In 1871, one of Franciszek's sons – Jan Matejko – paid off his siblings and assumed sole ownership over the property.

Then, Jan Matejko ordered renovation works that lasted two years and moved in with his family.

[1] On the 8th of November 1893, a day after Matejko's funeral ceremony, Marian Sokołowski penned an article for a Cracovian newspaper Czas (Time), calling for honouring the deceased painter by establishing a dedicated museum, following the example set up by Urbino and Florence which had set up museums in historic houses of, respectively, Raphael and Michelangelo.

The museum was opened to the public on the 1st of May 1896, at first offering the visitors to view the living room and the master bedroom.

[4] During this time, the museum began efforts to archive literature on Matejko and to document almost all of his artworks in photographs.