Teodora Matejko

Teodora Matejko in wedding dress, painting by Jan Matejko

Teodora Matejko (Matejkowa) née Giebułtowska (1846 25 August 1896 in Kraków), was the wife of Poland's national painter Jan Matejko; daughter of Antoni Giebułtowski and Paulina Sikorska. For many years, Teodora Matejko served as the live model for her husband's portrayals of notable women from Polish history.

Life

Teodora was a member of the Giebułtowski family of retailers from Nowy Wiśnicz,[1] friends of the family of her future husband. On 21 November 1864 she married painter Jan Matejko, future Rector of the Fine Arts Academy, whom she knew already from childhood. After the wedding, they settled in downtown Kraków, where she gave birth to five children: Tadeusz, Helena, Beata, Jerzy and Regina (died as infant).[2] Soon after the move, Matejkowa had developed diabetes, and in her later years mental disorder for which she was briefly hospitalized twice. She often posed to her husband in elaborate period costumes, mostly as Bona Sforza, and Barbara Radziwiłł.

Notes and references

  1. Jan Stępień. "Mały domek w ogródku (Little house in a garden)". Pejzaże regionalne (Regional landscape) (in Polish). Radio Kraków, Małopolska. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  2. "Jan Matejko. Informacje" (in Polish). Dzieje Krakowa.pl. January 27, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
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