Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (, UMK) is located in Toruń, Poland. It was named after Nicolaus Copernicus who was born in this town in 1473. The first institution of higher education in Torun, the Toruń Academic Gymnasium was founded in 1568 on Piekary street. It was one of the first universities in northern Poland. The Academic Gymnasium was the precursor to scientific and cultural life (including the first museum created in 1594) in the region. Thanks to the efforts of Heinrich Stroband, city mayor in 1594, academics in Toruń received good working conditions for
Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God around a central element, and dramatic contrasts with dark colours in the periphery. Copernicus's epiphany or ecstasy is captured through the skillful use of lighting. The models for Copernicus are known to have been Doctor Henryk Levittoux and Matejko's nephew, Antoni Serafiński. Matejko's most famous paintings are usually large group scenes; individual scenes like this are more of an exception for him. Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God () is an oil painting by the Polish artist Jan Matejko, finished in 1873, depicting Nicolaus Copernicus observing the heavens from a balcony by a tower