At that time Matejko started to gain international recognition. In 1865, Matejko's painting "Skarga's Sermon" was awarded a gold medal at the yearly Paris salon; soon afterwards Count bought it for 10,000 guldens. In 1867, his painting "Rejtan" was awarded a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris and acquired by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria for 50,000 franks. His next major painting was the "Union of Lublin" ("Unia Lubelska"), created in the years 1867-1869. Once again applauded in Paris, it won Matejko a Cross of the French Légion d'honneur. and was purchased by the Sejm of Galicia. "Union..." was followed by "Stefan Batory at Pskov" ("Stefan Batory pod Pskowem"), finished in 1871. In 1872, he visited Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, and upon his return to Kraków finished "Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God" ("Astronom Kopernik, czyli rozmowa z Bogiem"), which was acquired by the Jagiellonian University. From the 1870s, he was aided in many tasks by a secretary, Marian Gorzkowski, who would become his "right hand", his closest friend, a model for a number of paintings, and an author of memoirs about Matejko.