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= The Maid of Orléans by Jan Matejko = The Maid of Orléans (Dziewica Orleańska) is an 1886 oil-on-canvas painting by Jan Matejko. The painting was made with the intention of offering it to the French nation as a gift from the Polish nation. The painting is exhibited in the Rogalińska Gallery, located at the Raczyński Palace in Rogalin (Greater Poland).

Description
The Maid of Orléans is undoubtedly the biggest work of the artist with the impressive dimensions of 484 x 973 cm. It depicts Joan of Arc riding a horse with the royal retinue accompanying her to the Cathedral of Reims, where Charles VII is to be crowned. Joan of Arc has just won a victory over the English army during the ongoing Hundred Years' War. A cheering crowd surrounds her. In her hand she holds a banner with an obscured image of God. She is looking at the figures of saints painted in the picture: Margaret, Catherine and Michael the Archangel. The Maid of Orléans is one of the unique paintings in Matejko's œuvre due to the subject matter unrelated to the history of Poland. The artist portrayed an important event in French history.