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Greeting Emperor Franz Joseph in Sukiennice in Krakow

Hipolit Lipinski

Basic information

ID: Ж-2192
Author: Hipolit Lipinski
Name: Greeting Emperor Franz Joseph in Sukiennice in Krakow
Date of creation: 1881
Country: Austro-Hungarian Empire
Technique: oil painting
Material: canvas oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 150 x 293

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: history painting
Provenance: Collection of Lviv City Gallery

Information about author

Author: Hipolit Lipinski
Artist's lifetime: 1846–1884
Country: Austrian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire
Biography: Hipolit Lipinski (August 14, 1846, Nowy Targ, Podhale – June 27, 1884, Krakow) was a Polish realist painter and educator. He was a co-founder of the National Museum in Krakow. The future artist studied at the art academies in Krakow and Munich. From 1875 to 1884, he taught drawing and painting at the Baraniecki Higher Women's Courses. He was the author of genre scenes from rural and urban life, landscapes, and portraits. Lipinski's works are preserved in the National Museums of Poland and Ukraine.

Object description

In 1880, Emperor Franz Joseph visited Krakow and Lviv for an inspection tour, where he reviewed the troops during manoeuvres. Mass events and celebrations always accompanied such visits. Special committees were established in Krakow and Lviv to prepare for the Emperor's reception. The members of the Krakow committee included artists Juliusz Kossak, Hipolit Lipinski, Jacek Malczewski, and Waclaw Konniuszko. The Emperor visited Krakow only twice. The painting depicts the meeting of Franz Joseph during his second arrival in the city from September 1 to 4, 1880. A building was chosen in the centre of the Main Market Square in Krakow, built as a trading hall, known as the Cloth Hall (Polish: Sukiennice). A special stage was erected for the Emperor and his entourage. The greeting was a theatrical performance featuring a Krakow wedding and harvest celebration. The large-scale multi-figure canvas was painted by Lipinski a year after the event. The spacious, brightly lit hall is filled with people in various festive attire. To the left, under a giant red canopy on a raised platform covered with carpets, stands the Emperor in a blue full dress uniform surrounded by his retinue. He is receiving gifts and greetings from various regions of his empire. To the right and in the centre, young people are dancing, while smiling children are depicted with wreaths made of grain and vegetables. The bright and dynamic composition conveys the scale and organisation of this festive event.

Inscriptions

In the bottom left is the artist's signature and date: "H. Lipiński w Krakowie 1881". On the reverse is the inscription: "Przyjęcie cesarza Franciszka Józefa w Sukiennicach w Krakowie".

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Greeting Emperor Franz Joseph in Sukiennice in Krakow

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