The Prussian Homage (Polish: Hołd pruski) is an oil on canvas painting by Polish painter Jan Matejko painted between 1879 and 1882 in Kraków (then part of Austria-Hungary). The painting depicts the "Prussian Homage," a significant political event from the time of the Renaissance in Poland in which Albrecht Hohenzollern, the Duke of Prussia paid tribute and swore allegiance to King Sigismund I the Old in Kraków's market square on 10 April 1525. Matejko depicted over thirty important figures of the Polish Renaissance period, taking the liberty of including several who were not actually present at the event.
The painting glorifies this event in Poland's past and its culture, and the majesty of its kings. At the same time, the painting has darker undertones, reflecting the troubled times that befell Poland in the late eighteenth century, for the Kingdom of Prussia would become one of the partitioning powers that ended the independence of Poland. The painting was seen by some as anti-Prussian, foretelling its perceived betrayal of Poland; others have noted it is also critical of Poland, as Matejko included signs that signify this seemingly triumphant moment was a hollow, wasted victory. Matejko created his painting to remind others about the history of the no-longer-independent country he loved, and about the changing fates of history. The painting is counted among his masterpieces.
Matejko began to paint the Prussian Homage on Christmas Eve 1879 and finished it in 1882. He donated it to the Polish nation during the meeting of the Diet of Galicia (Sejm Krajowy) in Lwów (Lviv) on 7 October 1882 to start a collection designed to revive the remodelling of Wawel Castle. It was subsequently exhibited in Kraków, Lwów and Warsaw, as well as in Berlin, Paris, Budapest, and most notably in Rome and Vienna. When it returned to Kraków in 1885, it was temporarily exhibited in the Sukiennice Museum because the Royal Wawel Castle was occupied at that time by the Austrian army, as Kraków was part of the Austrian partition of Poland.
Because of the pro-Polish and anti-Prussian character of the painting German emperor William I objected to a proposal to reward Matejko. During this period, Prussia was trying to suppress Polish culture in its territory and Germanise it. During World War II, the Nazis systematically tried to destroy all Polish cultural artefacts in occupied Poland. This painting, together with Matejko's painting of the Battle of Grunwald, was on their "most wanted" list. Fortunately it was hidden and safeguarded throughout the war in the town of Zamość.
For most of the twentieth and at the beginning of the twentieth-first centuries, the painting has been hung in the National Museum gallery in the Sukiennice Museum in Kraków, where it is usually displayed in the Prussian Homage Hall.
Renovation work started in the Sukiennice Museum in June 2008. The painting previously had been restored in 1915 and 1938. During World War II it was damaged while it was at Zamość, and in 1945 it was renovated. In 1974, experts again tried to restore it to its original condition before it went on public exhibition in Moscow. The most recent restoration process took place between 2006 and 2008, when the painting was finally returned to its former glory.
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