Constitution of 3 May 1791 (painting)

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The Constitution of 3 May 1791 (painting) is a large, dramatic oil work by Polish artist Jan Matejko, created in 1891 to mark the centenary of Poland’s landmark constitutional reform. The painting, which measures about 247 cm by 446 cm, is one of Matejko’s best-known works and is now kept at the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

What the painting shows
- The scene imagines the moment after the Great Sejm passed the May 3 Constitution in 1791. Deputies are shown leaving the Royal Castle and walking toward St. John’s Church, where a Te Deum would be sung.
- The central figure is Stanisław Małachowski, the Sejm marshal, holding the Constitution and raising it triumphantly. He is carried by two deputies, with other important reformers and supporters gathered around him.
- Many recognizable people are included, such as Hugo Kołłątaj and Ignacy Potocki (co-authors of the Constitution), Tadeusz Kościuszko, and King Stanisław August Poniatowski. The painting also features other nobles, clergy, burghers, and even a few opponents of the reforms.
- Matejko took artistic liberties by including individuals who were not present at the actual event or who had died by then. He did this to create a single, symbolic moment that could express the spirit of the era.

The Constitution and its significance
- The May 3 Constitution was adopted by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on May 3, 1791. It is widely regarded as the first constitution of its kind in Europe and one of the oldest in the world.
- It aimed to fix political problems in the Commonwealth, which had been weakened by noble privilege (the Golden Liberty) and by a veto system that allowed any deputy to block laws.
- The reform introduced political equality between townspeople and nobility, offered protections to peasants, and sought to create a stronger, more balanced government. It reduced the power of the unpopular liberum veto and moved toward a constitutional monarchy.
- The changes were controversial at once. Neighbors and rivals, including Russia and its Polish allies who opposed reform, opposed the Constitution and soon after resulted in conflict. In 1792 a war and later partitions of Poland followed, and the Commonwealth effectively disappeared as an independent state for more than a century. Yet the Constitution remained a powerful symbol of Polish aspirations for sovereignty and reform.

History of the painting
- Matejko began the work in January 1891 to honor the Constitution’s centennial. It was completed in October 1891.
- It has been praised as an education in Polish history, though some contemporaries found it crowded and the composition unclear.
- The painting has traveled a bit: shown in Kraków, moved to Lwów, then hidden during World War II, and finally resting in the Royal Castle in Warsaw since 1984, in the Chamber of Senators’ anteroom. It underwent restoration in 2007.

In short, Matejko’s Constitution of 3 May 1791 captures a turning point in Polish history, blending real people with symbolic moments to celebrate a reform that aimed to strengthen the nation, even as its era was ultimately cut short by wars and partitions.