MEETING AT KŘÍŽKY

The third painting of the triptych "The Charm of the Word"

After the martyrdom of Master Jan Huss, the religious reform movement began to spread, especially in southern Bohemia. The idea of the Hussite movement was a desire for reform of the Catholic Church and the introduction of principles that the Hussites deemed essential for Christian life. Gatherings became a tool for spreading reformist ideas among the common people. In 1419, the radical Taborite fraction of the movement issued a proclamation for armed resistance against ecclesiastical and secular authorities. On September 30 of the same year, an armed assembly took place on the heights of At Krizky near Jesenice in Central Bohemia.

In the painting, Václav Koranda, a priest from Pilsen, is preaching from a scaffolding. Below him are the pilgrims from Pilsen. Some of them are celebrating the service at an altar table in the shade of pine trees, where chalices for receiving communion can be seen. In the background stands a dry tree with a white banner, symbolizing war and death, opposite a green pine with a red banner, symbolizing life. A dark sky is split by lightning, foreshadowing changes that are about to come - the first Prague defenestration, the death of Wenceslas IV, and the arrival of Jan Zizka. The entire image calls for the fight for the truth for which Master Jan Huss gave his life.