Renesansowe nagrobki dziecięce w Polsce: między konwencją a inwencją

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Date
2019
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Volume Title
Publisher
Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL
Abstract
Children’s tombstones of Polish Renaissance are characterised by repetitiveness of compositional patterns that was typical of 16th century tombstone sculpture. This proves that the conventions of representation were well-established. This trend was dominant, but it was not the only one. The need for individualisation often led to breaking with the established forms and to original projects. The forms of Renaissance tombstones for children founded in the former Polish lands were developed to a large extent independently of European centres and constitute a valuable part of Polish artistic heritage. The most frequently reproduced compositional patterns of Renaissance tombstones commemorating infants in Poland include the motif of a sleeping, naked putto lying on the side and supported on his elbow. The child could be accompanied by such attributes as: skull, shinbones, withered tree, laurel wreath or hourglass. This motif was taken from allegorical representations, disseminated through graphic designs and acquired a new meaning, becoming a representation with portrait-like features. This phenomenon was characteristic of Polish Renaissance art. By contrast, the image of an infant wrapped in swaddling bands (characteristic of the German-speaking area, for example) was almost non-existent in Poland. The tombstone of an unidentified young child from Zgłobień near Rzeszów took an extremely original form. The girl was depicted with great realism, in a dress with a lace ruff and a long coat lined with fur and a headband. This representation breaks the convention of Polish tombstones for infants. The tombstones of older children were modelled on the images of adults, usually retaining the attributes characteristic of childhood. The typical representations included the half-lying pose suggesting sleep, while the body placed on a bier was rarely depicted. Both these conventions were combined in the tombstone of an unknown boy from the Pieniążek family from the church in Krużlowa. An unusual solution was also adopted in a solid tombstone from the church in Trzciana, which depicts two kneeling figures - a knight and his juvenile son. The convention typical of knights’ tombstones was adopted to the image of Kacper Daniłowicz - the only two-year-old boy is shown on the tomb­ stone in full plate armour, which is only an attribute of knightly origin. The artists creating Polish Renaissance tombstones for children resorted to conventional representations used in visual arts. Dependent on the will of the founder or the character of the interior, they created works that often combined common motifs and compositional patterns in an unconventional way, and sometimes departed from a well-established repertoire of forms.
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Keywords
nagrobki renesansowe, nagrobki dziecięce, rzeźba nagrobna, kamieniarka renesansowa, rzeźba renesansowa, sztuka sepulkralna, sztuka renesansowa, sztuka polska, renaissance tomb monuments, children's tombstones, tomb sculpture, renaissance stonework, renaissance sculpture, sepulchral art, renaissance art, Polish art
Citation
Studia nad sztuką renesansu i baroku, T. XIV: Twórca i dzieło, red. I. Rolska, Lublin 2019, s. 127-148
ISBN
978-83-7306-861-2