DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.29195#0050
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Fig. 44. Marcello Bacciarelli, Portrait of Stanistaw
August Poniatowski and the bust of Pius VI, oils
on canvas. A copy of this painting used to hang
in the vestibule of the Palace (see Fig. 43). The
Ciechanowiecki Foundation at the Royal Castle
of Warsaw
motifs extremely fashionable at the time, such as the renowned Centaurs and Centau-
rides excavated in the Villa of Cicero at Pompeii and disseminated throughout the
world thanks to books, and black-and-white and coloured prints (see Fig. 39). Some
coloured illustrations of them were in the possession of King Stanislaw August (and are
now in the Print Room of Warsaw University Library); the famous multi-volume book
on the excavations in the towns around Vesuvius was in the holdings of the Warsaw
library of the Princess’ brother, Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski, who resided in the Blue
Palace (paiac Btykitny). Stanislaw Kostka Potocki himself, who visited Pompeii several
times, might have influenced the selection of Pompeian motifs. In the mid-1780s he went
on another expedition to Naples, this time with his mother-in-law, who later had an ex-
quisite Pompeian room arranged in her residence at Laricut Castle. A Pompeian decora-
tion similar to the Varsovian one was made at Rybienko near Wyszkow (Miziolek 2010).
We started our account of the Czartoryski-Potocki Palace with a quotation from
Leon Potocki’s book, in which he mentions Pompeii and even the Villa of Cicero
itself. We shall now supplement it with another worthwhile reference, this time to
the memoirs of Leon Dembowski, a contemporary of Stanislaw Kostka Potocki, who
made the following remark on the fashion for Pompeian motifs and the Empire style
elaborated after Napoleon’s coronation in 1804: The French language and French danc-
inghad become ubiquitous, Dembowski observed. A vogue set infor lunches atfive o’clock
and dejeuners a la fourchette, previously unknown in Poland. Even the French cuisine was
eclipsing Polish traditional fare, ousting the familiar bigos, barszcz, and kapusniak. In
furnishings Grecian and Roman paraphernalia became even more widespread than ever.
Tables, chairs, desks, and chaise-longuesjust could not do without eagles, lion'spaws, and
the like; and tripod legs became indispensable for tables. Herculaneum and Pompeii sup-
plied thepatterns and models for everything (Dembowski 1898, Vol. 1, p. 357).
The Princess Marshal’s palace was embellished not only with grotesques and stuc-
cowork, but also with numerous paintings, some of considerable artistic quality. In
1790 two foreigners, Fortia de Piles and Boisgelin de Kerdu, wrote about them, with
particular attention to the works of old, and some contemporary masters. They ob-
served that the apartments were admirable, richly furnished with the most refined taste.
The little rooms were delightful with a substantial number ofpictures. There were two
paintings by Vernet from his good period, and another one, butfar inferior. There were
two comely landscapes by Lantara; two fine waterfalls by Fidanza; a portrait ofthe Prin-
cess Lubomirska's son as a little Amor, a charmingpicture by Madame Lebrun which had
been exhibited in the Salon in 1789. Then there was a small Correggio andAnnibale Car-
racci’s small Pietk in Poussin’s taste. Two fine Watteaus. A smallportrait ofDon John of
Austria by Holbein - a good work. Five portraits ofMadame de Sevigne and herfamily.
A portrait of Queen Joanna attributed to Titian; the attribution was questionable, but
the picture was very good, with an excellently done robe of red velvet. A marble vase and
othersundry items. A copy of Mithridates’ bronze vase. Several marble busts and statues.
Some bronze busts. A few antiquities, as well as a handful of expensive items, delight-
ful to behold. Ihe small rooms were decorated with pictures by Boucher, whose style had
lately declined very considerably. And there were also some beautiful Japanese porcelain
vases (Polska stanislawowska w oczach cudzoziemcdw, Vol. 2, p. 692). We may add that
many of these paintings, some with different attributions, have come down to our
times; some were sent to Laricut, others to Lwow, and especially to Wilanow, where
they can still be admired (Fig. 45). The works of art which were inscribed into the
Palace’s aura - to use Walter Benjamin’s famous concept (expressed in The Work ofArt
Fig. 44. Marcello Bacciarelli, Portrait of Stanistaw
August Poniatowski and the bust of Pius VI, oils
on canvas. A copy of this painting used to hang
in the vestibule of the Palace (see Fig. 43). The
Ciechanowiecki Foundation at the Royal Castle
of Warsaw
motifs extremely fashionable at the time, such as the renowned Centaurs and Centau-
rides excavated in the Villa of Cicero at Pompeii and disseminated throughout the
world thanks to books, and black-and-white and coloured prints (see Fig. 39). Some
coloured illustrations of them were in the possession of King Stanislaw August (and are
now in the Print Room of Warsaw University Library); the famous multi-volume book
on the excavations in the towns around Vesuvius was in the holdings of the Warsaw
library of the Princess’ brother, Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski, who resided in the Blue
Palace (paiac Btykitny). Stanislaw Kostka Potocki himself, who visited Pompeii several
times, might have influenced the selection of Pompeian motifs. In the mid-1780s he went
on another expedition to Naples, this time with his mother-in-law, who later had an ex-
quisite Pompeian room arranged in her residence at Laricut Castle. A Pompeian decora-
tion similar to the Varsovian one was made at Rybienko near Wyszkow (Miziolek 2010).
We started our account of the Czartoryski-Potocki Palace with a quotation from
Leon Potocki’s book, in which he mentions Pompeii and even the Villa of Cicero
itself. We shall now supplement it with another worthwhile reference, this time to
the memoirs of Leon Dembowski, a contemporary of Stanislaw Kostka Potocki, who
made the following remark on the fashion for Pompeian motifs and the Empire style
elaborated after Napoleon’s coronation in 1804: The French language and French danc-
inghad become ubiquitous, Dembowski observed. A vogue set infor lunches atfive o’clock
and dejeuners a la fourchette, previously unknown in Poland. Even the French cuisine was
eclipsing Polish traditional fare, ousting the familiar bigos, barszcz, and kapusniak. In
furnishings Grecian and Roman paraphernalia became even more widespread than ever.
Tables, chairs, desks, and chaise-longuesjust could not do without eagles, lion'spaws, and
the like; and tripod legs became indispensable for tables. Herculaneum and Pompeii sup-
plied thepatterns and models for everything (Dembowski 1898, Vol. 1, p. 357).
The Princess Marshal’s palace was embellished not only with grotesques and stuc-
cowork, but also with numerous paintings, some of considerable artistic quality. In
1790 two foreigners, Fortia de Piles and Boisgelin de Kerdu, wrote about them, with
particular attention to the works of old, and some contemporary masters. They ob-
served that the apartments were admirable, richly furnished with the most refined taste.
The little rooms were delightful with a substantial number ofpictures. There were two
paintings by Vernet from his good period, and another one, butfar inferior. There were
two comely landscapes by Lantara; two fine waterfalls by Fidanza; a portrait ofthe Prin-
cess Lubomirska's son as a little Amor, a charmingpicture by Madame Lebrun which had
been exhibited in the Salon in 1789. Then there was a small Correggio andAnnibale Car-
racci’s small Pietk in Poussin’s taste. Two fine Watteaus. A smallportrait ofDon John of
Austria by Holbein - a good work. Five portraits ofMadame de Sevigne and herfamily.
A portrait of Queen Joanna attributed to Titian; the attribution was questionable, but
the picture was very good, with an excellently done robe of red velvet. A marble vase and
othersundry items. A copy of Mithridates’ bronze vase. Several marble busts and statues.
Some bronze busts. A few antiquities, as well as a handful of expensive items, delight-
ful to behold. Ihe small rooms were decorated with pictures by Boucher, whose style had
lately declined very considerably. And there were also some beautiful Japanese porcelain
vases (Polska stanislawowska w oczach cudzoziemcdw, Vol. 2, p. 692). We may add that
many of these paintings, some with different attributions, have come down to our
times; some were sent to Laricut, others to Lwow, and especially to Wilanow, where
they can still be admired (Fig. 45). The works of art which were inscribed into the
Palace’s aura - to use Walter Benjamin’s famous concept (expressed in The Work ofArt