Books by Konrad Morawski
The decorations of the King’s Library in the Wilanów Palace, created in the years 1681–1686, refl... more The decorations of the King’s Library in the Wilanów Palace, created in the years 1681–1686, reflects the early modern search for a universal science describing the universe. Thirty-two artists, writers and scholars are depicted on sixteen circular portraits surrounding two tondo paintings with allegories of Theology and Philosophy. Some of the portraits are early examples of the influence of Joachim von Sandrart’s Teutsche Academie (1675–1679). The iconographic programme of the room reveals the characteristic tensions of the times of the Scientific Revolution: the development of empiricism and the spread of occult protochemistry. The decoration of the library uses alchemical concepts as a link between science, art and Christian theology. Iconographic and epigraphic analysis has made it possible to recognise or correct most of the themes and people depicted. This, in combination with the surviving sources, enabled the reconstruction of the original layout of the elements of decorations (modified after 1710). All findings are presented in the context of the European concept of the early modern library and the scholar’s cabinet. The originator of the decorations was the Jesuit Adam Kochański (1631–1700), who should be regarded as an important representative of early modern dispute on the relationship between theologia naturalis and philosofia naturalis. Kochański, who kept up correspondence with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Athanasius Kircher, can be ranked with the more famous Johann Joachim Becher, Gaspar Schott or Francesco Lana de Terzi. The character of the decoration and the iconographic traditions represented enabled the verification of the role played by the King’s Library in the Wilanów Palace. The décor, private character and intimate size of the room are in line with the tradition of the humanist studiolo, where the scholarly owner could enjoy both relaxation and intellectual development.
The decorations of the King’s Library in the Wilanów Palace, created in the years 1681–1686, refl... more The decorations of the King’s Library in the Wilanów Palace, created in the years 1681–1686, reflects the early modern search for a universal science describing the universe. Thirty-two artists, writers and scholars are depicted on sixteen circular portraits surrounding two tondo paintings with allegories of Theology and Philosophy. Some of the portraits are early examples of the influence of Joachim von Sandrart’s Teutsche Academie (1675–1679).
The iconographic programme of the room reveals the characteristic tensions of the times of the Scientific Revolution: the development of empiricism and the spread of occult protochemistry. The decoration of the library uses alchemical concepts as a link between science, art and Christian theology. Iconographic and epigraphic analysis has made it possible to recognise or correct most of the themes and people depicted. This, in combination with the surviving sources, enabled the reconstruction of the original layout of the elements of decorations (modified after 1710). All findings are presented in the context of the European concept of the early modern library and the scholar’s cabinet.
The originator of the decorations was the Jesuit Adam Kochański (1631–1700), who should be regarded as an important representative of early modern dispute on the relationship between theologia naturalis and philosofia naturalis. Kochański, who kept up correspondence with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Athanasius Kircher, can be ranked with the more famous Johann Joachim Becher, Gaspar Schott or Francesco Lana de Terzi. The character of the decoration and the iconographic traditions represented enabled the verification of the role played by the King’s Library in the Wilanów Palace. The décor, private character and intimate size of the room are in line with the tradition of the humanist studiolo, where the scholarly owner could enjoy both relaxation and intellectual development.
Papers by Konrad Morawski
Artium Quaestiones
The paper addresses a problem which traditional art history has thus far ignored, i.e. the examin... more The paper addresses a problem which traditional art history has thus far ignored, i.e. the examination of items listed in inventories of property. Art historians usually approach concrete works of art to textualize them, while they are helpless confronting items “hidden” behind a text. In the context of the “materiality turn,” inventories reveal their paradoxical character since they include “personal” information about individual objects. If one assumes that the inventory is an instrument used to examine the objects listed in it, one must also realize a basic paradox of approaching them via their purely textual representation. A growing interest of art historians in publishing historical sources, in particular inventories, should result in more reflection on the role assigned to texts and things by historiography. To answer the question how items listed in inventories are available to their readers, the author has made references to cognitive linguistics and epistemology, critiques...
Kunstpatronage in Mitteleuropa zwischen Privatstiftung und Staatskunst / Artistic Patronage in Central Europe: From Private Foundations to State Art, 2021
envoy residing in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1684, pointed out in his accounts the ... more envoy residing in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1684, pointed out in his accounts the role played by palaces and villas at that time in Poland. This was not a special place that aroused his interest but a dense network of palaces and gardens in and of itself. 2 Even considering the specificity of this type of observation made by a person interested in being in contact with the strict elite of the state, it seems that this thought indicates some specificity of the landscape in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Factors that shaped this state of affairs have been indicated in the secondary sources, 3 and they include the huge area of the country, an inefficient administrative system, a high percentage of nobility in society, and the marginalisation of the role of cities. The last factor is related to the cultural (though at the root, definitely political) 4 attachment to the agricultural lifestyle, in opposition to the merchant activity (assessed as unworthy of a nobleman). This resulted in the creation of residences outside cities, which, in many cases, could resemble villas and Lusthäuser built in the urbanised parts of Europe. What Morosini pointed out is the process of creating economic centres around the residences, not the residences in or near the cities. In this way, he seems to have pointed to the ceremonial and economic functions of the early modern residences of nobility in Poland, and such a set had to be associated with the idea of a villa for a visitor from Venice. The awareness of the specific character of settlement nobility in the Commonwealth among its society is indicated by the words of Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro from 1660: "Our cities are not built according to Western models because our nobility does not live in them". 5
Eastern European History Review, 2020
At the Wilanów Palace high-class stucco works from the last quarter of the 17th century have been... more At the Wilanów Palace high-class stucco works from the last quarter of the 17th century have been preserved. Although they are formally diverse (probably made by several workshops), those decorations were considered as a characteristic example of stucco works for Warsaw artistic milieu of the late 17th century. The claim of the homogeneity of the stucco milieu is based on – in some cases confirmed, but in some only presumed – ethnic origin of its members – Italian masters, who came mostly from the vicinity of the great Lombard lakes. Research on the influence of Maestri dei laghi on the art of Central Europe is dominated by the perspective of direct transfers of artistic patterns from Italy, which led to the neglect of the regional context. The main aim of the article is to trace the possible phenomena shaping the stucco decorations in the palace at Wilanów and Warsaw artistic milieu - cultural transfer conected with mobility of people and pattern books. The claim about the Italianate character of artworks is the subject of reflection leading to recognition of the components of an increasingly homogenous image of architectural decorations in Central Europe around 1700.
Artium Quaestiones, 2018
The paper addresses a problem which traditional art history has thus far ignored, i.e. the examin... more The paper addresses a problem which traditional art history has thus far ignored, i.e. the examination of items listed in inventories of property. Art historians usually approach concrete works of art to textualize them, while they are helpless confronting items “hidden” behind a text. In the context of the “materiality turn,” inventories reveal their paradoxical character since they include “personal” information about individual objects. If one assumes that the inventory is an instrument used to examine the objects listed in it, one must also realize a basic paradox of approaching them via their purely textual representation. A growing interest of art historians in publishing historical sources, in particular inventories, should result in more reflection on the role assigned to texts and things by historiography. To answer the question how items listed in inventories are available to their readers, the author has made references to cognitive linguistics and epistemology, critiques of historical narrativism, and poststructuralism. Such a comprehensive frame of reference made it possible to analyze some problems of the theory of historical source analysis and the editing and publishing of source texts. A comparison of art history and history of material culture resulted in defining the expectations and limitations related to the study of property inventories conducted by both disciplines. The experience of object analysis, which is a key prerequisite of interpretation, has been described in reference to three cognitive terms: concepts, exemplars, and invariants. The scholar trying to use all the available sources to reach the object itself must take advantage of all his/her experience. Analysis is possible only in a context, while the meaning of concepts, i.e. brief entries about individual items, can be discovered only in a complex system of semiotic reference. Apparently, such analysis can never be objective.
Hereditas Monasteriorum, 2015
The Kościuszko Uprising began on 24 March 1794, quickly turning into a national uprising against ... more The Kościuszko Uprising began on 24 March 1794, quickly turning into a national uprising against the partitioning powers. From the very beginning of the uprising its leaders called for donations for the army, addressing the call not only to the laity but also to the clergy. Despite people’s generosity, the commander of the uprising, Tadeusz Kościuszko, issued an order of requisition of silver kept in churches. The bodies responsible for enforcing the decree were order commissions established in various administrative units free from the enemy troops. The present article examines the work of the Grodno District Order Commission with regard to the requisition of church silver. The source edition is based on three documents kept in the Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw in the fonds Nabytki niedokumentowe Oddziału I [Undocumented Acquisitions of Department I] no. 110, part II. They are: Copy for the Board of the Grodno Commission issued to persons delegated to collect church silver of 24 May 1794; Register of church silver of the Parish Church in Suwałki made in the presence of commissioners delegated for the purpose of 10 June 1794; Register of church silver of the Wigry monastery of the Camaldolese Fathers made in the presence of commissioners delegated for the purpose of 17 June 1794. The published documents can expand the existing body of knowledge of the requisition of church property for the uprising. The scale of this enterprise is not yet fully known to historians of art owing to a lack of sources. This makes isolated surviving relics of that campaign all the more important, relics like the documents published above or accounting books. However, the vagueness of descriptions of the requisitioned objects prevent us from following their subsequent fate.
Hereditas Monasteriorum, 2013
Under tsar Alexander I’s ukase of 13 March 1820, all members of the Jesuit order were forced to l... more Under tsar Alexander I’s ukase of 13 March 1820, all members of the Jesuit order were forced to leave the territory of the Imperial Russia. Following this decision, the abandoned Jesuit church in Polotsk was taken over by the Piarists, and 20 years later it was transformed into an Orthodox temple. This conversion caused the equipment to be removed and transported to he former Royal Castle in Warsaw. The current source edition presents a list of objects from the Jesuit church in Polotsk drawn up in 1843, after they had been transported to Warsaw. The index comprises the information on the appearance, value, and number of the removed items which altogether constituted the entire decoration of the church. Among them one could find both altar paintings, as well as smaller objects, such as pieces of the so-called chalice linen. The document signed by the castle’s steward Leopold Gimbutt can be an important source for the research on the history of the Polotsk temple founded the Society of Jesus. Supplemented with the data from a 1855 inventory, included in the same card-board-bound unit, it may serve as an important contribution to the study of the subsequent fate of the pieces of the equipment from the Polotsk church. The list belongs to the collection of the Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw, fond Castle Steward, no. 57, Castle Steward’s Records Concerning Objects Left by the Polotsk Jesuits.
Edited Books by Konrad Morawski
Collective volumes co-editions by Konrad Morawski
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Books by Konrad Morawski
The iconographic programme of the room reveals the characteristic tensions of the times of the Scientific Revolution: the development of empiricism and the spread of occult protochemistry. The decoration of the library uses alchemical concepts as a link between science, art and Christian theology. Iconographic and epigraphic analysis has made it possible to recognise or correct most of the themes and people depicted. This, in combination with the surviving sources, enabled the reconstruction of the original layout of the elements of decorations (modified after 1710). All findings are presented in the context of the European concept of the early modern library and the scholar’s cabinet.
The originator of the decorations was the Jesuit Adam Kochański (1631–1700), who should be regarded as an important representative of early modern dispute on the relationship between theologia naturalis and philosofia naturalis. Kochański, who kept up correspondence with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Athanasius Kircher, can be ranked with the more famous Johann Joachim Becher, Gaspar Schott or Francesco Lana de Terzi. The character of the decoration and the iconographic traditions represented enabled the verification of the role played by the King’s Library in the Wilanów Palace. The décor, private character and intimate size of the room are in line with the tradition of the humanist studiolo, where the scholarly owner could enjoy both relaxation and intellectual development.
Papers by Konrad Morawski
Edited Books by Konrad Morawski
Collective volumes co-editions by Konrad Morawski
The iconographic programme of the room reveals the characteristic tensions of the times of the Scientific Revolution: the development of empiricism and the spread of occult protochemistry. The decoration of the library uses alchemical concepts as a link between science, art and Christian theology. Iconographic and epigraphic analysis has made it possible to recognise or correct most of the themes and people depicted. This, in combination with the surviving sources, enabled the reconstruction of the original layout of the elements of decorations (modified after 1710). All findings are presented in the context of the European concept of the early modern library and the scholar’s cabinet.
The originator of the decorations was the Jesuit Adam Kochański (1631–1700), who should be regarded as an important representative of early modern dispute on the relationship between theologia naturalis and philosofia naturalis. Kochański, who kept up correspondence with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Athanasius Kircher, can be ranked with the more famous Johann Joachim Becher, Gaspar Schott or Francesco Lana de Terzi. The character of the decoration and the iconographic traditions represented enabled the verification of the role played by the King’s Library in the Wilanów Palace. The décor, private character and intimate size of the room are in line with the tradition of the humanist studiolo, where the scholarly owner could enjoy both relaxation and intellectual development.