DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.38678#0026
there would be a view of an eąuestrian monument to Stanislas Augustus. The sąuare was to be
contained between two monumental columnar faęades, the design of which was inspired by
the famous 17th-century columnar faęade of the Louvre by Perrault and the well-known
coiumnar faęades built in the middle of the 18th century by Gabriel in the Place de la
Concorde in Paris, characteristic of that version of early French neoclassicism which is called
the Gabriel style.
The bold and interesting designs of Fontana, Louis, Szreger and Merlini were not
implemented. But their designs, kept in the Cabinet of Drawings at Warsaw University
Library, remain evidence of creative thought in Enlightenment architecture in Poland.
In 1774-1777, Merlini designed and built a complex of reception halls and royal apartments,
which constituted the second stage of the reconstruction of the castle interiors under King
Stanislas Augustus. They were the Canaletto Hall, the Chapel and the Reception Chamber,
the Bedchamber, the Dressing Room and the King’s Study. The architectural decoration of
the Canaletto Hall was modest, sińce it was supposed to serve only as the background for
paintings. Here, closely spaced, were vedute of Warsaw and environs, and “The Election of
Stanislas Augustus”. By the Canaletto Hall, in the Grodzka Tower, there was the King’s
Chapel, consisting of a smali, rectangular nave and a rotunda-shaped chancel with light
Corinthian columns of greenish stucco with gilt capitals, and a smali dome with coffers. The
walls and window recesses were madę of red stucco. The chapel was one of the best interiors in
the early period of the Stanislas style.
Over almost 10 years the Reception Chamber served as the Throne Room. In the middle of
the ceiling, over a round painting, Bacciarelli represented “The Flourishing of Arts,
Sciences, Agriculture and Commerce under the Reign of Peace”. On the frontons, also
painted by Bacciarelli, there were the allegorical figures of Valour, Wisdom, Religion and
Justice. The new Royal Bedchamber, with an alcove recess, had walls panelled with yew
timber and decorated with gilt laurel wreaths. Bacciarelli’s frontons represented Biblical
scenes. This room was also an interesting work of Polish neoclassicism in the seventies.
In 1777-1781, only one hall in the reception suitę of the royal apartments was decorated: the
greatest of the castle interiors, the Ballroom, called the Assembly Hall, where social meetings,
concerts, and balls took place. This two-storey room in the central projection on the side of
the Vistula River, its shape close to an oval, was built in 1741-1746, but its interior was then
neither elaborated architecturally, nor artistically decorated. Intending to give the Hall
a particularly imposing naturę, the King invited in 1777 to a competition for its design the
most outstanding Warsaw architects: Merlini, Szreger, Zug, Plersch and Zawadzki. They all
proposed that the Hall should have columns, single or in pairs, lining the walls. In turn, there
were various compositions of the divisions in the Hall and its decoration. These designs were
not used. Only in 1779, Stanislas Augustus asked Merlini and Kamsetzer to produce a new
design, which was the basis for creating the architectural interior of the Hall over the next two
years. Pairs of columns, set along the walls, were distinct against the background of white
stuccoed walls. Arcaded recesses with mirors in the opposite wali corresponded to the large
arcaded walls in the faęade. On the axis of the room there was the large niche of the main
doorway, over which there was a medallion bust of the King, sculpted in white marble, among
winged figures symbolizing Justice and Peace, also done in white marble. At the sides,
between the columns there was a white marble statuę of Stanislas Augustus imaged as Apollo,
in the type of the Belvedere Apollo, and a white marble statuę of Minerve, with the features of
Catherine II. These sculptures were the work of Andre Le Brun and his workshop. The great
ceiling painting by Bacciarelli represented “Jove Bringing the World out of Chaos”.
In 1780-1784, Merlini rebuilt the library wing, and in 1781-1786, another two reception
rooms, the Knights’ Hall and the New Throne Room with the Conference Closet were
21
contained between two monumental columnar faęades, the design of which was inspired by
the famous 17th-century columnar faęade of the Louvre by Perrault and the well-known
coiumnar faęades built in the middle of the 18th century by Gabriel in the Place de la
Concorde in Paris, characteristic of that version of early French neoclassicism which is called
the Gabriel style.
The bold and interesting designs of Fontana, Louis, Szreger and Merlini were not
implemented. But their designs, kept in the Cabinet of Drawings at Warsaw University
Library, remain evidence of creative thought in Enlightenment architecture in Poland.
In 1774-1777, Merlini designed and built a complex of reception halls and royal apartments,
which constituted the second stage of the reconstruction of the castle interiors under King
Stanislas Augustus. They were the Canaletto Hall, the Chapel and the Reception Chamber,
the Bedchamber, the Dressing Room and the King’s Study. The architectural decoration of
the Canaletto Hall was modest, sińce it was supposed to serve only as the background for
paintings. Here, closely spaced, were vedute of Warsaw and environs, and “The Election of
Stanislas Augustus”. By the Canaletto Hall, in the Grodzka Tower, there was the King’s
Chapel, consisting of a smali, rectangular nave and a rotunda-shaped chancel with light
Corinthian columns of greenish stucco with gilt capitals, and a smali dome with coffers. The
walls and window recesses were madę of red stucco. The chapel was one of the best interiors in
the early period of the Stanislas style.
Over almost 10 years the Reception Chamber served as the Throne Room. In the middle of
the ceiling, over a round painting, Bacciarelli represented “The Flourishing of Arts,
Sciences, Agriculture and Commerce under the Reign of Peace”. On the frontons, also
painted by Bacciarelli, there were the allegorical figures of Valour, Wisdom, Religion and
Justice. The new Royal Bedchamber, with an alcove recess, had walls panelled with yew
timber and decorated with gilt laurel wreaths. Bacciarelli’s frontons represented Biblical
scenes. This room was also an interesting work of Polish neoclassicism in the seventies.
In 1777-1781, only one hall in the reception suitę of the royal apartments was decorated: the
greatest of the castle interiors, the Ballroom, called the Assembly Hall, where social meetings,
concerts, and balls took place. This two-storey room in the central projection on the side of
the Vistula River, its shape close to an oval, was built in 1741-1746, but its interior was then
neither elaborated architecturally, nor artistically decorated. Intending to give the Hall
a particularly imposing naturę, the King invited in 1777 to a competition for its design the
most outstanding Warsaw architects: Merlini, Szreger, Zug, Plersch and Zawadzki. They all
proposed that the Hall should have columns, single or in pairs, lining the walls. In turn, there
were various compositions of the divisions in the Hall and its decoration. These designs were
not used. Only in 1779, Stanislas Augustus asked Merlini and Kamsetzer to produce a new
design, which was the basis for creating the architectural interior of the Hall over the next two
years. Pairs of columns, set along the walls, were distinct against the background of white
stuccoed walls. Arcaded recesses with mirors in the opposite wali corresponded to the large
arcaded walls in the faęade. On the axis of the room there was the large niche of the main
doorway, over which there was a medallion bust of the King, sculpted in white marble, among
winged figures symbolizing Justice and Peace, also done in white marble. At the sides,
between the columns there was a white marble statuę of Stanislas Augustus imaged as Apollo,
in the type of the Belvedere Apollo, and a white marble statuę of Minerve, with the features of
Catherine II. These sculptures were the work of Andre Le Brun and his workshop. The great
ceiling painting by Bacciarelli represented “Jove Bringing the World out of Chaos”.
In 1780-1784, Merlini rebuilt the library wing, and in 1781-1786, another two reception
rooms, the Knights’ Hall and the New Throne Room with the Conference Closet were
21