ŁOPIEŃSKI Ignacy (1865-1941), [engraving, 1898] Exit of the Żaki from Cracow in the year 1549

ŁOPIEŃSKI Ignacy (1865-1941), [engraving, 1898] Exit of the Żaki from Cracow in the year 1549; Cracow 1898/[Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts]/ etching, card size 90 x 65.5 cm., plate imprint 68 x 39 cm., composition 59 x 30 cm., sheet tear entering plate imprint (composition unharmed).

Etching according to a painting by Jan Matejko, 1893 Signatures: J. Matejko, pinx. (l.d.); I. Lopienski, aqv. (p.d.).
The print was an annual premium for members of the Cracow Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts for 1898.

Ignacy Lopienski (1865-1944) - graphic artist, medalist, painter, sculptor. He studied at the Warsaw Drawing School with W. Gerson and A. Kaminski, then traveled to Vienna, Paris and also Munich to study. He played a major role in popularizing printmaking in Poland. He gave lectures, wrote articles on it, taught drawing in schools, and held courses in his studio. In 1912 he founded (together with Franciszek Siedlecki and Zofia Stankiewiczówna) the Society of Friends of Graphic Arts, while in 1931 he co-organized the Union of Polish Graphic Artists.

Exodus of the scholars from Krakow - the event was the result of a scuffle that took place on May 14, 1549, in Krakow, between students of the Krakow Academy and an armed guard of the canon priest Andrzej Czarnkowski, who beat and wounded the scholars, and even killed one of the students and trashed the student dormitory. King Sigismund Augustus referred the case to the court, but the trial dragged on and was not conducted impartially. The outraged students decided to leave Krakow on June 4, 1549 in protest and move to other universities. Attempts were made to keep them outside the city limits, but some left.