See also * Cap and be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. Population: The city has been destroyed several times throughout its long history because it was on the invasion routes of various empires. Smolensk is known for its electronics, textiles, food processing, and diamond faceting industries. Etymology The name of the city is derived from the name of the Smolnya River. Smolnya river flows through Karelian and Murmansk areas of north-western Russia. The origin of the river's name is less clear. One possibility is the old Slavic word () for black soil, which might have colored the waters of the Smolnya. An alternative origin could be the Russian word (), which means resin, tar, or pitch. Pine trees grow in the area, and the city was once a center of resin processing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of the powerful House of Sforza, which had ruled the Duchy of Milan since 1447. Smart, energetic and ambitious, Bona became heavily involved in the political and cultural life of Poland–Lithuania. To increase state revenue during the Chicken Rebellion, she implemented various economic and agricultural reforms, including the far-reaching Wallach Reform in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In foreign policy, she was allied with the Ottoman Empire and sometimes opposed the Habsburgs. Her descendants became beneficiaries of the Neapolitan sums, a loan she gave to Philip II of Spain which was never completely paid. Childhood Bona was born on 2 February 1494, in Vigevano, Milan, as the third of the four children of Gian Galeazzo Sforza, leg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (28 July 1812 – 19 March 1887) was a Polish writer, publisher, historian, journalist, scholar, painter, and author who produced more than 200 novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews, which makes him the most prolific writer in the history of Polish literature. He is best known for his epic series on the history of Poland, comprising twenty-nine novels in seventy-nine parts. Biography He was the oldest son born to a family of the Polish nobility (Szlachta). He studied medicine, then philosophy, at the University of Vilnius, and was a supporter of the November Uprising in 1830. As a result, he was arrested and imprisoned until 1832. After his release, he had to live under police supervision in Vilnius, but was allowed to go to his father's estate near Pruzhany the following year. In 1838 he married Zofia Woroniczówna, niece of , the former Bishop of Warsaw, and went with her to Volhynia, where he engaged in farming his family's estates. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
