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4. ćwierć XVIII wieku
Castle Museum in Łańcut
The heroines of this story lived in completely different times. However, they were all similar in character – resourceful, stubborn and hard-working. Many of them were trailblazers for other women, taking on tasks that were only for men at that time. Others showed courage that could be the envy of many men. It is no exaggeration to say that thanks to our heroines the world has changed. Let us see if we can still learn something from them today.
Try to find these unusual qualities in them:
talent
courage
willingness to help
love for people
wisdom
partnership
stubbornness in pursuit of a goal
industriousness
Exactly 500 years ago...
lived the Queen Bona, who escaped all contemporary schemes. She came to Poland from Italy as a young duchess to marry King Sigismund I the Old. This is how she was given the title of Queen of Poland.
At first, everyone paid attention only to her appearance.
- What beautiful eyes! – delighted the maids of honour.
- No kidding! – Bona must have thought. – I didn’t spend so much time on my books, so everyone would look at how I present myself now and don’t let me speak.
Immediately after arriving in Poland she became active. She was extremely clever and enterprising. She managed her own estates, thanks to which she amassed a large fortune. She often suggested to the king what decisions he should make.
For many people this was already too much.
– A woman must not meddle in politics! – roared the officials.
However in Italy, at the same time, women had much more freedom. They could study and then speak out loud what they thought.
Why should it not be the same in Poland?
More than 150 years later...
history has proven that it likes to repeat itself. Maria Kazimiera, shown in the painting, came from France, but had lived in Poland since childhood. At the age of 24 she married King John III Sobieski, which made her Queen of Poland. Surprisingly, it was a marriage of love – an exceptional thing for those times.
Only that it was again repeated with indignation at the royal court:
– A politician in a skirt! She is messing with the king’s head!
– My happiness is to rejoice in the person of the king and not in his crown! – answered Maria to the unbelievers.
Always elegantly dressed in French fashions, carefully combed, with a string of pearls around her neck, she attracted great company.
When John III Sobieski went to war, Maria Kazimiera managed his affairs. She was undoubtedly the king's partner, and he asked her for advice before making important decisions.
This was beyond the comprehension of many people.
Only sometimes a few quietly admitted that such a wonderfully matched couple had not been seen for centuries.
At the time of Queen Bona...
a young girl Sofonisba Anguissola studied painting in Italy. There would be nothing strange about this, were it not for the fact that women could not become painters at that time. The only exception was if the young girl's father was a painter. She could then study under his guidance.
But Sofonisba’s father had another idea. He persuaded a painter so that his daughter could come to him for lessons.
It soon became apparent that the girl had an extraordinary talent! Every day her fame grew, until one day she received an invitation from the king of Spain himself. Needless to say, she went without hesitation. Over the following years she painted portraits of the royal family and gave lessons to the king’s wife.
– Miss Sofonisba is so accomplished at painting portraits, that she is truly unrivalled – said everyone who looked at her paintings.
The image presented here is her self-portrait at work.
More than 100 years later...
It was still not easy for women painters. Angelika Kauffmann, the author of the painting shown here, has found this out.
Her mother taught her several foreign languages and beautiful singing. Her father in turn was her first drawing teacher. At first, just like Sofonisba, she mainly created portraits.
However, some quiet voice in her heart kept saying:
– Maybe I should go one step further?
Angelika dreamt of painting mythological scenes depicting ancient gods and heroes. However, these were mainly depicted naked and painted on the basis of posing models. Women were not allowed to participate in such gatherings, as such behaviour was considered inappropriate.
Then Angelika had the idea to choose those scenes from mythology and history, in which the main role is played not by men, but by women.
This way, by persistently pursuing her goal, she took another step forward. Thanks to her, women painters began to address new, previously forbidden topics.
Over 100 years ago...
It was already easier for women to achieve success. However, another truth has not changed – to become famous, talent alone is not enough, you need patience and persistence.
These were qualities that Antonia Mercé possessed. Malicious people would say that she had no choice but to become a dancer, because that was what her parents did. But the reality was different – Antonia loved dancing with all her heart. She sometimes joked:
– In fact, I was already dancing before I was born, because my mother did not stop dancing, even when she was pregnant!
Antonia performed on stage for the first time at the age of nine. We do not know what she was thinking at the time, but we can imagine that it was a huge experience for her.
When we look at her beautiful dress and smiling face, we do not think about hard workouts until late hours, sore muscles and drops of sweat on our foreheads. We do not think about the years spent travelling, away from family and friends.
However, without her complete dedication and hard work she would not have become a dance star, admired all over the world.
When the Second World War broke out...
It turned out that ordinary people can also show the greatest courage.
Roman and Hanna Sigalins lived in Warsaw with their few year old daughter Krystyna. The Sigalins, like many other families in Poland at that time, were Jewish. Feliksa Szulc, nanny of little Krysia, lived with them.
The girl’s childhood was interrupted by the war. Separated from her father and then from her mother, she found herself in great danger. The Jewish population was persecuted by the German occupier, locked up in ghettos, deported to camps, where only a few managed to survive. So what was Krysia’s further fate?
Feliksa, her nanny, took care of her. The woman knew that she was facing death for taking care of a Jewish child. However, she did not hesitate for a moment. When asked by strangers who the girl was, she answered in a confident voice:
– That is my daughter.
This is how she treated the girl. For this enormous courage Feliksa Szulc was awarded the Righteous Among the Nations medal in 1985. It is awarded to those who risked their lives to save Jews during the war.
During the war...
women have shown that together they can achieve really great things.
There were orphanages for children in many monasteries. Some of them – in the greatest secrecy – also housed Jewish children during the war, who were in danger of being killed by the German occupiers persecuting the Jews. The sound of the opening gate to the monastery, accompanied by shouts in German, was a clear signal to the nuns and the children in hiding.
– Quick! Jump in the basket and don't say a word! – they said in a hushed voice.
This was not necessary at all, because the children, aware of the danger, knew exactly what to do.
During the search of the monastery Jewish children were hidden in various places, for example in baskets of grain or with eggs. There they waited motionless for the soldiers to exit.
The nuns could not show that they were nervous or even frightened. Any carelessly spoken word could lead to the death of both the children and themselves.
We do not know how many Jewish orphans the nuns in Polish convents saved, guided by their love for others. The most important thing, however, is to remember that “whoever saves one life – saves the whole world”.
At the outbreak of the Second World War...
Dusia, as her friends called her, was in the second grade of high school. She had the best grades of all students. In addition, she was involved in the scouts.
When the first bombs fell on her hometown of Lublin, many people repeated:
– War is not for girls!
But Dusia felt she could do some good.
First she rescued books from a bombed bookshop. Later she became a liaison officer, i.e. a person responsible for passing secret information between institutions and organisations. She travelled by bicycle, carrying hidden correspondence and sometimes even weapons and money.
One day German soldiers caught Dusia and locked her up in a prison in Lublin. During the long hours of interrogation the girl was beaten, because she did not want to give up her friends. Fortunately, she managed to survive the war.
Shortly after the end of the fighting Wanda Półtawska – that was Dusia’s real name – became a doctor. Her sad experiences motivated her even more to help other people.
Self-portrait – a portrait of the artist taken by himself/herself.
Jewish ghetto – during World War II, a separate part of a town where Jews were confined and not allowed to leave.
Hero (Demi-god) – in mythology it was the offspring of one of the immortal gods and a mortal man.
Mythology – a collection of stories about gods and heroes who possessed superhuman powers.
Jews – followers of the religion known as Judaism; for centuries they settled in many places around the world, including Poland. In 1948, the state of Israel was established, where many Jews live.
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4. ćwierć XVIII wieku
Castle Museum in Łańcut
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4. ćwierć XVIII wieku
Castle Museum in Łańcut
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Castle Museum in Łańcut
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