Ruines du Chateau de Janowiec

The lithograph depicts a romantic landscape of Janowiec on the Vistula river. The vast castle hill, occupying the centre of the painting, has been shown from a considerable distance, from an observation point situated at the foot of the hill. The composition uses the so-called frog perspective. Thanks to this treatment, the representation gained internal dynamics, general expression and effect. The monumental architecture in the form of picturesque ruins in the foreground and the compact, white mass of the palace in the background was blended with the surrounding nature, creating a harmonious whole. The buildings crowning the top of the Vistula escarpment rise above the waters of the Vistula into the sky, which occupies half of the picture field. The nostalgic, almost fairytale-like view echoes the 19th century Romantic concept of landscape painting. Its author, Barbara Czernof, made many drawings and watercolours in a similar convention, showing the corners of Puławy and views of neighbouring towns: Parchatka, Kazimierz, Janowiec. Around the mid-century, she worked as a drawing teacher and a supervisor at the Alexandria Institute of Education for Ladies. The Tsarist educational institution functioned in the Czartoryski family's Puławy estate, occupied by the Russians after 1831 and called New Alexandria.

Little is known about the artist's life and work. Few references mention her participation in exhibitions, but there is no information about the works she exhibited. Puławy landscapes were preserved as lithographs in the album Album des vues de l'Institut Alexandra du jardin et des environs de Novo Alexandra (Pulawy)..., published in Paris in 1858. They testify to the drawing talent of Barbara Czernof.

The depicted place is still one of the most important monuments of the Lublin region. The castle in Janowiec has a history of over five hundred years. The history of this once impressive seat, furnished according to the best European designs, was connected to the leading magnate families of the Republic of Poland: the Firlej, Tarnów and Lubomirski families. Eminent architects Santi Gucci and Tylman of Gameren worked on its construction. Important meetings and deliberations were held here with the participation of Sigismund the Old, Bona Sforza and Sigismund III Vasa Jan Kochanowski was a frequent guest here. After the middle of the 18th century, the castle lost its importance, and in the 19th century it turned into ruins.