Rocznik Muzeum Narodowego w Warszawie (1(37).2012/2013)

Dorota Ignatowicz-Woźniakowska Jan Matejko’s The Battle of Grunwald...

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army to construct a special bridge. The museum’s outside door was significantly enlarged, to
allow the crate with the painting to be brought in (fig. 11). The museum took this opportunity
to renovate its exhibition rooms.
All the materials and equipment needed to take the painting down were assembled at the
National Museum in Warsaw. They included 400 m of climbing ropes, eight pulleys and a spe-
cial single piece of five-metre-wide felt imported from Belgium.77 Bogusław Janczak designed
a special aluminium chest measuring 500 x 130 x 130 cm and a roll.78 The chest was lined.
Dozens of people were involved in taking the painting off the wall in the Matejko Room,
including 20 men holding the ropes. On 15 March at midday, the painting was taken down to-
gether with its frame. It was a very dangerous operation. To prevent the canvas from warping
along the diagonal, the painting was placed on the floor. Next, it was turned face up onto twelve
sawhorses, and its outer frame was taken off. After the back of the painting was secured with
two two-metre-wide canvas bands, the painting was turned over again by the same method
with ropes and snap hooks. After being taken off its stretcher bars, it was positioned on the
floor on top of cardboard, felt and silicone paper (fig. 12).
The first stage of conservation involved cleaning dust off its back and twice pressing its
edges on both sides. After it was again turned over face up, dirt was removed from the paint
surface.79 Next, a thin layer of retouching varnish was administered to secure the paint surface
and to bring out and saturate its colours. Paint was applied in bare spots, and the colours used
in some previous alterations were modified.80 Preparations related directly to transporting the
painting to Lithuania were done over Easter. On Easter Monday the painting was wrapped
around the roll face up. After Easter, the painting was transported to Vilnius by lorry,81 where
the following week, 5-12 April, was spent preparing it for display. Numerous procedures needed
to be repeated, including the reconstruction of layers of gilding on the outer frame.
From the day the exhibition opened, Grunwald was the centre of public attention. To ena-
ble as many people as possible to see it and in response to the Museum Director, Romualdas
Budrys’s82 request, the exhibition was extended to 30 August. The exhibits returned to Warsaw
on 16 September 1999.
On 17 May 2012, after another extensive conservation, The Battle of Grunwald was displayed
in the Matejko Room of the Gallery of i9th-Century Art. The next instalment of the story of
its restoration will appear in next year’s issue of Journal.83

77 Janusz Osiński, sales assistant in the “Świat dywanów” shop in Janki helped to procure it.
78 Conducted by COVPOL.
79 Balsamic, extracted and Venetian turpentine, ammonia and Contrad 2000 were used to clean it.
80 Restauro-Maimerii watercolours and resin paints were used to fill in the spots.
81 It was a Volvo with a 13.5-metre semi-trailer.
82 Letter of 15 June 1999.
83 The author would like to thank Anna Kielczewska of the Publications Department of the National
Museum in Warsaw for editing this text and for our very pleasant cooperation.