Modus: Prace z historii sztuki (18.2018)

with the addition or removal of selected sentences, paragraphs and even entire sub-
chapters, which for some reason or another Sierakowski considered either necessary
or unnecessary in a book intended for the Polish reader. Among the most important
parts of the text, the introduction (with the dedication) was completely original, as
well as a comprehensive section devoted to the calculation of construction costs and
the “supplement” to the part “On comfort”, in which Sierakowski included the basie
knowledge of rural architecture (to which Milizia, dealing with civil architecture as
proclaimed in his works title, did not pay much attention).98 Perhaps the decision
to translate was motivated by the desire to speed up the work on the book in the
making, which was extremely time-consuming. Sierakowski began to make efforts
to publish his opus only after the official annexation of Western Galicia (including
Kraków) to the Duchy, which took place at the beginning of 1810. On February 8
that year, he published a “prospectus” of his dissertation, trying to gather a group of
subscribers. He then gave them time to pay the appropriate fee by the end of June.99
On the other hand, the datę of February 10,1810 appears on a drawing for the design
of the monument to the Legions, on the basis of which the aforementioned engrav-
ing, closing the second and last volume of the treatise, was created.100 In turn, at the
beginning of June 1811, Sierakowski declared that he had all the illustrations ready,
with the exception of the drawing for the frontispiece, and the design for the monu-
ment to the Legions. At that time, “the edition could begin immediately, if it did not
seek the honour and ornament for its work, and in this newly elaborate lettering
according to Didot, this work he wished to print”.101 Apparently, it was his ambition
to use the same typeface in print (romain de lempereur), which enjoyed the official
status in the French Empire.102 He thus demonstrated his pro-government identifica-
tion as the author, and at the same time, gave the publication a particular eminence.
The politicization of the treatise on good architecture imbued this publishing
venture with a deeper social meaning and, at the same time, provided it with cur-
rent significance, by introducing a new theme into public discourse. It must have
been very important to Sierakowski, who was thinking about the futurę readers
and recipients of his work. These would include, in addition to the educational
authorities, also “ordinary” people who did not pay particular attention to whether
they were building properly, but whether they were doing it fashionably (in the
case of wealthy investors) or cheaply (in the case of the thrifty or less affluent
ones). We also know from another source that Sierakowski was counting on the
publishing success, and he hoped it would bring him a significant improvement
in the materiał situation in which he found himself after the partitions, and which
only modestly changed for the better after the “resurrection” of the Polish State by
Napoleon (“content with my slim fortunę, in which I remained, but in the hope of
98 The degree of dependence of Sierakowski s treatise on Milizias book deserves a separate dis-
cussion. The topie has only been raised in: L. Olszowski, Księgozbiór ks. Sebastiana Sierakow-
skiego sj i jego „opus vitae”: „Architektura obeymuiąca wszelki gatunek murowania i budowania”,
“Analecta Cracoviensia”, 43, 2011, pp. 329-340.
99 “Gazeta Krakowska”, 13 xn 1812, issue 100 (supplement), pp. 1218-1219. The prospectus itself
has not been found as yet.
100 Z. Michalczyk, Michał Stachowicz, vol. 2, pp. 116-117 (a 425/1-3).
101 “Gazeta Krakowska”, 11 ix 1811, issue 73, p. 891.
102 Zob. R. Jubert, Typography and graphic design: from Antiquity to the present, Paris 2006,
pp. 76-77.

Sebastian Sierakowskie treatise and the question of disseminating architectural knowledge... 113