DOI Heft:
Nr. 2
DOI Artikel:Artykuły
DOI Artikel:Kossowski, Maciej Dariusz: Portret gabinetowy Jana III Sobieskiego z byłego Muzeum Polskiego w Muri
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.71010#0403
Portret gabinetowy Jana III Sobieskiego z byłego Muzeum Polskiego w Muri
397
Cabinet Portrait of John III Sobieski
from the Former Polish Museum in Muri
Among the monuments in the private Polish
Museum in Muri near Bern what stands out is the
middle-sized cabinet portrait of John III Sobieski
painted in oil on a beech wood plank.
The Museum's creator Zygmunt Stankiewicz
(1914-2010) was presented with it by the wife of the
Swiss Ambassador to Austria who had purchased the
work in Vienna. The Viennese provenance together
with the relatively small size of the warp make one
suppose that the portrait was the property of John
III, and could have been taken by him in September
1683 to the war expedition in Austria. This thesis is
confirmed by the imprint of a currently illegible seal
in the red sealing wax on the back of the warp
featuring a visible trace of an unpreserved string that
may have originally held an attached provenance or
donation card. That kind of a portrait constituted a
form of a traditional gift handed to an individual the
King did a usual honour during a formal or private
meeting. That individual could have been a dignified
resident of the Empire's capital or one of the city's
defenders. Maybe it was General Ernst Rudiger von
Starhemberg who died in Vienna in 1701?
What strikes is the exquisite craftsmanship and
precision in executing the portrait; concern for detail;
a perfect use of chiaroscuro by the painter; a faithful
presentation of the folds and turn up of the garment;
an exquisite elaboration of both King's hands. His
face revealing the psychologizing element featured in
the portrait, shows his eyes pensive, looking far ahead.
Devoid of any court pomp, his figure emanates dignity
and ease at the same time, while the brush duet are
fast, decisive, at moments leaving a broad trace,
without corrective strokes. The portrait is so good that
it could be easily attributed to Daniel Schultz II
(1615-83). Actually, it is definitely superior to all the
King's portraits by Jan Tricius.
The closest typological connection associates the
described work with the portrait of John III from the
Wawel Royal Castle, attributed to Prosper Henricus
Lankrink. The latter was executed with minor
discrepancies from a drawing sketch in pen and ink,
preserved in the Print Cabinet of the Warsaw
University Library. The drawing comes from the
collection of the Flemish painter Prosper Henricus
Lankrink, to later become the possession of Jonathan
Richardson the Elder, an English artist, writer, and
theoretician of art, a well-known drawing collector,
and to subsequently reach the royal collection of
Stanislaus Augustus. The sketch features notes in
Flemish. The similarity with the Wawel portrait is also
displayed by the King's portrait from the private
collections of Joanna Sidorczak-Heinsohn and Gun-
nar Heinsohn. This work demonstrates connections
with the portrait sketch, while its typological bonds
with the other portraits are undeniable.
The continuation of effigies similar in type can
be seen in the full-body portrait of the King from the
Esterhazy collection at the Forcherstein Castle in
Austria. Almost identical is the reduced version in
the figure presentation echoing the Muri portrait.
Both portraits are clearly secondary. The face is
elaborated linearly, and the right hand presented
quite unskilfully. The brush duet that differs in both
works suggests that in their case we have to do with
different painter-copiers.
The portrait remaining in the Muri Castle until
2017 was most possibly created between December
1676 and spring 1683. The fact that it was late
autumn or winter when the portrait was executed is
accounted for by the monarch's attire and the hat that
he is holding in his hand. The posture and the
physiognomy of the King suggest that the work was
executed earlier. The other paintings are much later,
and demonstrate secondary features. Therefore, it
seems justifiable to accept that in this case we have
to do with one of the earliest portraits which served
as the prototype for both canvases in the Esterhazy
collection.
The portrait's format and the material used
confirm the formulated thesis that the work may have
been taken by John III on a long-lasting and remote
expedition, and by principle formed part of the royal
gifts. A private character of the figure's presentation
does not contradict the thesis, but consolidates its,
since the grandeur of the Polish monarch is to be
emphasized by his accomplishments and successes,
and not his propaganda poise. Therefore, the King is
not wearing an armour, but everyday home attire, and
is holding a hat in his hand. The contrast between the
expression and the presentation was intended, and
was meant to achieve this kind of effect. It indirectly
demonstrated the belief in winning the victory before
it was actually won.
Translated by Magdalena Iwińska
397
Cabinet Portrait of John III Sobieski
from the Former Polish Museum in Muri
Among the monuments in the private Polish
Museum in Muri near Bern what stands out is the
middle-sized cabinet portrait of John III Sobieski
painted in oil on a beech wood plank.
The Museum's creator Zygmunt Stankiewicz
(1914-2010) was presented with it by the wife of the
Swiss Ambassador to Austria who had purchased the
work in Vienna. The Viennese provenance together
with the relatively small size of the warp make one
suppose that the portrait was the property of John
III, and could have been taken by him in September
1683 to the war expedition in Austria. This thesis is
confirmed by the imprint of a currently illegible seal
in the red sealing wax on the back of the warp
featuring a visible trace of an unpreserved string that
may have originally held an attached provenance or
donation card. That kind of a portrait constituted a
form of a traditional gift handed to an individual the
King did a usual honour during a formal or private
meeting. That individual could have been a dignified
resident of the Empire's capital or one of the city's
defenders. Maybe it was General Ernst Rudiger von
Starhemberg who died in Vienna in 1701?
What strikes is the exquisite craftsmanship and
precision in executing the portrait; concern for detail;
a perfect use of chiaroscuro by the painter; a faithful
presentation of the folds and turn up of the garment;
an exquisite elaboration of both King's hands. His
face revealing the psychologizing element featured in
the portrait, shows his eyes pensive, looking far ahead.
Devoid of any court pomp, his figure emanates dignity
and ease at the same time, while the brush duet are
fast, decisive, at moments leaving a broad trace,
without corrective strokes. The portrait is so good that
it could be easily attributed to Daniel Schultz II
(1615-83). Actually, it is definitely superior to all the
King's portraits by Jan Tricius.
The closest typological connection associates the
described work with the portrait of John III from the
Wawel Royal Castle, attributed to Prosper Henricus
Lankrink. The latter was executed with minor
discrepancies from a drawing sketch in pen and ink,
preserved in the Print Cabinet of the Warsaw
University Library. The drawing comes from the
collection of the Flemish painter Prosper Henricus
Lankrink, to later become the possession of Jonathan
Richardson the Elder, an English artist, writer, and
theoretician of art, a well-known drawing collector,
and to subsequently reach the royal collection of
Stanislaus Augustus. The sketch features notes in
Flemish. The similarity with the Wawel portrait is also
displayed by the King's portrait from the private
collections of Joanna Sidorczak-Heinsohn and Gun-
nar Heinsohn. This work demonstrates connections
with the portrait sketch, while its typological bonds
with the other portraits are undeniable.
The continuation of effigies similar in type can
be seen in the full-body portrait of the King from the
Esterhazy collection at the Forcherstein Castle in
Austria. Almost identical is the reduced version in
the figure presentation echoing the Muri portrait.
Both portraits are clearly secondary. The face is
elaborated linearly, and the right hand presented
quite unskilfully. The brush duet that differs in both
works suggests that in their case we have to do with
different painter-copiers.
The portrait remaining in the Muri Castle until
2017 was most possibly created between December
1676 and spring 1683. The fact that it was late
autumn or winter when the portrait was executed is
accounted for by the monarch's attire and the hat that
he is holding in his hand. The posture and the
physiognomy of the King suggest that the work was
executed earlier. The other paintings are much later,
and demonstrate secondary features. Therefore, it
seems justifiable to accept that in this case we have
to do with one of the earliest portraits which served
as the prototype for both canvases in the Esterhazy
collection.
The portrait's format and the material used
confirm the formulated thesis that the work may have
been taken by John III on a long-lasting and remote
expedition, and by principle formed part of the royal
gifts. A private character of the figure's presentation
does not contradict the thesis, but consolidates its,
since the grandeur of the Polish monarch is to be
emphasized by his accomplishments and successes,
and not his propaganda poise. Therefore, the King is
not wearing an armour, but everyday home attire, and
is holding a hat in his hand. The contrast between the
expression and the presentation was intended, and
was meant to achieve this kind of effect. It indirectly
demonstrated the belief in winning the victory before
it was actually won.
Translated by Magdalena Iwińska