The Betrothal of Marina Mniszech and False Dmitry I in Kraków

This painting by an unknown 17th-century artist shows the proxy betrothal of Marina Mniszech and False Dmitry I, which took place in Kraków on 22 November 1605. It belongs to a series of paintings glorifying Marina and her brief time on the Moscow throne.

False Dmitry, who claimed to be Tsarevich Dmitry, found support from the Polish senator Jerzy Mniszech, Marina’s father. In June 1605 the pretender entered Moscow, and in July he was crowned tsar. He did not travel to Kraków for the betrothal: the groom was represented by the Muscovite envoy Afanasy Vlasyev, the rite was performed by Cardinal Bernard Maciejowski, and King Sigismund III attended the ceremony. On 3 May 1606 Marina entered Moscow, on 8 May the wedding and coronation took place in the Dormition Cathedral, and on 17 May False Dmitry was killed in a boyar conspiracy.

The series of five canvases, two ceremonial portraits and three narrative scenes, was kept at Wiśniowiec Castle in Volhynia, which passed to the Mniszech family in the mid-18th century. Later the paintings were acquired by Tsesarevich Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Alexander III, and were transferred to the Historical Museum. This oil on canvas depicts well-known Poles of the early 17th century.