Aleksander Lesser

The death of Nicolaus Copernicus

oil painting on canvas

ca 1873

The painting represents the ailing Nicolaus Copernicus seated in an armchair and surrounded by friends and fellow Warmian canons in his residence in Frombork (Frauenburg). The astronomer is leafing through a printed copy of his De revolutionibus. It is highly unlikely in fact that a scene like this took place. The painting was commissioned to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the great astronomer.

Regional Museum in Toruń