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DOI Artikel:Piwocka, Magdalena: The Story of Noah and The Story of the Babel Tower from the tapestry collection of King Sigismund Augustus: replicas and transmutations
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.32431#0080
74
he gained recognition in the Italian and Flemish artistic
circles. Praising the artist, Vasari wrote that he “porto in
Fiandra la maniera italiana” (“brought the Italian style
to Flanders”) 5. The cartoons for the Wawel Biblical series,
painted soon after his return from Italy and abounding in
Italian stylistic references, should be counted among the
best creations in the painter’s oeuvre. The tapestries were
woven in the leading Brussels workshops of Pieter van Aelst
the Younger, Jan and Willem de Kempeneer, and Jan van
Tieghem. The measure of their popularity was the influence
they exerted over the European tapestry production and
patronage already in the 16 th century, when a large number
of pieces modelled on Coxcie’s designs was made. The pres-
ent study deals with the reception of a single set, The Story
ofNoah and The Story ofthe Babel Tower [ills. 1-10].
The role of the Sigismund tapestries as models for various
replicas, adaptations and transmutations have not thus far
been the subject of much research. Mieczysław Gębaro-
wicz and Tadeusz Mahkowski were the hrst to study and
discuss this issue - on the basis of the available literature
and their own preliminary research - in a fundamental
monograph of the collection published in 1937. They also
compiled a database of replicas; in case of the Story ofNoah
set this amounted to eight series 6. An important contribu-
tion to the study of this issue was Marthe Crick-Kuntziger’s
article of 1938, containing great wealth of information she
had gathered about the sets and their weavers 7. Passing
references to the repetitions of individual tapestries or
their groups were made by Marian Morelowski in 1929 8
and Tadeusz Mańkowski in 1930 9 as well as Jarmila Blaż-
kova, Eric Duverger and Paulina Junquera de Vega in 1974 10,
aller Zeiten und Vdlker, vol. 22, Miinchen 1999, pp. 89-92. Recently
a new appraisal of his art in the exhibition catalogue: Michiel
Coxcie 1499-1592 and the Giants ofhis Age: first published on the
occasion of the exhibition “Michiel Coxcie: the Flemish Raphael”,
M - Museum Leuven, 31 st October 2013 - 23 rd February 2014, ed.
K. Jonckheere, London 2013.
5 G. Vasari, Le Opere [...] con nuove annotazioni e commenti
di Gaetano Milanesi, Firenze 1906, vol. 7, p. 585.
6 M. Gębarowicz, T. Mańkowski, Arasy Zygmunta Augusta, “Rocz-
nik Krakowski”, 29,1937, pp. 40-66, ill. p. 65.
7 M. Crick-Kuntziger, Tapisseries de la Genese d’apres Michel
Coxcie, “Bulletin de la Societe royale d’Archeologie de Bruxelles”,
1, janvier-avril, 1938, pp. 5-17.
8 M. Morelowski, Nieznany karton do arrasów serii “Potopu” a Cox-
cyen i Tons, “Przegląd Historii Sztuki”, 1,1929, pp. 103-110.
9 T. Mańkowski, Nieznany karton arrasu serii “Potopu” a Coxcyen
i Tons, “Przegląd Historii Sztuki” 2,1930/1931, pp. 21-24.
10 J. Blazkova, Une tapisserie de I’Histoire de Noe au Chateau de Sychrov
en Tchecoslovaquie, “Bulletin des Musees Royaux dArt et d’His-
toire”, 45,1974, pp. 9-17; E. Duverger, Tapisseries de Jan van Tie-
ghem representant I’Histoire des Premiers Parents du Bayerisches
Nationalmuseum de Munich, “Bulletin des Musees Royaux dArt et
d’Histoire” 45,1974, pp. 19-63; P. Junquera de Vega, “Les series
de tapisseries de “Grotesques” et I’Histoire de Noe” de la Couronne
Maria Hennel-Bernasikowa in 1981,1991,1998,1999, 2000
and 2008 * 11, Nello Forti Grazzini in 1999 12, Guy Delmarcel
in 1999 13, Giuseppe Bertini in 1999 14, Iain Buchanan in 1999
and 2006 15 and Magdalena Piwocka in 2013 and 2015 16.
The Wawel editio princeps (woven probably between
c. 1550 and 1553) consists presently of eight pieces; God
Conversing with Noah (inv. no. 7) [ill. 2], The Building of
theArk (inv. no. 8) [ill. 3], The Animals Entering the Ark (inv.
no. 9) [ill. 4], The Flood (inv. no. 10) [ill. 5], Disembarking
the Ark (inv. no. 11) [ill. 6], Noah’s Offeringin Thanksgiving
(inv. no. 12) [ill. 7], God Blessing Noah and His Family (inv.
no. 13) [ill. 8], and The Drunkenness ofNoah (inv. no. 14)
[ill. 9]. If The Wickedness ofthe Human Race before the Flood,
a tapestry which seems to be the first piece in this set and is
now at the Royal Castle in Warsaw (inv. no. zkw 511) [ill. 1],
could be re-united with the remaining pieces, the series
would comprise nine textiles.
d’Espagne, “Bulletin des Musees Royaux dArt et d’Histoire”, 45,
i974> PP- 9-i7> 19-63.163-170.
11 M. Hennel-Bernasikowa, Une tapisserie inconnue de la collec-
tion de Sigismond-Auguste, roi de Pologne, “Artes Textiles”, 10,1981,
PP- 73-79; eadem, Dziewiętnasty arras biblijny z kolekcji króla Zyg-
munta Augusta, “Studia do dziejbw Wawelu”, 5,1991, pp. 439-449;
eadem [in:] Gli arazzi dei Farnese e dei Borbona. Le collezioni dei
secoli xvi-xvm, exh. cat., Colorno, 19 Sept. - 29 Nov. 1998, ed.
G. Bertini, N. Forti Grazzini, Milano 1998, pp. 118-119, no. 9; eadem,
Arras Małgorzaty Parmeńskiej w zbiorach wawelskich, [in:] Ars
Longa. Prace dedykowane pamięci Profesora Jana Białostockiego.
Materiały Sesji Stowarzyszenia Historyków Sztuki, Warszawa, listo-
pad 1998, Warszawa 1999, pp. 269-277; eadem, Gobeliny xv-xix
wieku w Zamku Królewskim na Wawelu, Kraków 2000, pp. 39-44,
no. 5; eadem, Arras króla Zygmunta Augusta “Upadek moralny
ludzkości”, [in:] Urbs celeberrima. Księga pamiqtkowa na750-lecie
lokacji Krakowa, ed. A. Grzybkowsld, Z. Żygulski jun., T. Grzyb-
kowska, Kraków 2008, pp. 358-372.
12 N. Forti Grazzini, Les oeuvres retrouvees de la collection Farnese,
[in:] La tapisserie au xvn siecle et les collections europeennes. Actes
du colloque international de Chambord, 18 et 19 octobre 1996, Paris
1999 (Cahiers du Patrimoine, 57), pp. 155,169.
13 G. Delmarcel, Le roi Philippe 11 d’Espagne et la tapisserie. L’in-
ventaire de Madrid de 1598, “Gazette des Beaux-Arts”, 141, octobre
1999, pp. 159,164,169,170.
14 G. Bertini, La collection Farnese d’apres les archives, [in:] La tapis-
serie au xvn siecle, p. 130.
15 I. Buchanan, The Tapestries acquired by KingPhilip 11 in the Nether-
lands in 1549-50 and 1550-59. New Documentation, “Gazette des
Beaux-Arts”, 141, octobre 1999, pp. 142-146; idem, The contractfor
KingPhilip n’s tapestries ofthe “History ofNoah”, “The Burlington
Magazine”, 148, 2006,1239, pp. 408, 413.
16 M. Piwocka, W kręgu mistrzów włoskiego Cinquecenta. Michiel
Coxcie i temat heroiczny, “Studia Waweliana”, 15, 2013, pp. 35-38.
ill. 1, 23-26. For the corrections and amplifications see:
M. Piwocka, Arras z domniemanym Porwaniem Sabinek - powtó-
rzenie coxcienowskiej tapiserii Upadek moralny ludzkości. addenda
i corrigenda, “Studia Waweliana”, 16, 2015, pp. 95-107.
he gained recognition in the Italian and Flemish artistic
circles. Praising the artist, Vasari wrote that he “porto in
Fiandra la maniera italiana” (“brought the Italian style
to Flanders”) 5. The cartoons for the Wawel Biblical series,
painted soon after his return from Italy and abounding in
Italian stylistic references, should be counted among the
best creations in the painter’s oeuvre. The tapestries were
woven in the leading Brussels workshops of Pieter van Aelst
the Younger, Jan and Willem de Kempeneer, and Jan van
Tieghem. The measure of their popularity was the influence
they exerted over the European tapestry production and
patronage already in the 16 th century, when a large number
of pieces modelled on Coxcie’s designs was made. The pres-
ent study deals with the reception of a single set, The Story
ofNoah and The Story ofthe Babel Tower [ills. 1-10].
The role of the Sigismund tapestries as models for various
replicas, adaptations and transmutations have not thus far
been the subject of much research. Mieczysław Gębaro-
wicz and Tadeusz Mahkowski were the hrst to study and
discuss this issue - on the basis of the available literature
and their own preliminary research - in a fundamental
monograph of the collection published in 1937. They also
compiled a database of replicas; in case of the Story ofNoah
set this amounted to eight series 6. An important contribu-
tion to the study of this issue was Marthe Crick-Kuntziger’s
article of 1938, containing great wealth of information she
had gathered about the sets and their weavers 7. Passing
references to the repetitions of individual tapestries or
their groups were made by Marian Morelowski in 1929 8
and Tadeusz Mańkowski in 1930 9 as well as Jarmila Blaż-
kova, Eric Duverger and Paulina Junquera de Vega in 1974 10,
aller Zeiten und Vdlker, vol. 22, Miinchen 1999, pp. 89-92. Recently
a new appraisal of his art in the exhibition catalogue: Michiel
Coxcie 1499-1592 and the Giants ofhis Age: first published on the
occasion of the exhibition “Michiel Coxcie: the Flemish Raphael”,
M - Museum Leuven, 31 st October 2013 - 23 rd February 2014, ed.
K. Jonckheere, London 2013.
5 G. Vasari, Le Opere [...] con nuove annotazioni e commenti
di Gaetano Milanesi, Firenze 1906, vol. 7, p. 585.
6 M. Gębarowicz, T. Mańkowski, Arasy Zygmunta Augusta, “Rocz-
nik Krakowski”, 29,1937, pp. 40-66, ill. p. 65.
7 M. Crick-Kuntziger, Tapisseries de la Genese d’apres Michel
Coxcie, “Bulletin de la Societe royale d’Archeologie de Bruxelles”,
1, janvier-avril, 1938, pp. 5-17.
8 M. Morelowski, Nieznany karton do arrasów serii “Potopu” a Cox-
cyen i Tons, “Przegląd Historii Sztuki”, 1,1929, pp. 103-110.
9 T. Mańkowski, Nieznany karton arrasu serii “Potopu” a Coxcyen
i Tons, “Przegląd Historii Sztuki” 2,1930/1931, pp. 21-24.
10 J. Blazkova, Une tapisserie de I’Histoire de Noe au Chateau de Sychrov
en Tchecoslovaquie, “Bulletin des Musees Royaux dArt et d’His-
toire”, 45,1974, pp. 9-17; E. Duverger, Tapisseries de Jan van Tie-
ghem representant I’Histoire des Premiers Parents du Bayerisches
Nationalmuseum de Munich, “Bulletin des Musees Royaux dArt et
d’Histoire” 45,1974, pp. 19-63; P. Junquera de Vega, “Les series
de tapisseries de “Grotesques” et I’Histoire de Noe” de la Couronne
Maria Hennel-Bernasikowa in 1981,1991,1998,1999, 2000
and 2008 * 11, Nello Forti Grazzini in 1999 12, Guy Delmarcel
in 1999 13, Giuseppe Bertini in 1999 14, Iain Buchanan in 1999
and 2006 15 and Magdalena Piwocka in 2013 and 2015 16.
The Wawel editio princeps (woven probably between
c. 1550 and 1553) consists presently of eight pieces; God
Conversing with Noah (inv. no. 7) [ill. 2], The Building of
theArk (inv. no. 8) [ill. 3], The Animals Entering the Ark (inv.
no. 9) [ill. 4], The Flood (inv. no. 10) [ill. 5], Disembarking
the Ark (inv. no. 11) [ill. 6], Noah’s Offeringin Thanksgiving
(inv. no. 12) [ill. 7], God Blessing Noah and His Family (inv.
no. 13) [ill. 8], and The Drunkenness ofNoah (inv. no. 14)
[ill. 9]. If The Wickedness ofthe Human Race before the Flood,
a tapestry which seems to be the first piece in this set and is
now at the Royal Castle in Warsaw (inv. no. zkw 511) [ill. 1],
could be re-united with the remaining pieces, the series
would comprise nine textiles.
d’Espagne, “Bulletin des Musees Royaux dArt et d’Histoire”, 45,
i974> PP- 9-i7> 19-63.163-170.
11 M. Hennel-Bernasikowa, Une tapisserie inconnue de la collec-
tion de Sigismond-Auguste, roi de Pologne, “Artes Textiles”, 10,1981,
PP- 73-79; eadem, Dziewiętnasty arras biblijny z kolekcji króla Zyg-
munta Augusta, “Studia do dziejbw Wawelu”, 5,1991, pp. 439-449;
eadem [in:] Gli arazzi dei Farnese e dei Borbona. Le collezioni dei
secoli xvi-xvm, exh. cat., Colorno, 19 Sept. - 29 Nov. 1998, ed.
G. Bertini, N. Forti Grazzini, Milano 1998, pp. 118-119, no. 9; eadem,
Arras Małgorzaty Parmeńskiej w zbiorach wawelskich, [in:] Ars
Longa. Prace dedykowane pamięci Profesora Jana Białostockiego.
Materiały Sesji Stowarzyszenia Historyków Sztuki, Warszawa, listo-
pad 1998, Warszawa 1999, pp. 269-277; eadem, Gobeliny xv-xix
wieku w Zamku Królewskim na Wawelu, Kraków 2000, pp. 39-44,
no. 5; eadem, Arras króla Zygmunta Augusta “Upadek moralny
ludzkości”, [in:] Urbs celeberrima. Księga pamiqtkowa na750-lecie
lokacji Krakowa, ed. A. Grzybkowsld, Z. Żygulski jun., T. Grzyb-
kowska, Kraków 2008, pp. 358-372.
12 N. Forti Grazzini, Les oeuvres retrouvees de la collection Farnese,
[in:] La tapisserie au xvn siecle et les collections europeennes. Actes
du colloque international de Chambord, 18 et 19 octobre 1996, Paris
1999 (Cahiers du Patrimoine, 57), pp. 155,169.
13 G. Delmarcel, Le roi Philippe 11 d’Espagne et la tapisserie. L’in-
ventaire de Madrid de 1598, “Gazette des Beaux-Arts”, 141, octobre
1999, pp. 159,164,169,170.
14 G. Bertini, La collection Farnese d’apres les archives, [in:] La tapis-
serie au xvn siecle, p. 130.
15 I. Buchanan, The Tapestries acquired by KingPhilip 11 in the Nether-
lands in 1549-50 and 1550-59. New Documentation, “Gazette des
Beaux-Arts”, 141, octobre 1999, pp. 142-146; idem, The contractfor
KingPhilip n’s tapestries ofthe “History ofNoah”, “The Burlington
Magazine”, 148, 2006,1239, pp. 408, 413.
16 M. Piwocka, W kręgu mistrzów włoskiego Cinquecenta. Michiel
Coxcie i temat heroiczny, “Studia Waweliana”, 15, 2013, pp. 35-38.
ill. 1, 23-26. For the corrections and amplifications see:
M. Piwocka, Arras z domniemanym Porwaniem Sabinek - powtó-
rzenie coxcienowskiej tapiserii Upadek moralny ludzkości. addenda
i corrigenda, “Studia Waweliana”, 16, 2015, pp. 95-107.