Jagiello, King of Poland. New York, 1942.

Polish King and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Dedicated by Szyk to the American People in its WWII struggle against Germany: “We will not give up the land from which we came. We will not let the Polish Nation be Germanized by force.”

SZYK, Arthur. Jagiello, King of Poland. Signed and Dated “Arthur Szyk, New York, 1942”. Watercolor and gouache on board. Sheet size: 13 3/4″ x 10″. Image size: 10 1/2″ x 7″. Text in Polish and German. In period frame with affixed plaque “Arthur Szyk.” Very Good condition.

In 1410, The Polish King and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Wladyslaw Jagiello, featured symbolically in this masterful illumination, famously led a stirring victory of Polish/Lithuanian forces over invading German armies. The battle took place at Grunwald in northwestern Poland. In this painting, Szyk uses the nobility of that historic military victory, one-half millennium earlier, as a metaphor representing the continuity of right over might against yet another aggressive German invasion during WWII.

DEDICATED BY SZYK TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN A BROTHERHOOD OF ARMS. King Jagiello, jeweled crown on his head, stands, in full ornamental regalia, striking a pose of supreme strength with his right hand clasped around a ritualistic military shield. At his feet is a bloody silver axe atop a German helmet All of the painted text that pervades the complete image is directed to invoke the destruction of Germany. In the extreme upper left hand corner Szyk has written, in Polish, “To the American People from the Polish Nation in a brotherhood of arms”. Upon the red and white Eagle shield is the inscription “We will not give up the land from which we came. We will not let the Polish Nation be Germanized by force. We Polish Royal Piast nation.” This text, taken from a Polish patriotic song, refers to the royal dynasty of Piast from the first half of the second millennium. Along the handle of the axe is written “Polish ax, German head,” an appropriate rhyming ditty. Upon the black German eagle shield, Szyk has added in German “You will not escape the People’s vengeance.” And nearby “Lieold” and “Kreutz” This is perhaps a reference to the Knights of the Cross, a monastic fighting unit (like the better known “Templars”) that led the German armies during the 1410 battle of Grunwald. Kreutz is German for “cross”. Hidden in the extreme lower left-hand corner is one word that provides a powerful summation to all the others: “Thieves.”

SZYK’S PASSION FOR POLAND. Even after becoming an American citizen, Arthur Szyk was famously proud to be a Son of Poland. With his illuminated Statute of Kalisz he had set out to promote the early justice that was to be found in this plenary Polish document guaranteeing religious rights and civil liberties. With his Haggadah, he dedicated it as “Arthur Szyk, illuminator of Poland.” In his Polish American Fraternity Szyk was committed to glorifying his countrymen in their contributions to America.

This illumination of the Polish Jagiello straddles several centuries at once, incorporating the earlier times of the Polish King with the mirrored chaos of World War II. The modern airplanes in the upper right hand corner present an eerie sense of anachrony that Szyk explored several times before with his illuminations of heroes Queen Elizabeth [England], Joan of Arc [France], and Peter the Great [Russia]. All of these companion paintings, published in Ink & Blood, feature the same futuristic airplanes and provide proof of Szyk’s deep appreciation of the free world’s allies during the conflicts of the Second World War.

Our image of the Polish King, likely the first of Szyk’s heroes, because of his deep commitment as a son of Polish history, reflects Szyk’s passion for justice no matter what the century. It is matched only by his brilliance of color and density of detail and genius of memory for historical events — IN ONE WORD: A MASTERPIECE.

Exhibition History: Andre Seligmann Gallery, Inc. exhibition sponsored by Writer’s War Board, New York, January, 1943 (item 3 titled: “Poland from United Nations Series”); Messrs. Wildenstein & CO, Inc. (Titled “United Nations”), December, 1944; Philadelphia Art Alliance, 1945 (Referred to as United Nations); Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, 29 August 2008–4 January 2009; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Palace of the Legion of Honor, December 4, 2010–March 27, 2011.

Publishing History: Newsletter, The Arthur Szyk Society, Burlingame, CA, Spring/Summer 2003, p. 4; The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, April 21-27, 2006, p. 29; Drawing Against National Socialism and Terror, Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, pp. 208-209; Art History Publication Series No. 5, The Arthur Szyk Society, Burlingame, CA, 2010, pp. 6-7; Artur Szyk: Dziedzictwo polsko-zydowskiego artysty [The Legacy of Polish-Jewish Artist], Krakow, Stradomskie Centrum Dialogu, 2011, p. 7, 100; Miniature Paintings and Modern Illuminations, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, exhibition brochure, 2011.

Note: A photograph of Arthur Szyk with this painting is present in The Arthur Szyk Archives.