Published: 20260708
Can a love story be captured in a work of art small enough to fit in the palms of your hands? A new international exhibition at the Palace of the Grand Dukes invites visitors to discover an extraordinary 16th-century painting featuring the two wives of Sigismund Augustus, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland – Elizabeth of Habsburg and Barbara Radziwiłł. According to historians, the diptych may have been created in Vilnius at the ruler’s own commission and cherished by him as a deeply personal relic.
Designed in the form of a book, the diptych opens to reveal portraits of the ruler’s two wives, both of whom died at a young age. On the left is Elizabeth of Habsburg, who died at just nineteen years of age; on the right is the legendary Barbara Radziwiłł, whose love story with Sigismund Augustus remains one of the most celebrated romances in Lithuanian history.
The portraits are set within a luxurious book binding covered in red velvet and decorated with silk tassels. Its corners are fitted with richly ornamented gilt mounts, while clasps are attached to the sides. At the centre of each outer cover is a medallion bearing the profile portrait of Sigismund Augustus, together with his initials and royal titles. These details suggest that the object was never intended for public display but rather served as a private keepsake of immense personal significance to the monarch.
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“This diptych is not only an exceptional work of Renaissance art but also a deeply personal testimony to the life of Sigismund Augustus. We believe it may have been created in Vilnius and preserved by the ruler as a cherished relic commemorating his first two wives. This gives the object extraordinary emotional and historical value,” says Dr Vydas Dolinskas, Director General of the Palace of the Grand Dukes.
At the beginning of the 19th-century, the diptych entered the collection of Princess Izabela Czartoryska. Her inventories recorded the tradition that Sigismund Augustus always carried the diptych with him. Although no direct historical evidence confirms this claim, the story became so firmly rooted in historical memory that the renowned Polish painter Jan Matejko immortalised it in his famous painting The Death of Sigismund Augustus at Knyszyn, where the opened diptych is depicted at the head of the dying king’s bed.
“Princess Izabela Czartoryska collected every surviving object associated with the rulers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and even assembled a special treasury of royal memorabilia,” says Professor Andrzej Szczerski, Director of the National Museum in Kraków. “After the Third Partition, Prussian forces entered Wawel and destroyed the royal regalia. Beginning with Princess Izabela herself, the Czartoryski family searched for and collected objects that had belonged to the royal court in order to preserve, at least in part, the royal traditions of our shared state.”
The diptych may have been created shortly after Barbara Radziwiłł’s death in 1551. Today, it is regarded as one of the most important surviving objects directly associated with the personal world of Sigismund Augustus. Barbara’s portrait is also particularly significant because it differs from her other known iconographic representations, making it an invaluable source for historians and art scholars.
The exhibition has opened at a particularly symbolic moment. Visitors have the rare opportunity not only to see the portraits of the two sixteenth-century queens but also to view their authentic, recently restored burial insignia, which are being exhibited simultaneously at another museum in Vilnius. The treasures discovered in the crypts of Vilnius Cathedral have been on public display at the Museum of Church Heritage since 9 July. Both queens were buried in Vilnius Cathedral, while their portraits have travelled from Poland. This summer, Vilnius is therefore the only place where visitors can experience both the portraits and the original burial insignia together.
The diptych has been loaned to the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania Museum by the National Museum in Kraków, from the Czartoryski Collection. The exhibition “A Symbol of Sigismund Augustus’s Love. The Portrait Diptych of Elizabeth and Barbara” will remain on view until 6 December 2026.
Photo credits: Mindaugas Kaminskas.
