DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.38678#0263
Domenico Merlini
103 [81, 82] Warsaw, Łazienki, Theatre in the Orangery,
auditorium, 1784-1788
The Orangery was situated in the west part of the park, on
a semicircular plan. Two wings were added to the Orangery
itself: one housed the theatre, the other was to serve as
apartraents. The auditorium of the theatre consisted of the
ground floor amphitheatre and nine boxes on the first floor.
The walls of the auditorium were divided by pilasters, and
over the cornice, on the axis of the first-floor boxes, nine
illusionistic boxes were painted. These paintings, also the
large ceiling painting representing Apollo in a ąuadriga,
and the other elements of painted decoration were carried
out by J.B. Plersch. Ali the architectural elements were
covered with polychromy imitative of marble.The rich
gamut of the colours in the interior was dominated by gold,
cream, blue and beige. The painted decoration was com-
plemented with plaster-of-Paris statues of eight female
figures holding gilded candelabra. The latter were carried
out by A. Le Brun, with collaboration of J. MonaldiandP.
Staggi. The decoration was finished in early September,
1788, and on October 19, 1788 the theatre was opened to
the public. The Theatre in the Orangery is one of the few
examples of a preserved 18th-century court theatre in the
world.
Bibliography: B. Król-Kaczorowska, Łazienkowski Teatr w Poma-
rańczami (The Łazienki Theatre in the Orangery - in Polish), Warsaw
1961; M. Kwiatkowski, Łazienki (in Polish), Warsaw 1972, pp. 172-180
Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer
104 [84, 85] Warsaw, Łazienki, Amphitheatre, au-
ditorium, 1790-1791
The Amphitheatre was ceremoniously inaugurated on
September 7, 1791, with the historical ballet Cleopatra.
The auditorium of the theatre was patterned after that at
Herculaneum. The statues on the ballustrade round the
auditorium were madę in 1793 by T. Righi to A. Le Brun’s
design. There were 18 of them, with eight representing
ancient playwrights, eight statues of modern ones and two
which personified Comedy and Tragedy (now there are
eight statues).
It is interesting to notę the functional design of this
auditorium and the semicircular surrounding structure
which is austere in elaboration and fully expressive.
105 [83] Amphitheatre, view of the stage
The stage of the amphitheatre was inspired by the ruins of
Jove’s Tempie at Baalbek in Lebanon. As a result of the
original separation of the stage from the auditorium by
water and the inclusion of the surrounding natural water
landscape into the stage decor, Kamsetzer’s work was of
high artistic rank. The Amphitheatre at Łazienki is one of
the few buildings of this type in the world.
Bibliography: W. Tatarkiewicz, Łazienki Warszawskie (Łazienki in
Warsaw - in Polish), Warsaw 1968; M. Kwiatkowski, Łazienki (in
Polish), Warsaw 1972
Stanisław Zawadzki
106 [90] Warsaw, Dzika Street, Barracks of the Artillery of
the Crown, 1784-1788, view from the north
Z. Vogel, View of the Barracks of the Artillery of the
Crown, water colour, 28.8x49.8, with the inscription:
“Widok Il-gi Koszar Artylerii Koron” (Second Viewof the
Barracks of the Artillery of the Crown); National Museum
in Warsaw, inv. no 181787
Between 1781 and 1795 S. Zawadzki was active in de-
signing military buildings, constructing or reconstructing
a number of barracks, including a reconstruction of the old
Ujazdów Pałace into the Barracks of the Foot Lithuanian
Guards, rebuilding the Saxon barracks of the Mounted
Guards of the Crown and the erection of a new edifice for
the Artillery of the Crown in Dzika Street. This was
a monumental building, on a ąuadrilateral plan, with an
internal courtyard. The dominating effects of this simple
architecture were corner projections and a strongly pro-
jected pillared portico in the east elevation. Analysis of the
layout of the building, confirmed by the original reports of
commissions which supervised the architect’s work, indi-
cates the functional values of the edifice. In view of the
scalę of the design and the rich utilitarian programme,
Zawadzki’s barracks were among the major achievements
of Polish architecture in the second half of the 18th
century.
Bibliography: Malinowska, S. Zawadzki, pp. 10-14, 25-29
Domenico Merlini(?)
107 [91] Dęblin (Lublin District), pałace and garden
pavilion, of the 18th century
Z. Vogel, View of the Pałace at Dęblin, water colour,
40.3x52.1; signed “S. Vogel dit Ptaszek en 1796”,
“Z. Vogel” on the back and “Vue du palais de Demblin” in
the margin; National Museum in Warsaw, inv. no 46939
The pałace and the garden pavilion were built for Michał
Jerzy Mniszech in a landscape park laid out in 1779 to Jan
Chrystian Schuch’s design. Merlini has been recognized as
the author of the pałace and the pavilion. Regarding the
pałace, this attribution may raise objections, sińce its
architecture is greatly different from that of his known
works. It is above all interesting to notę the austere
composition and expressive detail, which were not typical
of Merlini. There is, however, no doubt that Merlini
designed the garden pavilion called the Tempie of
Memories. The architectural elaboration and the use of
a bucranium frieze as the decorative element were analo-
gous to those in Merlini’s other designs: the kitchen at
the pałace at Królikarnia and the water-tower in the Ła-
zienki Park.
262
103 [81, 82] Warsaw, Łazienki, Theatre in the Orangery,
auditorium, 1784-1788
The Orangery was situated in the west part of the park, on
a semicircular plan. Two wings were added to the Orangery
itself: one housed the theatre, the other was to serve as
apartraents. The auditorium of the theatre consisted of the
ground floor amphitheatre and nine boxes on the first floor.
The walls of the auditorium were divided by pilasters, and
over the cornice, on the axis of the first-floor boxes, nine
illusionistic boxes were painted. These paintings, also the
large ceiling painting representing Apollo in a ąuadriga,
and the other elements of painted decoration were carried
out by J.B. Plersch. Ali the architectural elements were
covered with polychromy imitative of marble.The rich
gamut of the colours in the interior was dominated by gold,
cream, blue and beige. The painted decoration was com-
plemented with plaster-of-Paris statues of eight female
figures holding gilded candelabra. The latter were carried
out by A. Le Brun, with collaboration of J. MonaldiandP.
Staggi. The decoration was finished in early September,
1788, and on October 19, 1788 the theatre was opened to
the public. The Theatre in the Orangery is one of the few
examples of a preserved 18th-century court theatre in the
world.
Bibliography: B. Król-Kaczorowska, Łazienkowski Teatr w Poma-
rańczami (The Łazienki Theatre in the Orangery - in Polish), Warsaw
1961; M. Kwiatkowski, Łazienki (in Polish), Warsaw 1972, pp. 172-180
Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer
104 [84, 85] Warsaw, Łazienki, Amphitheatre, au-
ditorium, 1790-1791
The Amphitheatre was ceremoniously inaugurated on
September 7, 1791, with the historical ballet Cleopatra.
The auditorium of the theatre was patterned after that at
Herculaneum. The statues on the ballustrade round the
auditorium were madę in 1793 by T. Righi to A. Le Brun’s
design. There were 18 of them, with eight representing
ancient playwrights, eight statues of modern ones and two
which personified Comedy and Tragedy (now there are
eight statues).
It is interesting to notę the functional design of this
auditorium and the semicircular surrounding structure
which is austere in elaboration and fully expressive.
105 [83] Amphitheatre, view of the stage
The stage of the amphitheatre was inspired by the ruins of
Jove’s Tempie at Baalbek in Lebanon. As a result of the
original separation of the stage from the auditorium by
water and the inclusion of the surrounding natural water
landscape into the stage decor, Kamsetzer’s work was of
high artistic rank. The Amphitheatre at Łazienki is one of
the few buildings of this type in the world.
Bibliography: W. Tatarkiewicz, Łazienki Warszawskie (Łazienki in
Warsaw - in Polish), Warsaw 1968; M. Kwiatkowski, Łazienki (in
Polish), Warsaw 1972
Stanisław Zawadzki
106 [90] Warsaw, Dzika Street, Barracks of the Artillery of
the Crown, 1784-1788, view from the north
Z. Vogel, View of the Barracks of the Artillery of the
Crown, water colour, 28.8x49.8, with the inscription:
“Widok Il-gi Koszar Artylerii Koron” (Second Viewof the
Barracks of the Artillery of the Crown); National Museum
in Warsaw, inv. no 181787
Between 1781 and 1795 S. Zawadzki was active in de-
signing military buildings, constructing or reconstructing
a number of barracks, including a reconstruction of the old
Ujazdów Pałace into the Barracks of the Foot Lithuanian
Guards, rebuilding the Saxon barracks of the Mounted
Guards of the Crown and the erection of a new edifice for
the Artillery of the Crown in Dzika Street. This was
a monumental building, on a ąuadrilateral plan, with an
internal courtyard. The dominating effects of this simple
architecture were corner projections and a strongly pro-
jected pillared portico in the east elevation. Analysis of the
layout of the building, confirmed by the original reports of
commissions which supervised the architect’s work, indi-
cates the functional values of the edifice. In view of the
scalę of the design and the rich utilitarian programme,
Zawadzki’s barracks were among the major achievements
of Polish architecture in the second half of the 18th
century.
Bibliography: Malinowska, S. Zawadzki, pp. 10-14, 25-29
Domenico Merlini(?)
107 [91] Dęblin (Lublin District), pałace and garden
pavilion, of the 18th century
Z. Vogel, View of the Pałace at Dęblin, water colour,
40.3x52.1; signed “S. Vogel dit Ptaszek en 1796”,
“Z. Vogel” on the back and “Vue du palais de Demblin” in
the margin; National Museum in Warsaw, inv. no 46939
The pałace and the garden pavilion were built for Michał
Jerzy Mniszech in a landscape park laid out in 1779 to Jan
Chrystian Schuch’s design. Merlini has been recognized as
the author of the pałace and the pavilion. Regarding the
pałace, this attribution may raise objections, sińce its
architecture is greatly different from that of his known
works. It is above all interesting to notę the austere
composition and expressive detail, which were not typical
of Merlini. There is, however, no doubt that Merlini
designed the garden pavilion called the Tempie of
Memories. The architectural elaboration and the use of
a bucranium frieze as the decorative element were analo-
gous to those in Merlini’s other designs: the kitchen at
the pałace at Królikarnia and the water-tower in the Ła-
zienki Park.
262