The huge canvas which goes by the lengthy title ‘Vytautas swears revenge on the Teutonic Knights against the background of burning Kaunas’ has come to Poland on temporary loan to mark the 30th anniversary of the renewal of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
At a time when Poland didn’t exist as a sovereign nation after being wiped off the map of Europe by the three partitions between 1772–1795, the Panorama provided a comforting memory of the importance of the Polish nation.
The works which begin on August 4th and are expected to finish next year, will be the most extensive refurbishment since the museum opened in 1985.
The man behind masterpieces such as the Racławice Panorama and The Crucifixion, Jan Styka, who studied under Poland’s ‘national painter’ Jan Matejko, was also a great orator, his patriotic speeches being printed in French in 1915 under the title ‘The Soul of Poland’.
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