The starting point for this article were two paintings of a very similar composition. They are to be found in two Mazovian churches, one in Pęcice and the other in Kurdwanów. The iconographic origins of both depictions are to be found in Carlo Maratta’s works. The rendering of the subject turned out to be so popular that it bore fruit in numerous versions. It appears as a drawn version (Louvre), and as a graphical version (for example:Pieter Schenck, Gérard Edelinck, Francesco Bartolozzi, and Johann Jakob Frey I). Examples of paintings that repeat these or similar renderings of this subject can be seen in Genoa (a painting by Carlo Maratta himself), Rome (a painting by Agostino Masucci – Maratta’s pupil), and in Canada (Victoria). A similar subject, but of a different compositional arrangement, was undertaken by the same artist, and his original work is housed in the Capitoline Museums, Rome. This second rendering by Carlo Maratta has also been repeated in graphical versions (Francesco Bartolozzi). Examples of his painted copies can also be seen in Poland (Włocławek and Grochowalsk), and at a convent attached to St. Casimir Church in Warsaw. Two other versions, with a different profile of St. Joseph, are to be found in the Lublin Voivodeship. One is at the main altar of a church in Włostowice, a suburb of Puławy, which was painted by Kazimierz Wojniakowski. On account of its location it should be associated with the Prince Czartoryski court, one of the most outstanding artistic centers in Poland of the end of the 18th century. The other copy, of less artistic value, is to be found in the parish church of Kurów.
PL
Punkt wyjścia artykułu stanowią dwa zbliżone kompozycyjnie obrazy, znajdujące się w kościołach w Pęcicach i Kurdwanowie na Mazowszu. Wzory ikonograficzne obu przedstawień zostały odnalezione w twórczości Carlo Maratty. Temat był tak popularny, ze podejmowany był i realizowany w różnych wersjach: rysunkowej (Louvre), graficznej (przez m.in. Pietera Schencka, Gérarda Edelincka, Francesco Bartolozziego i Johanna Jakoba Frey’a I), a przykłady kompozycji malarskich można odnaleźć w Genui (dzieło samego Carla Maratty), Rzymie (obraz Agostina Mascucci – ucznia Maratty) i w Kanadzie (Victoria). Podobny temat, ale różniący się kompozycyjnie, był podejmowany przez różnych artystów, a oryginał znajduje się w rzymskich Muzeach Kapitolińskich. Kolejne przedstawienie autorstwa Maratty również było powtarzane w grafice (Francesco Bartolozzi). Przykłady malarskich kopii możemy też odnaleźć w Polsce: we Włocławku i Grochowalsku oraz w klasztorze przy kościele św. Kazimierza w Warszawie. Dwie kolejne wersje (różniące się profilem św. Józefa) zachowały się na terenie województwa lubelskiego. Pierwsza, namalowana przez Kazimierza Wojniakowskiego, znajduje się w ołtarzu głównym kościoła w Włostowicach na przedmieściach Puław. Ze względu na lokalizację, dzieło to powinno być łączone z dworem księcia Czartoryskiego, jednym z najświetniejszych centrów artystycznych w Polsce u schyłku XVIII w. Druga kopia, o niższej wartości artystycznej, znajduje się w parafii w Kurowie.
During the entire period of his activities in the Polish territories, Szymon Czechowicz applied graphic models. The unique character of this approach, arguably stemming from the quality of education he had acquired when in Rome, boiled down to the consistency in his choice of prints, the majority of which he may have brought with him from Rome. As for the choice of compositions for copying and adaptation, Carlo Maratta provided the most important examples. Subsequently, the following Roman artists of the 17 th and early 18 th century should be named: Sebastiano Conca, Niccolò Berrettoni, Pier Leone Ghezzi, Pietro da Cortona, Giovanni Lanfranco, Pietro Nelli, Benedetto Luti, Mario Balassi. Among the presented paintings whose compositions are either literal or minimally modified repetitions of other artists’ solutions, there are hardly any high-quality works: monumental paintings, meant to form part of the high altar. Instead, what dominate are smaller-sized canvases placed in side-altars, crowning the high altar, in the backrests of the choir stalls, as well as a relatively small devotional painting; finally, paintings created with a significant if not dominant, contribution of the studio.
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