The article is a review of the book by Natalie Zemon Davis Slaves on Screen. Film and Historical Vzsion, Cambridge Mass. 2000.

The Author discusses very popular interpretations of historical picture by Jan Matejko titled Eros in Despair. Jan Matejko’s Stanczyk on Queen Bona’s Party. This is one the most known historical picture in Poland associated with extremely reach symbolic meaning. Słoczyński argues that major part of existing interpretations are rather a result of sublimation of Polish history as well as anticipation of the symbolic character of later Matejko’s masterpieces than the opinion based on a correct analysis of the discussed picture.