Jan Styka was born in Poland on April 8, 1858. He attended a secondary school run by the Bernardines in Lvov. Then he was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, the most acclaimed school in fine arts of Europe at this time.

He graduated from the Academy with a Golden Medal for the painting entitled Ulysses Hunting a Boar. After being awarded the "Prix de Rome" he moved to Italy for a year, where he painted various pictures and admired works of famous Italian Masters.

Jan Styka was one of Poland's most illustrious citizens and a world famous painter. His outstanding masterpieces were four panoramas: The Battle of Raclawice, The Crucifixion, Bem in Siedmiogrod and The Martyrdom of Christins in Nero's Circus.

The first painting is in Wroclaw, Poland; the second is in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California; both of them are permanently displayed for the public to see. In addition there are his acknowledged paintings such as Polonia, Regina Poloniae, and series of paintings for Quo Vadis of Sienkiewicz and Iliad and Odyssey of Homer. The Crucifixion (also known as Golghota) is reputed to be the world's largest and most dramatic painting on canvas.

Jan Styka also painted portraits of well known personalities of his time.

He died on April 11, 1925 and was buried in Rome. In 1959 Jan Styka's remains were brought from Italy to be buried beside his son Tadeusz at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, in the Immortal's Quarters, close to the amphitheater housing The Golgotha panorama.

Source:
Family website of the Styka family artists

Jan Styka was an artist who studied at the Vienna Academy and the Kraków School of Fine Arts. He lived in Italy and Paris, creating realistic and academic paintings, including portraits, genre scenes, and religious and historical compositions. Styka was known for his exceptional portraits and large-scale works, such as panoramas and cycles of paintings illustrating literary works. He was also an accomplished portraitist, capturing the peace and dignity of his subjects.

Jan Styka was born in 1858 in Lviv. Jan was a popular painter of historical scenes and battle, author of allegorical and religious paintings, and a portrait painter. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, then in Rome, and in the years 1882-1885 at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. After graduation he spent several years in Paris, and later lived in Lviv. In 1895 Styka traveled to Palestine. After 1900 he lived in Paris, where he traveled to the United States, Italy and Greece. Since 1919 he spent a lot of time in his own home on Capri. He participated in many exhibitions, including Paris Salons in the World Exhibition St. Louis (1904) and enjoyed considerable popularity, and even fame. He was a member of the Academy of St. Luke in Rome. He was also the founder and co-creator of the famous panoramas: the Battle of Raclawice (years 1892 to 1894; and W. Kossak and others.