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Vol. 83 (1995): Our Past

Articles

On the issues of 13th-century architectural art in the Cistercian monasteries of Lesser Poland. A new source for the research on the artistic skills of a mediaeval sculptor

  • Krystyna Białoskórska
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52204/np.1995.83.361-391  [Google Scholar]
Published: 1995-06-30

Abstract

The article describes a set of twenty-seven stone sculptures and tracing drawings found along with numerous inscriptions and stonework marks in the outer (cloister) wall of the southern nave of the Cistercian basilica of the Jedrzejów Abbey. In addition to eight medallion compositions with floral and braided patterns - four different representations of a wavy or spiral stem, sprouting leaves, grapes and flowers and images of a stylized bush with a decorative cross - the find also includes thirteen smaller forms. Scattered over the entire surface of the wall examined during field work, they look like outlines of some elements or fragments of larger wholes. Among the patterns from this second group we can find a single palmette leaf, a slender tree, a spirally notched column shaft, a braided cross, combinations of circles and arches, etc. All discovered patterns must undoubtedly come from an early stage of the development of the history of the abbey, i.e. the first half of the 13th century, when a church and monastery houses were built. They were probably life-size masonry plans that were to be used in work on some of the decorative elements of the Romanesque abbey. This assumption is confirmed, firstly, by the presence of a number of architectural details (e.g. in the chapter house) that are very similar to outlines, and secondly, by the nature of some inscriptions (they seem to contain practical instructions). This is also confirmed by the occurrence of similar designs in France, England and Germany, the practice began to spread throughout Europe in the early 13th century or even earlier. It seems that most of the Jędrzejów models could have been intended to decorate keystones (most medallion forms) or friezes (braided patterns). The type and scope of decorations in the Jędrzejów "portfolio" is analogous to the number of decorations in other abbeys in the Lesser Poland region (Wąchock, Koprzywnica, Sulejów). They all belong to one artistic tradition and demonstrate similar technical skills, most likely it is the workshop of the abbey's builder, Master Szymon. Single drawings of the type discovered in Jędrzejów were found in Wąchock and Koprzywnica and in the area where the influence of the abbey's builders was felt, including: to me. in the parish churches in Sulisławice near Koprzywnica and Mieronice (phase I) near Jędrzejów.

References

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