Rejtan (painting)
| Rejtan, or the Fall of Poland | |
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| Polish: Rejtan – upadek Polski | |
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| Artist | Jan Matejko |
| Year | 1866 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 282 cm × 487 cm (111 in × 192 in) |
| Location | Royal Castle in Warsaw |
Rejtan, or the Fall of Poland (Polish: Rejtan. Upadek Polski) is an oil painting by the Polish artist Jan Matejko, finished in 1866, depicting the protest of Tadeusz Rejtan (lower right) against the First Partition of Poland during the Partition Sejm of 1773. Both a depiction of a historical moment, and an allegory for the surrounding period of Polish history, the painting is one of Matejko's most famous works, and an iconic picture of an emotional protest.
Tadeusz Rejtan was a deputy in the Sejm (parliament) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1773, infamously known as the Partition Sejm. The Sejm convened to review the demands of three Commonwealth's neighbours (the Russian Empire, Prussia and Austria) in order to legalize their territorial demands, known as the First Partition of Poland. The Sejm operated under threat of foreign forces present in the Commonwealth, and with a significant number of deputies either bribed or threatened by foreign diplomats. The three powers officially justified their actions as a compensation for dealing with a troublesome neighbor and restoring order through military intervention in the civil war (the War of Bar Confederation); in fact all three were interested in territorial gains.
On 21 April that year, Rejtan, in a dramatic gesture at the Sejm, is said to have bared his chest and laid himself down in a doorway, blocking the way with his own body in a dramatic attempt to stop the other members from leaving the chamber where the debate was being held. Leaving of the chamber would have signified an end to the discussion, and the acceptance of the motion, meaning the acceptance of foreign territorial demands.
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