Teodora Matejko

Teodora Matejko (Matejkowa) née Giebułtowska (1846 – 25 August 1896), Is primarily known for serving as a live model for Poland's' national painter Jan Matejko, her husband. For many years, Teodora served as the live model for her husband's portrayals of notable women from Polish history.

Teodora Matejko in wedding dress, painting by Jan Matejko

Life

Her parents were Antoni Giebułtowski and Paulina Sikorska. Matjeko was a member of the Giebułtowski family of retailers from Nowy Wiśnicz,^[1] friends of the family of her future husband. On 21 November 1864 she married painter Jan Matejko, future Rector of the Fine Arts Academy, whom she knew already from childhood. After the wedding, they settled in downtown Kraków, where she gave birth to five children: Tadeusz, Helena, Beata, Jerzy and Regina (died in infancy).^[2]

Soon after the move, Matejkowa was diagnosed with diabetes. in her later years she was also diagnosed with mental illness, for which she was briefly hospitalized twice.^{[citation needed]}