Modus: Prace z historii sztuki (19.2019)

listening, there is a fiat, grass-covered patch of land. A path cuts across it, leading
to a ruined gate,behind which a view stretches towards a cliff and the sea. White
clouds cover the blue sky.
Set in the panelling on the south side of the church, there are two paint-
ings. The painting placed closer to the main altar shows the scene of the death
of Ananias (see: Figurę 7). In the centre of the composition, among the group
of men shown at the top of the Iow stairs leading to the building rising behind
them, stands Saint Peter, reaching down with his left hand, while he supports his
coat with his other hand, bent at the elbow. His head is slightly inclined towards
the figurę lying at the bottom of the stairs. He is wearing a long blue tunic with
long sleeves, and a coat flowing from his right shoulder to his left hip. Behind him
on the left is a man wearing a long tunic and a red coat, which he fixes with his left
hand on his right shoulder. Somewhat further afield, behind the described figurę,
stands a man, who is turning his head slightly towards the centre of the scene.
He is dressed in a long red tunic, with a dark coat over it. Repeating the gesture
of the man on his left, he supports his coat, holding it with his left hand on his
right shoulder. To the right of the apostle, there are four men. The man standing
directly behind the saint is wearing a red cloak, and turning his head towards
the man lying at the bottom of the stairs. Between him and the head of Saint
Peter, a fragment of another mans face is visible. The next person standing on this
side of the saint is a man turned to the right, whose face is portrayed in profile.
The face of the figurę standing next to him was badly damaged in the painting,
but the silhouette of a person wearing a long brown robę has been preserved. At
a short distance from the group described above, on the left, next to the balustradę
surrounding the stairs, two morę men are standing. The one standing in front
has his left arm bent in a gesture of benediction, while his right arm is lowered
behind the balustradę. He is wearing a long red coat that reaches to the ground.
The second man, wearing a white robę, is visible behind the first. Both their heads
are bowed towards the group of three figures standing next to the balustradę.
The man - portrayed in his right profile - who is standing in front of the group
below, is wearing a long, blue-tiered long-sleeved robę. He raises his arms, fac-
ing the two men standing just above the balustradę. Behind him there are two
women, one of which was shown in the right profile, and the other en face. Next
to the group just described, closer to the image axis, facing three-quarters towards
the group standing at the top of the stairs, there is a man, kneeling, his face visible
in the right profile, dressed in a dark robę tied at the waist, and a long, flowing
red coat over it. The group located in the centre of the lower part of the painting
is formed by four figures focused on the death of Ananias, who lies diagonally
near the axis of the image, on the right. His legs bent at the knees are arranged
so that his feet touch together, at a short distance from the stairs. The man props
himself on his bent left arm, and his right arm is thrown over his hips, and rests
on the ground. His tilted head is turned towards the group of people standing on
the stairs. He is wearing a knee-length blue tunic with rolled-up sleeves, and has
a silver medallion hanging around his neck. On the left, right next to Ananias,
kneeling on his left knee, a man turns toward the stairs so that his head is visible
in profile. His left arm recedes backwards, while his right arm extends towards
Ananias. He is wearing a knee-high orange tunic, tied around the waist, with
sleeves up to the elbows, and brown shoes. To his left a woman is sitting, turning


Figurę 7. Death of Ananias,
painting in the panelling
on the south side of the
chancel. Photo by Katarzy-
na Chrzanowska
-> see p. 42

Panelling in the chancel of the church of Saint John the Baptist in Skalbmierz

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