During his reign (1674–1696) Jan III Sobieski had only a few fully devoted confidants. Like the majority of his followers, they came from well-off nobility rather than aristocracy. Among such trusted friends was Marek Matczyński (1631–1697), bearer of the Jastrzębiec coat of arms, born to a moderately rich nobility of the Małopolska region. In his youth he allegedly spent some time at the court of Jakub Sobieski, where was treated like family. That was where he met Jan, the later hetman and king. Having been to a number of war campaigns (as a Standard-bearer of winged cavalry he partook among others in the 1658 expedition to Denmark), after Jerzy Lubomirski’s rebellion Matczyński began his permanent co-operation with his protector Jan Sobieski, accompanied him in all expeditions and carried out numerous confidential commissions of personal and public nature.
Jan Sobieski’s enthronement marked a huge increase of Matczyński’s significance. Following the coronation Sejm, he assumed the role of a royal courtier alongside his function of Grand Crown Equerry. On 23 April 1677 he purchased on the king’s behalf the Milanów village with neighbouring settlements and hamlets situated near Warsaw. He concluded the transaction with Deputy Chancellor of Kalisz Stanisław Krzycki by paying the latter “from His Majesty’s own treasury” the sum of 43 thousand zlotys “in high value coins” (Milanów was renamed Villa Nova and in May it was finally called Wilanów).
Matczyński played an important role in the Battle of Vienna, especially the initial unlucky clash at Parkany (7 October 1683), where his lifesaving move protected Jan III from a mortal danger. He was appointed Crown Chamberlain the same year and senator in 1686 (Voivode of Bełża). One of the pillars of the royalist party, Matczyński always acted to protect Sobieski’s interests. As Crown Grand Treasurer, in 1689–1693 he was noted for his diligence and honesty. He renounced the office due to deteriorating health. Soon appointed Voivode of Russia, he played no significant role in the time of interregnum. He died in Jaworów and was buried in post-Piarist church he himself had founded in Waręż. Despite being a faithful supporter of the Sobieskis, he spotted mistakes in the royal policy (testified by his collection of satire images that mocked the king’s vices, according to a source by M. D. De la Bizardiere, 1697). He also failed to give full support to Prince Jakub’s candidacy for the throne. And yet, in his will Matczyński bequeathed large sums of money to young Sobieski princes and to the Commonwealth (defence expenditure).
Known are two oil bust portraits of Marek Matczyński of an unknown Polish author from 1650–1700, currently in the collection of the National Museum in Wrocław and the Lviv Historical Museum. The latter canvas, owned by the Matczyński family in the 1880s, served Julian Schübeler to create a woodcut based on a drawn ground signed with a bound monogram BP. The said print in form of a full-plate illustration was included in Józef Łoski’s album entitled Jan Sobieski, jego rodzina, towarzysze broni i współczesne zabytki [Jan Sobieski, his family, comrades-in-arms, and contemporary monuments] published in Warsaw in 1883. Worth adding is the fact that there is another whole-figure image of Matczyński holding a mace, not copied in graphic form. Originating from the aforementioned church in Waręż, in 1951 the image was transferred to St John the Evangelist subsidiary church in Sulimów.
Julian Schübeler, based on a drawing monogrammed BP, according to a painting by an anonymous painter from 1650–1700: Portrait of Marek Matczyński, woodcut, publ. 1883.
