''The Polish Prometheus'' or ''Allegory of Defeated Poland'' is an oil on canvas painting by

Horace Vernet Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (; 30 June 178917 January 1863) more commonly known as simply Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. Biography Early career Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famo ...

, from 1831, inspired by

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

's recent failed

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

against the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The ancient Greek character

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

played a major part in the quest for emancipation in Polish literature and art, particularly given his eventual liberation by

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

. The painting shows a dead and bleeding Polish soldier in a white uniform with a sabre. On his chest rests an enormous black eagle (symbol of Russia) wearing the Order of Saint Andrew, whilst in the background are a woman fleeing a Russian cavalryman (left) and sketches of Polish soldiers (right). The painter was close to the liberal French circles who supported the Uprising. In 1950, Louise de Saint-Maurice gave the work to the

Polish Library in Paris The Polish Library in Paris (, ) is a Polish cultural centre of national importance and is closely associated both with the historic Great Emigration of the Polish élite to Paris in the 19th-century and the formation in 1832 of the Literary Soci ...

, where it still hangs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polish Prometheus, The 1831 paintings Allegorical paintings by French artists Death in art Paintings by Horace Vernet Eagles in art Paintings in Paris November Uprising