1858 -1925 · Lviv, Krakow, Paris and Rome

Monumental panoramas, national heroes and religious visions make Jan Styka a painter of lived history on the scale of the collective spectacle.

Jan Styka was born in Lviv in 1858, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, then continued his training in Krakow with Jan Matejko, whose teaching reinforced his interest in history, costume and national memory. Painter, designer and illustrator, Styka above all became one of the great European specialists in panorama, this vast circular device which envelops the viewer and transforms painting into a physical experience. With Wojciech Kossak and a team of artists, he became one of the great European specialists in panorama, this vast circular device which envelops the viewer and transforms painting into a physical experience. With Wojciech Kossak and a team of artists, he directed the creation of Racławice's Panorama in 1893 -1894. The work celebrates the Panorama of Raclawice in 1893 -1894. The work celebrates the Panorama of Raclawice in 1893 -1894. The work celebrates the Panorama of Raclawice in 1893 -1894. The work celebrates the Panorama of Raclawice in 1893 -1894. The work celebrates the Panorama of Raclawice in 1893 -1894. The work real terrain and false relief in spectacular continuity. Polonia, painted in 1891, adopts another register. The allegory brings together history, suffering and hope around the figure of the Polish nation, giving patriotic painting a symbolic dimension. The Panorama of Transylvania, produced in Lviv in 1897, represents the campaign of Józef Bem during the Hungarian revolution of 1848 -1849. The canvas measured approximately fifteen meters high by one hundred and twenty meters long before being cut out; fragments are now preserved and studied at the Tarnów Museum. Koîtciuszko on horseback shows how Styka prepares his great stories through studies of gesture, uniform and equestrian movement. Then settled in Paris and then linked to Rome, he also developed a vast religious production, particularly around the Crucifixion, and illustrated literary texts. Died in Rome in 1925, he left a work where documentary precision always serves an emotional and monumental ambition. The "Jan Styka" selection notably compares Panorama of Transylvania and Polonia. His reading favors details.

Styka does not only paint a historical episode: he constructs a space of memory where the viewer finds himself surrounded by horses, flags, crowds and the idea of nation.