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Kaplice kolegiaty św. Anny w Krakowie – indywidualne fundacje pod zbiorczym nadzorem

100%

Kurzej M.

TECHNE. Seria Nowa

2020

issue 5

117-131

The artistic history of the university collegiate church in Cracow, has been the subject of numerous studies. Focusing on its chapels, however, imposes a slightly different perspective, related to the issues of patronage over individual oratories and the way in which their decoration was included in the ideological and artistic program of the entire church. After adopting such perspective, the Church of St. Anna appears as an interesting contribution to the reflection on the phenomenon of collective patronage, perfectly confirming the view of Peter Hirschfeld and Michael Baxandall, according to which the term basically refers to the activities of an individual hidden behind the collective. One of the goals set by the creators of the magnificent modern church with a rich liturgical and architectural program was to achieve the greatest possible coherence of the decor, both in terms of ideology and art. The obstaclesin its achievement were often complicated ownership relations, resulting from the diversified patronage over the chapels. Cracow Church of St. Anne, erected in the years 1693–1703 under the supervision of prof. Sebastian Piskorski, is one of the rare examples where the chapels have been given a coherent content and artistic program, despite the fact that their interiors were decorated thanks to money providedby separate founders. To achieve this harmony, the inclusion of the chapels in the content program of the interior was of the utmost importance, especially due to the transept chapels. It was in one of them that the altar of the tomb of St. John Cantius had to be placed, and such a location allowed direct light to be shone on it on the anniversary of saints’ birthday. Special setting had to be provided also for the opposite chapel of St. Cross, which reminded of the saints’ passionate devotion and presented the Cross as a source of wisdom. Much attention was paid to smaller nave oratorios. There are three pairs of them, the middle of which has been distinguished by a higher dome with a lantern. The choice of patrons of the nave chapels is allegorical – the middle chapel on the Epistle side was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and the neighboring ones – to her spouse, St. Joseph and relative, St. John the Baptist. Moreover, the John Baptist’s Oratory is adjacent to the mausoleum of John Cantius, who was born on the Midsummer Day, inheriting his name. On the other hand, the chapels on the Gospel side were dedicated to figures representing the Church of times of the New Covenant. Its first superior – St. Peter, following Christ in martyrdom, was commemorated next to the Chapel of St. Cross. The middle oratory, opposite the St.Mary’s Chapel, is dedicated to St. Catherine the virgin, and the last – St. Sebastian, the patron of Piskorski, but also a popular apostle of those suffering infectious diseases. What is very characteristic, the contribution of the benefactors of individual chapels was commemorated only in a literary way – in publications issued on the occasion of the completion of the construction of the church. There are no inscriptions relating to their benefactors or space for their epitaphs in the chapels, or at least some of them have no funeral function at all.

Krakowska kolegiata św. Anny jest przykładem rzadkiej sytuacji, w której odrębne finansowanie poszczególnych kaplic udało się pogodzić ze ścisłym zintegrowaniem ich wystroju z całością wnętrza, ale też bardzo specyficznej komemoracji ich dobrodziejów. Upamiętniono ich w książce wydanej z okazji konsekracji, co stanowiło specyficzny wyraz kultury akademickiej, skoncentrowanej na słowie pisanym, a także odwołującej się często do księgi jako uniwersalnego symbolu mądrości. W kościele św. Anny jest to główny motyw wnętrza, powtarzający się jako atrybut patronki, spis ziemskich przodków jej wnuka, dowód świętości Jana Kantego, znak wiedzy antycznych prorokiń oraz godności Baranka Apokaliptycznego jako Najwyższej Mądrości Bożej.

Ołtarz jako okno i lustro w konceptach ks. prof. Sebastiana Piskorskiego

100%

Kurzej M.

TECHNE. Seria Nowa

2018

issue 1

223-242

The metaphor of the altar as a window and a mirror is particularly suitable for a series of reredoses designed by Rev. Prof. Sebastian Piskorski, a professor of law at the JagiellonianUniversity, and a popular poet and preacher, who became a central figure of the artistic life, participating as a conceptor and administrator in the process of creating the most interesting complex works of holy art. And the reredoses of these works play a crucial role there, since they become a key which enables us to read the iconographic programme. Besides its common decorative function of the presentation of a supernatural reality, they also work as a mirror. At certain times, they take the sunlight that generates a short-lived effect within the reredos, opening a new meaningful layer for the audience. The very first work by Piskorski is the pilgrimaging establishment in Grodzisknear Skała, conducted between 1677 and 1691. It commemorates Blessed Salomea, who is said to have lived and eventually died there on 17 November 1268.Its chapel was designed in such a manner that,on that day,sunshine flooded her altar. In 1692,Piskorski was offered an opportunity to applysignificantly more magnificent artistic solutions, when the university charged him with the task of managing the construction works of the new collegiate of St. Anne. Presumably, he participated in a debate on the location and the design of the church in order to influence the positioning and arrangement of its main reredoses. Due to their specific deployment, sunlight could be used to connect the altars in the presbytery and both wings of the transept with the stages of the sun year. A significant element of the interior is the altar with relics of the university’s patron saint–Saint John Cantius. The key to comprehending its form is the cult which was built up around him, propagated by the legend according to which he obtained a supernatural illumination from Jesus Christ himself. In the mausole um, this illumination was depicted by the Lamb and a putto with the following inscription: ‘Et lucernaeiusest’, which points to the relics carried by personifications of the four faculties. The pillars that surround the grave are references to the white-stone supports, which – as tradition has it – originate from Salomon’s Holy Temple. On the supports, there stand the statues of Cantius’ blessed namesakes, who – just like him – were preachers and theologists. One of them, John the Baptist, points to the Lamb’s image, which, at the same time, is his attribute, reminding the onlookers that Cantiusbore his first name to honour him and was born on his feast day,which falls on the summer solstice. In the afternoon around that date, sunlight floods this composition, highlighting its meaning and indicating that Providence destined Cantiusfor sanctity. The light is reflected off the statue of the Lamb and its aureole, like in a mirror, and then it floods onto the worshippers who are kneeling in front of the altar.This can be interpreted as the act of transferring the illumination once granted to the saint himself. The design of two out of the three most important altars within the collegiate also involves the sunlight-reflecting effect. Opposite Cantius’ grave, there is a relief portraying the triumph of the Cross, adored by Saint John the Evangelist and the Mother of God who is supporting the dead body of Christ. In the mornings on the days around the equinox, sunlight floods this part of the composition, commemorating the date of Jesus’s death. The painting in the high altar is illuminated at the turn of December and January, when – in the evenings – aray of sunlight creates a natural aureole above the heads of the depicted figures. The most important of these is the Baby Jesus, whose birth was commonly associated with the winter solstice and the eve of this celebration is also the anniversary of Cantius’ death. The use of natural lighting within the interior of the church is associated with the works by Bernini, who introduced the light into the composition from a hidden source, i.e. in a fashion which,to a great extent,was independent of the season or the time of day. Piskorski, on the other hand, used direct sunlight, which, just like a spotlight, picks out a specific element of the interior for a short period of time, from several to a dozen or so days in the year.

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2 TECHNE. Seria Nowa

2 Kurzej M.

1 2020

1 2018

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Kaplice kolegiaty św. Anny w Krakowie – indywidualne fundacje pod zbiorczym nadzorem

Ołtarz jako okno i lustro w konceptach ks. prof. Sebastiana Piskorskiego