Around the middle of the 19th century, Biedermeier, inspired by Viennese art, took hold in Galician painting, with which genre scenes, including those depicted in historical costume, became popular. In the lands of the former Republic of Poland, a peculiar variety of these developed, the kontusz sentimentalism, in a romantic and historicist form recalling times of a bygone era. Responding to the nostalgic needs of Polish art lovers of the interwar period, it glorified a vision of the former splendour of the then still independent state. One of the most important Lviv painters in this trend was Korneli Szlegel (1819-1870), who additionally took a rather specialised approach to this general trend - one of the most frequently recurring motifs in his oeuvre was the depiction of processions of figures dancing polonaises. This group included small, intimate paintings for private collectors and large canvases for public buildings; those with narration limited to a minimum or with extended literary themes (e.g. illustrating the famous dance at the end of Adam Mickiewicz's Pan Tadeusz). Among these works, the painting bearing the title 'The Wedding in Yavorov' undoubtedly occupied an important place.

It stood out not only for its scale, measuring almost 2 by 4 metres. For years it was placed in the council chamber in the town hall. Before the Second World War, it was one of the main exhibits of the King John III National Museum in Lviv, while now it belongs to the collection of the Lviv National Art Gallery. It is the only one of Szlegel's "polonaise" cycle to evoke not only a literary, but also a historical context. It refers to the anecdotal tale of King Jan III Sobieski participating in a village party during his triumphant return to the country after the Battle of Vienna. The painter was probably inspired by a storytelling by Wincenty Pol, included in a collection of texts entitled Images, which was first published in Lviv in 1845. This fact is confirmed by the close affinity between the literary text and the painterly interpretation. Pol emphasised the joy with which the victorious commander was welcomed in the country, extensively describing the warm welcome he received from the people of Yavrovo, who welcomed him with bread and offered him a plough and six grey oxen as a sign of the country's future prosperity, while the queen received a cake and a wreath of hazelnuts. At the end of the meeting, there was a dance led by the mayor paired with the queen and the king with the wife of the local blacksmith. Following the example of the ruler, the local nobility fraternised with the local people: "they went dancing, and behind them, following the lord's example, the lords with their white servants, and the ladies with the peasants", while Sobieski himself sang a song in honour of his partner, the text of which is also quoted by Pol:

"A zkądżeśto? z Jaworowa!
A zkądżeśto? z Jaworowa!
Kowalowa z kuńca
And come to the tuna
Blacksmith, God grant, healthy!
Godspeed, blacksmith!"

In his painting, Korneli Szlegel repeats many elements present in the literary original. In the centre of the composition, in front of a hunting lodge in Jaworow, he depicted, in his customary manner, a line of dancing couples led by King John III Sobieski and the blacksmith's wife. On the left, he depicted the moment of handing over to Queen Marysieńka, dressed in an ermine coat, a plough harnessed to white oxen, as well as men carrying flags to mark the celebration of the Vienna Victory. On the right, he introduced, alongside the band, figures of the clergy, also mentioned in Pol's text.

Szlegel's choice of motif was by no means coincidental - it is at once light in feeling and momentous in content. The dance theme, so favoured by Szlegel, emphasised the ludic dimension of the work, which was intended to be entertaining for the viewer and pleasing to the eye. In addition, it carried an additional decorative value through the abundance of multi-coloured costumes. Although his contemporaries already noticed that the costumes lacked historical authenticity, which was a significant objection in the second half of the 19th century, they also appreciated their painterly elaboration. The naivety of form and nostalgic-idealistic character of Szlegel's genre-historical scenes was, moreover, already noticed in his time, but forgiven on account of their skilful response to the emotional needs of Polish society. On the other hand, the motif had a high ideological value, fitting in with the current reflections of patriotically-minded intellectuals. For the artist referred to the topos of the great Polish victory and included the apotheosis of one of the greatest national heroes, presenting the king not only as an outstanding warrior, but also as the protector and father of the entire nation. By introducing the motif of the plough and oxen, he allegorically portrayed the hope for peace and prosperity following the turbulent years. For 19th-century audiences, this vision was not so much a reference to the historical past as a manifestation of faith in a better tomorrow that must one day come.

The painting is not dated by the painter, but researchers are unanimous in assuming that it dates from a late stage of the Lviv artist's activity and was painted in the 1860s. It is known to have been exhibited at an exhibition in Lviv in 1868, and according to a press report of the time, the artist worked on it for several years. In the same year, Szlegel also sent it to the exhibition of the Vienna Kunstverein, the most important art association in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. It seems that in the context of the time of the painting's creation, close to the events of the January Uprising, the national unity emphasised in this motif, breaking down interstate barriers, is also significant: the joint revelry of representatives of the royal court, the nobility and the Jawor peasants, with the approval of the priests, can be understood as an encouragement to unite the forces of all social groups in the context of the political situation of the time.