Teofil Antoni Jaxa Kwiatkowski (1809‑1891) was an outstanding painter of the Romanticism. He took part in the November Uprising, and after its fall - like many of its participants - he settled in France, where he stayed for the rest of his life. „Chopin's Polonaise” is one of his most important works, and at the same time a tribute to the entrepreneurial spirit of his compatriots. He has immortalized on the canvas the politicians and female activists of the time of the Great Emigration. For a reason. Polish emigrants led a diversified public life, they caused the creation of extensive political organizations, often operating for decades, published their own press, organized mutual assistance. At the same time, they did not lack passionate disputes caused by a different vision of future Poland and a different approach to important social issues.

Kwiatkowski’s work leaves no doubt as to his political sympathies. In the painting we can see the Czartoryski family. The grey, old man, Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, the leader of a political camp called the Lambert Hotel, carries a royal coat. In this way, the artist reminds us that part of the Polish community considered Czartoryski as the future king of reborn Poland. The name of the party, the Lambert Hotel, was derived from the name of the Prince's seat in Paris. It assumed that the way to regain independence was an extensive diplomatic campaign and the necessary circumstance – the outbreak of the European war. The participants of the ball move in the rhythm of Fryderyk Chopin's music in front of his piano creating a colourful group. Military banners and flags in the background symbolize a nation ready to fight, as does the Polish nobility portrayed on the right side of the painting in traditional kontusz costumes. Above their heads one can see the wings of the Polish Hussars. Among the portrayed figures living at that time, the painter also added a hero of Polish history, Zawisza Czarny, a symbol of knightly virtues, in order to emphasize his patriotic readiness. He placed him in the central part of the painting – thus emphasizing that its main theme is not a ball, but the fight for independence. A barefoot girl with braids – a symbol of the people, looks at the Chopin who plays the piano.

R1K2y2bbHntIT1

Fotografia barwna przedstawiająca budynek Hotelu Lambert w dzisiejszych czasach.

The Lambert Hotel was not only a centre of Polish foreign policy, but also an important centre of education and national culture. It had its own scientific institutions: The Historical and Literary Society and the Polish Library, as well as Polish schools: a high school in Batignolles district and a school for teachers and educators, called the Institute for Ladies Education. Anna Czartoryska from Sapieha family, Prince Adam's wife, had a great merit in their establishment. Thanks to the efforts of the Duchess, the Charitable Society of Polish Ladies in Paris was established, which provided material and medical assistance to the poorest emigrants, in particular widows and orphans. Every year, it organized charity balls aimed at raising funds for philanthropic assistance. The similar task had the St. Casimir Institute, created later, for old‑age insurgent veterans. In Kwiatkowski's painting, Duchess Anna wears a costume modelled on that of Barbara Radziwiłł. In the background, one can see the children of Adam and Anna, wearing national costumes, who will continue the political task of leading the emigration. Those are Władysław Czartoryski and Izabella Czartoryska, his daughter. The artists in exile are symbolised by Fryderyk Chopin, located in the lower right corner of the painting. He plays the piano, and his friend and great love, George Sand, stands next to him. In the painting, the artist also immortalized a national bard, Adam Mickiewicz, who is gesticulating lively almost above the Chopin's head.