Trzy pałace Hilarego Szpilowskiego: klasycyzm a problem elitarności wśród szlachty na Mazowszu końca XVIII w.

• Authors: Getka-Kenig Mikołaj

Title variants

EN

Three country houses by Hilary Szpilowski –- classicism and the problem of elite identity of Mazovian nobility in late 18th century

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The article deals with the socio-cultural genesis of classicism in country house architecture in late 18th century Mazovia (an integral part of the pre-partition Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). It focuses on the example of the three earliest known (neo)classical ‘palaces’ (a ‘palace’ was a common Polish term describing grand palatial mansions in the countryside) at Walewice near Łowicz, Mała Wieś near Grójec as well as Słubice near Gostynin. They were all built in the 1780s and designed by the same early-career architect Hilary Szpilowski (1753-1827) who was commissioned by the affluent local landowners and active politicians Anastazy Walewski of Walewice (ca. 1733-1815), Bazyli Walicki of Mała Wieś (17281802) and Józef Mikorski of Słubice (died 1799), supporters of the enlightened reform-oriented agenda of the king Stanislaus Augustus (reg. 1764-1795). The argument of this article is that their locally unprecedented choice of classicism as an idiom in which their houses were designed was expressive of their specific political sympathies and ambitions. The Duchy of Mazovia was this region of Poland Lithuania where stately homes were practically unknown in the second half of the 18th century with the exception of Nieborów near Łowicz, Stary Otwock near Warsaw, Nowe Miasto near Grójec as well as the Roman-Catholic primate’s residence at Skierniewice, all of them built in earlier periods. In terms of its agricultural conditions, the local landed class of hereditary nobles was not especially prosperous when we compare it with those from other areas of the state, and although there were some rich individuals among Mazovian Landowners, they customarily tended to refrain from emphasizing their elevated position in relations with their local compatriots on whose support their political ambitions were contingent. The group of palaces by Szpilowski can be then seen as a watershed in the architectural history of the region – at least three grand houses were erected in only one decade and others followed soon. This notable change was apparently motivated by the contemporary political situation. The 1780s is the period when the political activity of the royal court, directed at a comprehensive reform of the declining state (marred by the long-standing corruption of its parliamentary system) in accordance with the paradigms of Enlightenment, was very intensive and Mazovia was this place on the map of Poland Lithuania where the king enjoyed a good deal of support from local noble politicians. The ideas of progress, civilization, rationality as well as national power based on these principles found their visual and spatial expression in the classical idiom that was endorsed by the king himself and consequently disseminated among those who shared this reformist viewpoint. The houses of Walewice, Mała Wieś and Słubice directly engaged in a local public sphere serving as venues for political gatherings hosted by their owners. However, by stressing the clear-cut division between the ideas of progress and regression, civilization and barbarism, objectivity and subjectivity, mental enlightenment and darkness, these houses also contributed to the contemporary discourse of elite identity. The Polish-Lithuanian nobility was traditionally democratic when it comes to its inner hierarchy – all nobles were legally equal to each other. However, throughout the 18th century the richest representatives of the noble ‘nation’ (socalled magnates) exerted great influence on noble masses, practically taking over control of national politics and negatively disposing lesser nobles towards the king, seen as a potential autocrat. This situation motivated Stanislaus Augustus to counteract the dominance and bad influence of the magnates by forming a new elite – closely connected with the royal court – and composed of industrious individuals of middle noble standing who were expected to support him in his endeavor to implement the reform programme. It seems then quite probable that members of this pro-king elite such as Walewski, Walicki and Mikorski referred thus to classicism in order to express their claims to the status of a new elite, the one that spearhead the national movement towards modernity.

Keywords

EN

Hilary Szpilowski; Classicism; Country House; Mazovian nobility; Walewice; Anastazy Walewski; Mała Wieś; Bazyli Walicki; Słubice; Józef Mikorski

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Sztuki PAN
• Journal: Biuletyn Historii Sztuki
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 77
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 275-303

Contributors

author

Getka-Kenig Mikołaj

• Wydział Historyczny Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warszawa