The assassination of King Przemysl II (referred to as Przemyslaw in the painting's title according to 19th century convention), which took place on 8 February 1296, is one of the darker episodes in the history of medieval Poland. Przemysł II was crowned King of Poland in 1295, an important moment in the efforts to reunite the shattered Kingdom of Poland. His reign, although brief, is regarded as a step towards the restoration of an independent kingdom.

The attempt on his life and his subsequent murder took place in Rogozno. There are somewhat divergent versions as to the details of this event. It seems that Matejko followed the lead of Jan Długosz in the painting:

At dawn they [the Brandenburgers] arrive in Rogoźno so unexpectedly and secretly that they mislead everyone. Treacherously and deceitfully [...] they attack and attack King Przemysł, resting in the royal bedchamber, and his knights scattered around various inns and houses, deeply asleep after last night's lavish feast spiked with wine, heavy with drink, and therefore completely defenceless and completely unprepared for battle. And although King Przemysl, terrified by the terrible and unexpected onslaught, did not know what enemies had attacked him and in what numbers, having conquered his fear, as a brave man known for his strength, he attacked his enemies with his men, to whom he gave the courage to resist the enemies with encouragement, words and deeds, and having clashed with them, he wounded or killed many of them. [Stabbed by numerous arrows and sword blows, fighting as bravely as possible to the last, as befitted his family, he falls in a huge crowd of enemies, and his body, covered with many wounds, slumps to the ground. Captured by his enemies, half alive, he caused them great delight and joy. For they made efforts to bring him alive to their homes and countries as a specimen of victory [...]. But when the Saxons tried to bring him back to his own country and, weakened and half-dead by a number of mortal wounds, put him on a horse, the prince proved too weak to sit on a horse or be transported on a cart. Wobbling, he slumped to the ground almost dead. Since, moreover, there was no hope that the king would survive until the morrow, [the Saxons] threw themselves in a fury on the bound, wounded and already death-marked body, pierced it many times with daggers and murdered it in the cruellest manner...".

And although the details of the story are also presented somewhat differently, as Maria Poprzęcka pointed out, the moment depicted in the painting is not so much the death of the Polish king as the moment of his abduction. As was his custom not to adhere too closely to historical facts - this time introducing as participants in the scene Przemysl II's wife Ryksa and their daughter of the same name, held in her arms. However, the historical accounts make no mention of their presence at the King's side, and given that Ryksa the Swede died before 1293, it seems highly unlikely. Nevertheless, on the one hand, they add pathos and drama to the image, and on the other, they may also have a symbolic meaning. Krzysztof Mordyński believes that this is a symbolic representation in which the king's daughter becomes an allegory of a reborn Poland. However, they certainly give the scene a dimension of not only political, but also personal drama. The terror and despair on their faces and in their gestures, makes this rather passionless battle scene full of emotional tension. And this treatment was probably also what Matejko had in mind.

Another historical incongruity is the very appearance of the chamber in which Przemysl II is wounded and kidnapped, with the richness of the marble far removed from the actual appearance of the castle in Rogozno.

The painting, although relatively small in size, is part of a series of large historical scenes painted by Jan Matejko, described by Malczewski as 'white pants in trouble', for which Matejko was said to have taken umbrage at him.

The painting came to Zagreb through Josip Juraj Strossmayer, Bishop of Đakovo (Croatia), who was preparing a collection of works of art for the Yugoslav Academy of Science and Fine Arts in Zagreb, which opened in 1866 and was later renamed the Croatian Academy of Science and Art. This was an interesting initiative to unite the South Slavs, which was Strossmayer's idée fixe. We do not know why his choice fell on this particular canvas. In 1947 it was included in the Modern Artists' Collection, which was renamed the Modern Gallery in Zagreb in 1977. In Poland, the painting was shown in Krakow immediately after it was painted, and it came to Poland twice more: in 1894 it was shown at the General National Exhibition in Lviv, and in 2007 at the Museum of Applied Arts on Przemysl Hill in Poznan.

oil, canvas, 1875, 61.5 x 84.5 cm, inv. no. MG-155, Nacionalni muzej moderne umjetnosti, Zagreb

The preparation of the text was greatly assisted by Leszek Lubicki's article, 'White gates in trouble! Czyli Zabójstwo króla Przemysła w Rogoźnie według Jana Matejki', 24 June 2020, portal Niezła Sztuka, https://niezlasztuka.net/o-sztuce/biale-gacie-w-tarapacie-czyli-o-jednym-obrazie-matejki [ accessed 3 November 2023].