[5] During his work, Matejko commissioned craftsmen to create a replica of a scaffolding that was used to move the bell, and he identified its likely original location, in order for it to be portrayed realistically.

[5] The painting was well received by contemporaries, and Stanisław Tarnowski published an extensive and positive review in 1875 in Przegląd Polski.

[5] It conveys the Golden Era of Polish Renaissance, and the power of the contemporary Kingdom of Poland, both its elites and the common people.

[5] The left side of the painting is focused on the richness and glory of the era, while the right notes the hard work of ordinary people that made this greatness possible.

[5] Other figures in the court include banker Jan Boner, merchant and official Seweryn Bethman, and castellan and voivode Stanisław Kmita.

These are the Wawel architect Bartolommeo Berrecci, and a musician, Valentin Bakfark, who according to a legend threw a string from his instrument into the melted bronze (in fact, he arrived in Poland two decades after the bell was cast).