EN
The painting technique of Michael Willmann discloses the influence of the greatest Baroque masters — Rembrandt and Rubens. The style devised by the master from Lubiąż is sufficiently characteristic to render his canvases easily recognisable among the extensive heritage of the seventeenth century. Two paintings from the Lubiąż series — The Martyrdom o f St. Peter and The Martyrdom o f St. Paul, executed in 1661, are an example of mature artistic skill. The conservation of the canvases, conducted in 1998 - 1999, made it possible to establish numerous interesting details of the Willmann technique. The paintings, 3,95 x 2,84 m. large, are executed on thick, hand-woven linen, with a simple weave. The canvases are stretched on wooden frames, bound with glutin glue and covered with red priming. The painter began with a shaded sketch, in which the blank spaces w ere marked with zinc white. The characteristic feature of the Willmann style is the fact th a t the initial drawing and red priming shine through many parts of the painting. The artist applied a perfectly mastered alla prima oil technique, consisting of w ide brush strokes, whose traces are discernible in the thick paint layer. Some parts of the canvases were completed by means of glazing. The wooden frames of the compositions are richly embellished with painted marmorisation, gilt and silver plating.