DOI Artikel:
Mossakowski, Stanisław: Projekt kościoła karmelitów bosych w Warszawie autorstwa Giovanniego Battisty Gisleniego
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.48916#0117
Projekt kościoła karmelitów bosych w Warszawie autorstwa G. B. Gisleniego
appear to have been rapid, sińce as early as in 1644 the
earliest internments of the dead are documented. The
wooden church and chapel were bumt down during the
Swedish attack and occupation of Warsaw in 1656, but the
stone walls survived and were already high enough to
accommodate primitive dwellings put up by the monks
(„curavimus qualecunque habitaculum infra nostri templi
fabricam inchoatam”). Work on the church may be
assumed to have not resumed before 1660. Even though the
main altar is recorded as being raised in 1661, the overall
building was not to be completed until 1681.
Bearing in mind that the original design for the Warsaw
church differred somewhat in scalę and plan from that of
the mother church in Romę, it would seem probable, as
stated by the art historian Benignus J. Wanat, that a separate
plan for the former, drawn up by an expert architect did
indeed exist. It has been generally believed until now that
this architect was the builder Constante Tencalla, the
presumed architect of the Barefooted Carmelite church at
Wilno (Vilnius; 1637-54) and of hetman Stanisław
Koniecpolski’s Warsaw pałace situated in the immediate
vicinity of the same religious order’s Warsaw church.
Furthermore, evidence of Tencalla’s apparent authorship
is suggested by his own burial in the Warsaw church while it
was still under construction in 1646.
In addition, Wanat drew upon certain architectural
details in the Warsaw tempie to justify the attribution to
Tencalla. The author of this article, however, argues that
such supposedly common details, including, for example,
the application of pilaster pairs above the chapels, may also
be found in a number of Polish churches predating the
period ofTencalla’s activity (e.g. in Kraków’s church of SS.
Peter and Paul). It should be noted that apart from Tencalla,
a number of Italian builders and stonemasons were buried
in the crypt of the Barefooted Carmelite church in Warsaw,
including Hieronian Daum (d. 1648), suggesting the
former ’s connection was with the order itself rather than
with the raising of that particular tempie.
The author stipulates that everything would seem to
suggest Gisleni’s drawings preserved in the collection at
Milan were intended as designs for the religious order’s
Warsaw tempie, even though it was not to be completed
until after the Swedish invasion, although, if this is indeed
the case, certain alterations were introduced (ill. 5-7);
among others in the width of the passageways between the
chapels. The decorative gallery balconies, envisaged as
extending the length of the nave and presbytery, at the
comice level, were never executed. While the Corinthian
order actually applied during construction may be regarded
as morę omate than the originally intended łonie order, the
building can be seen to have lost much of the original
conception’s magnificence.
The originally planned faęade was never to be carried
out, and it was not until the second half of the 18th century
that the conception of E. Schroeger was to be constructed.
Gisleni’s never-realised faęade, recorded in two versions in
drawings preserved in Milan and London (ill. 1 and 2), may
be said to have been no less interesting than the classical
faęade of Schroeger ’s design. This original, towerless
design followed the tradition already begun by Giacomo
della Porta in his design for the church of II Gesu in Romę
(1571-7). Gisleni’s faęade for the Barefooted Carmelites
was magnificent, combining compositional elements drawn
from the faęades of Rome’s Carmelite church of S. Maria
della Vittoria (Giovanni Battista Soria, 1624-6) and the
church of S. Susanna (faęade designed by Carlo Maderna,
1603) (ill. 8, 9).
Additional elements identifiable in the unrealised
faęade by Gisleni for the Carmelites’ tempie in Warsaw
include the central, broken pediment above the main
entrance originating from Vignola’s faęade design for
Rome’s 11 Gesu (ca. 1586), as well as edicules with niches
accommodating a figurę of the Virgin Mary with Christ
Child płaced in the portal, which are so typical of Spanish
churches of the order and clearly relate to the Church of S.
Maria della Scala in Romę (arch. Francesco da Volterra,
1593 carried out ca. 1624 ill. 10). In comparison with the
Milan drawing, the title page faęadal study belonging to the
London collection (ill. 1) reveals a series of changes in
composition and detail, including the applying of fully
Corinthian columns to both storeys, the absence of the
broken pediment in the faęade ’s central span, as well as
other Solutions to the statuę of the Madonna. It is difficult
to establish if this latter sketch represents the architecfs
finał conception for the church’s faęade.
The solution of the faęade for the church of the
Barefooted Carmelites in Warsaw should be recognised as
the first faęade elevation in Poland in which a significant
role was played by columns. In light of the drawings
preserved in London and Milan it would appear a morę
realistic approach to the two churches of the Barefooted
Carmelites in Wilno (Vilnius; St. Terese, prior to 1668) and
of Our Lady of Loretto in Lwów (L’viv; 1683-92) to
attribute their design to Gisleni himself. In this context
Schroeger’s bold application of columns in his magnificent
faęade of the Warsaw tempie dating from the years 1761-2
is less astonishing.
Peter Martyn
103
appear to have been rapid, sińce as early as in 1644 the
earliest internments of the dead are documented. The
wooden church and chapel were bumt down during the
Swedish attack and occupation of Warsaw in 1656, but the
stone walls survived and were already high enough to
accommodate primitive dwellings put up by the monks
(„curavimus qualecunque habitaculum infra nostri templi
fabricam inchoatam”). Work on the church may be
assumed to have not resumed before 1660. Even though the
main altar is recorded as being raised in 1661, the overall
building was not to be completed until 1681.
Bearing in mind that the original design for the Warsaw
church differred somewhat in scalę and plan from that of
the mother church in Romę, it would seem probable, as
stated by the art historian Benignus J. Wanat, that a separate
plan for the former, drawn up by an expert architect did
indeed exist. It has been generally believed until now that
this architect was the builder Constante Tencalla, the
presumed architect of the Barefooted Carmelite church at
Wilno (Vilnius; 1637-54) and of hetman Stanisław
Koniecpolski’s Warsaw pałace situated in the immediate
vicinity of the same religious order’s Warsaw church.
Furthermore, evidence of Tencalla’s apparent authorship
is suggested by his own burial in the Warsaw church while it
was still under construction in 1646.
In addition, Wanat drew upon certain architectural
details in the Warsaw tempie to justify the attribution to
Tencalla. The author of this article, however, argues that
such supposedly common details, including, for example,
the application of pilaster pairs above the chapels, may also
be found in a number of Polish churches predating the
period ofTencalla’s activity (e.g. in Kraków’s church of SS.
Peter and Paul). It should be noted that apart from Tencalla,
a number of Italian builders and stonemasons were buried
in the crypt of the Barefooted Carmelite church in Warsaw,
including Hieronian Daum (d. 1648), suggesting the
former ’s connection was with the order itself rather than
with the raising of that particular tempie.
The author stipulates that everything would seem to
suggest Gisleni’s drawings preserved in the collection at
Milan were intended as designs for the religious order’s
Warsaw tempie, even though it was not to be completed
until after the Swedish invasion, although, if this is indeed
the case, certain alterations were introduced (ill. 5-7);
among others in the width of the passageways between the
chapels. The decorative gallery balconies, envisaged as
extending the length of the nave and presbytery, at the
comice level, were never executed. While the Corinthian
order actually applied during construction may be regarded
as morę omate than the originally intended łonie order, the
building can be seen to have lost much of the original
conception’s magnificence.
The originally planned faęade was never to be carried
out, and it was not until the second half of the 18th century
that the conception of E. Schroeger was to be constructed.
Gisleni’s never-realised faęade, recorded in two versions in
drawings preserved in Milan and London (ill. 1 and 2), may
be said to have been no less interesting than the classical
faęade of Schroeger ’s design. This original, towerless
design followed the tradition already begun by Giacomo
della Porta in his design for the church of II Gesu in Romę
(1571-7). Gisleni’s faęade for the Barefooted Carmelites
was magnificent, combining compositional elements drawn
from the faęades of Rome’s Carmelite church of S. Maria
della Vittoria (Giovanni Battista Soria, 1624-6) and the
church of S. Susanna (faęade designed by Carlo Maderna,
1603) (ill. 8, 9).
Additional elements identifiable in the unrealised
faęade by Gisleni for the Carmelites’ tempie in Warsaw
include the central, broken pediment above the main
entrance originating from Vignola’s faęade design for
Rome’s 11 Gesu (ca. 1586), as well as edicules with niches
accommodating a figurę of the Virgin Mary with Christ
Child płaced in the portal, which are so typical of Spanish
churches of the order and clearly relate to the Church of S.
Maria della Scala in Romę (arch. Francesco da Volterra,
1593 carried out ca. 1624 ill. 10). In comparison with the
Milan drawing, the title page faęadal study belonging to the
London collection (ill. 1) reveals a series of changes in
composition and detail, including the applying of fully
Corinthian columns to both storeys, the absence of the
broken pediment in the faęade ’s central span, as well as
other Solutions to the statuę of the Madonna. It is difficult
to establish if this latter sketch represents the architecfs
finał conception for the church’s faęade.
The solution of the faęade for the church of the
Barefooted Carmelites in Warsaw should be recognised as
the first faęade elevation in Poland in which a significant
role was played by columns. In light of the drawings
preserved in London and Milan it would appear a morę
realistic approach to the two churches of the Barefooted
Carmelites in Wilno (Vilnius; St. Terese, prior to 1668) and
of Our Lady of Loretto in Lwów (L’viv; 1683-92) to
attribute their design to Gisleni himself. In this context
Schroeger’s bold application of columns in his magnificent
faęade of the Warsaw tempie dating from the years 1761-2
is less astonishing.
Peter Martyn
103