In 1364, the city of Kraków witnessed the founding of the Kraków Academy—later known as the Jagiellonian University—by King Casimir III the Great, a pivotal moment in Polish history that Jan Matejko immortalized over five centuries later in Founding of the Academy, 1361–1399–1400 AD. This event marked the birth of Poland’s first university and one of the oldest in Europe, a beacon for scholars from across the continent. Matejko’s painting is part of his ambitious “History of Civilization in Poland” series, a visual chronicle of the nation’s defining episodes.

The work stands out for its grand scale and the artist’s meticulous research into medieval costumes and architecture, which he believed would “teach the nation its own past.” Matejko selects the charged moment when King Casimir, flanked by bishops and scholars, solemnly bestows the university’s founding charter. The king’s outstretched hand, holding the document, draws the viewer’s eye to the heart of the composition, while the gathered clerics and dignitaries look on with a mix of reverence and anticipation. The crimson robes of the university’s first rector, the gleaming chain of office, and the illuminated manuscript at the table all signal the birth of learning and authority.

Light streams down on the king, visually crowning him as the patron of knowledge. Unlike Raphael’s School of Athens, which imagines a timeless gathering of philosophers, Matejko roots his scene in a specific, transformative act, emphasizing Poland’s place in the intellectual history of Europe. Founding of the Academy was painted in 1888, during the later years of Matejko’s career, when he was already celebrated as Poland’s national painter. The painting’s precise medium is uncertain, but like much of Matejko’s large-scale historical work, it was likely executed in oil.

It was commissioned as part of the “History of Civilization in Poland” series, intended to foster national pride during a period when Poland was partitioned and its statehood suppressed. Today, the painting remains in Poland, a centerpiece of the collection at the Jagiellonian University Museum in Kraków, where it continues to inspire students and visitors with its vision of a nation built on learning and leadership.