Lorentz, Stanisław; Rottermund, Andrzej: Neoclassicism in Poland (Warsaw, 1986)

chamber designed by Louis is a good example of the
transition from baroąue to neoclassicism.
Bibliography: Lorentz, Work of Louis, pp. 39-74; Catalogue of
Drawings, part 1, Varsaviana, item 293, p. 88
Victor Louis
5 [II] Warsaw, Royal Castle, draft design of the King’s
Dressing Room, 176
The wali with the window; India ink and water colour,
59x70; with the inscription: “Developement de la moitie
du Boudoir( No 15, Paris 1766”; Cabinet of Drawings,
Warsaw Univ. Lib., Royal Collection, T. 192 no 56
The Dressing Room was designed for the place where the
Conference Closet would later be. The artistic expression
of this room was constituted by the interior decoration
where neoclassical motifs (eagles, garlands, rosettes,
palmettes in side-view) combined with paintings of rococo
mood and very intensive colour.
Bibliography: Lorentz, Work of Louis, pp. 39-74; Catalogue of
Drawings, part 1, Varsaviana, item 295, p. 88
Jakub Fontana
6 [p. 8] Warsaw, Royal Castle, draft design for reconstruc-
tion (the so-called 5th design by Fontana), 1772
Perspective view, drawn by J. Ch. Kamsetzer, 1773; India
ink, 51.5x72.5; with the inscription: “Elevation du Cha-
teau Royal de Varsovie suivant le dernier dessein du defunt
Mr. de Fontana execute par J. C. Kamsetzer. Varsovie le
25 Juillet 1773”; Cabinet of Drawings, Warsaw Univ.
Lib., Royal Collection, T. 191 no 30
In the last of his designs Fontana achieved a solution which
was simple in arrangement, but at the same time monu-
mental in terms of architecture and layout. By straight-
ening out the bend between the southwestern and north-
eastern wings he brought the courtyard to rectangular
form, and by demolishing the western wing and replacing it
by an openwork colonnade he linked the internal courtyard
to the sąuare in front of the Castle. Fontana drew the idea
of using an extended colonnade from neoclassical French
and Italian architecture. However, he modified their de-
signs by placing a helmeted tower over the main entrance.
Fontana’s designs were never used and further attempts to
find a solution were put forward by E. Szreger and
D. Merlini.
Bibliography: Catalogue of Drawings, part 1, Varsaviana, item 244, pp.
79-80; Bartczakowa, /. Fontana, p. 242
Szymon Bogumił Zug (1733-1807)
7 [p. 10] Warsaw, Solec Garden, draft design of an
artificial ruin and wooden mili, c. 1772
View of the buildings from the side of the garden with
a pond in the foreground; India ink and water colour,
22.1x66.2; with the inscription: “voilla le Dessain de
Cug”, signed “SGZ”; Cabinet of Drawings, Warsaw Univ.
Lib., Inw. G.R. 146, Jeżewski Collection, 415

In 1772 Zug began work on the embellishment of the
residćnce of Duke Kazimierz Poniatowski, the Crown
Chamberlain. He expanded the pałace, designing in the
vicinity, among other things, a colonnade in the form of an
artificial ruin and a wooden mili, and composed a landscape
garden. The Solec design was the first spatial solution in
Poland in which a fundamental role was played by asymme-
trical buildings, madę up to look apparently worn by the
passage of time. The garden was also composed quite
freely, with an irregular arrangement of paths, streams and
clusters of trees and shrubs. This type of garden design was
repeatedly used later by Zug and the contemporary Polish
architects.
Bibliography: Catalogue of Drawings, part 1, Varsaviana, item 1105;
p. 210, Kwiatkowski, S.B. Zug, pp. 45-49, 325-326, 345-347
Domenico Merlini (1730-1797)
8 [p. 13] Warsaw, Royal Castle, draft design for recon-
struction and expansion (the so-called first design by
Merlini), 1773
Perspective view; India ink and pencil, 60.2x 101.5; with
the inscription: “Idees de Merlini pour le Chateau depuis la
mort de Fontana”; Cabinet of Drawings, Warsaw Univ.
Lib., Royal Collection, T. 191 no 44
After Jakub Fontana’s death, Merlini began to design the
Castle. In 1773-1788 he executed six generał designs for its
reconstruction and expansion. In his first design he
retained the previous five-sided shape, adding colonnades
in the outer parts of the west elevation He intended to have
the Church of Bernardine Nuns demolished and replaced
by a long wing, parallel to the south elevation, which would
have housed a theatre hall. The new wing was to be linked
with the Castle by a colonnade, with the entrance to the
Senate Hall at its centre. This would have given a spacious
courtyard, divided by an openwork balustradę from the
sąuare. The strict axiality of the composition, with Great
order wali divisions and the profusion of sculpted elements
would have created the impression of a stately and monu-
mental design. However, the tali baroąue (Sigismund)
tower was in distinct dissonance with the spatial composi-
tion based on ancient patterns. For the next dozen or so
years Merlini looked for a better solution. Unfortunately,
nonę of his designs have ever been built.
Bibliography: Catalogue of Drawings, part 1, Varsaviana, item 405,
pp. 103-104
Efraim Szreger (1727-1783)
9 [p. 11] Warsaw, Royal Castle, draft design for a recon-
struction and novel shaping of the Castle sąuare, 1777
Perspective view; India ink and water colour, 45.5x58;
with the inscriptions: “de Schroger Architecte”, “Projet de
Schroger pour la place des Bernadins et 1’entree du Chateau
en 1767 et 1777”; Cabinet of Drawings, Warsaw Univ.
Lib., Royal Collection, T. 189 no 74
Szreger’s design introduced sweeping changes into the

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