Lost King Sobieski painting returned to Poland

Minister Sikorski with painting, Thursday: photo - PAP/Pawel Supernak

The picture will become part of the collections of the National Museum in Warsaw.

“We welcome King Jan III's return to Warsaw,” said Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski during a ceremony marking the retrieval of the painting yesterday.

“We are delighted that another item has been returned to its rightful place.”

King Jan Sobieski is best remembered for his commanding role in the Relief of Vienna of 1683, when Polish troops were instrumental in lifting the siege of the Habsburg capital from the Ottoman army.

The identity of the artist is unknown, although it is believed to be a copy of a portrait by Daniel Schultz, who was active in Gdansk.

The painting was for many years a part of the collections at the Polish Museum in Rapperswil Castle, Switzerland, an institution that was a beacon of Polish culture during the 19th century, when Poland had been wiped from the map.

After the regaining of Poland's national independence following the First World War, the painting was bequeathed to the nation, along with many other artworks, and it found its way into the collections of the then State Art Collection in Warsaw.

In all probability, the portrait was looted by the Nazis in 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising, the doomed insurgency against the German occupiers.

This year, the National Museum has managed to recover a number of paintings in similar circumstances, including works by the noted artists Julian Falat and Aleksander Gierymski.

Minister Sikorski affirmed that Poland will remain committed to tracking down other lost artworks.

According to the Ministry of Culture, some 60,000 works of art in Polish state and private collections disappeared during the Second World War. (nh/pg)


Source: IAR/ PAP