Stephen Báthory

CZARTORYSKA IZABELLA, PIELGRZYM W DOBROMILU CZYLI NAUKI WIEJSKIE, WILNO, 1861.

The popular didactic story by Izabela Elżbieta Czartoryska ‘Pilgrim from Dobromil’(Pielgrzym w Dobromilu czyli nauki wiejskie) came out again in Warsaw in 1852, this time with 16 illustrations by Wincenty Smokowski (1797–1876). The 1861 Vilnius edition also used 16 lithographs by Smokowski and Jan Zenkiewicz. This illustration by Smokowski, showing Stephen Báthory (1533–1586), the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, published in the 1852 Warsaw edition, was reprinted in Vilnius (the version shown here is from the Vilnius edition). The work differs from the other illustrations in the publication, which are all portraits, by its story, which emphasises the role of Stephen Báthory in promoting education in the Polish-Lithuanian state. The quotation below the illustration reads: ‘Study, child, and I shall make you a lord.’ This is a variation on what Stephen Báthory is reputed to have said to a child in a school at Zamość: ‘Study Latin, child, and I shall make you a lord.’ (The importance of a general education is emphasised, rather than the study of Latin.) Both the image and the quotation emphasise the value of learning to children of humble origins, since education opens up better prospects for them. In depicting Stephen Báthory, the artist sought to convey a historical message, but the setting and the dress include many details from his own times.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė

CZARTORYSKA IZABELLA, PIELGRZYM W DOBROMILU CZYLI NAUKI WIEJSKIE, WILNO, 1861.

The popular didactic story by Izabela Elżbieta Czartoryska ‘Pilgrim from Dobromil’(Pielgrzym w Dobromilu czyli nauki wiejskie) came out again in Warsaw in 1852, this time with 16 illustrations by Wincenty Smokowski (1797–1876). The 1861 Vilnius edition also used 16 lithographs by Smokowski and Jan Zenkiewicz. This illustration by Smokowski, showing Stephen Báthory (1533–1586), the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, published in the 1852 Warsaw edition, was reprinted in Vilnius (the version shown here is from the Vilnius edition). The work differs from the other illustrations in the publication, which are all portraits, by its story, which emphasises the role of Stephen Báthory in promoting education in the Polish-Lithuanian state. The quotation below the illustration reads: ‘Study, child, and I shall make you a lord.’ This is a variation on what Stephen Báthory is reputed to have said to a child in a school at Zamość: ‘Study Latin, child, and I shall make you a lord.’ (The importance of a general education is emphasised, rather than the study of Latin.) Both the image and the quotation emphasise the value of learning to children of humble origins, since education opens up better prospects for them. In depicting Stephen Báthory, the artist sought to convey a historical message, but the setting and the dress include many details from his own times.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė