Jan Matejko (1838–1893), Queen Bona, 1859
Pencil on paper, 19.5 cm x 10.5 cm (frame), 13 x 8 cm
Signed and dated in the lower right corner. The title of the work is in the center.
The drawing is mounted in a wooden frame with glass, designed to be displayed either standing or hanging (with appropriate mechanisms). Below are two silver emblems: initials and a quill. Hallmarks are visible on the initials.
Condition: Very good (slightly scratched frame, three small holes where an emblem may have been attached?)
The drawing was created during the period when Matejko painted “The Poisoning of Queen Bona”—his first mature historical work. In the drawing, we can see the outline of the final composition (the queen seated in a frontal pose—though in the painting her face is turned slightly to the right, looking at the goblet of poison being handed to her by her physician, Antonio of Macerata—wearing a rich gown and a “cap” on her head. The figure on the left is a sketch of the lady-in-waiting Maryna, also known as the Nun, a ward of the queen who was said to have helped forge her will—in the painting, she is also on the left, though positioned above the queen.
[KP]
