DOI Artikel:
Woziński, Andrzej: Niderlandy - Lubeka - Gdańsk: o artystycznym pochodzeniu późnogotyckich rzeźb Marii z Dzieciątkiem z Garczyna i Sianowa
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43438#0063
The Netherlands - Liibeck - Gdańsk. On the Artistic Provenance ofLate Gothic
Sculptures ofthe Virgin and Childfrom Garczyn and Sianów
Niderlandy -
Lubeka -
Gdańsk...
Two parish churches in smali Kashubian villages: Sianów near Kartuzy and Garczyn
near Kościerzyna, feature two preserved late Gothic wooden sculptures of the Virgin and
Child. Quality-wise, they are by no means provincial works; on the contrary, both figures
can be ranked among the best sculpture pieces from the vicinity of Gdańsk created in the lat-
ter half of the 15* century. The sculptures display similar formal and stylistic features, and
are closely akin to each other in view of the iconography; they seem to have had the same
artistic source and come from the same place. There is rather scarce literaturę available on
either. The present study contributes to it with some new observations. Far-reaching for-
mal and stylistic analogies suggest that the two figures were created around the same time,
among the same artistic circle, highly likely in one workshop; additionally, they may have
been executed by the same artist. It is, however, very unlikely for works of such high ąuality
to come from rural parish churches. The close vicinity of Gdańsk, as well as the genesis of
the figures’ style could suggest that they might have come from one of Gdańsks churches.
Both sculptures have a very close equivalent in the double presentation of the Virgin with
Child in the Church of St Christopher in Werne (Kreis Unna) in North Rhine-Westphalia.
It seems that the figures in Garczyn and Sianów, as well as the Werne work, are variants of
the formal model outstandingly implemented in the stone statues of the Virgin and Child
in the Liibeck Cathedral and the Hamburg Church of St Peter, executed mostly likely by an
artist active in Liibeck. Following historical records, the figures can be dated at 1460-70.
The Garczyn and Sianów statues additionally reveal kinship with other Liibeck works as
for their form, execution techniąue, and materiał. The similarities allow for the hypoth-
esis that the two works in ąuestion originate from Liibeck from around 1470-80, though
they were not necessarily executed there. Interestingly, the works also display elear Neth-
erlandish features, stemming from the oeuvre of Master of Flemalle/Robert Campin. It is
not at all surprising that art pieces from Liibeck are to be found in Gdańsk, sińce the first
was the latters major trading partner. The bulk of Gdańsks patriciate originated from the
western regions of the Baltic coast, including Schleswig-Holstein, and Liibeck itself. There
exist a number of testimonies to the manifold mutual artistic bonds between Gdańsk and
Liibeck. Artists educated in the latter were active in Gdańsk. In Gdańsk and around it there
may have been other sculptures from Liibeck copying the scheme whose variants are to be
found in the pieces from Garczyn and Sianów, this confirmed by a smali figurę of Virgin
and Child in St Catherines Church in Stężyca near Kartuzy, paraphrasing the stone Virgin
from Hamburg to a higher degree than the figures from Garczyn and Sianów. There are
strong premises to claim that the presence of the sculptures in ąuestion in Prussia was con-
nected with Gdańsk. Gdańsk may have mediated their import from Liibeck, or they may
have been executed in Gdańsk by an artist (or workshop) educated in Liibeck. On the other
hand, it is also likely that Gdańsk was to be their finał destination, sińce the cosmopolitan
emdronment here had customers interested in art of Western provenance. At the same
time, however, it cannot be ruled out that the discussed sculptures were from the beginning
meant to find their destination outside Gdańsk. In this case, however, only in convents. The
example of the Premonstratensians from Żukowo reveals that monastic circles also had
founders and customers seeking high-quality art works, available from further afield
than merely the closest vicinity.
57
Sculptures ofthe Virgin and Childfrom Garczyn and Sianów
Niderlandy -
Lubeka -
Gdańsk...
Two parish churches in smali Kashubian villages: Sianów near Kartuzy and Garczyn
near Kościerzyna, feature two preserved late Gothic wooden sculptures of the Virgin and
Child. Quality-wise, they are by no means provincial works; on the contrary, both figures
can be ranked among the best sculpture pieces from the vicinity of Gdańsk created in the lat-
ter half of the 15* century. The sculptures display similar formal and stylistic features, and
are closely akin to each other in view of the iconography; they seem to have had the same
artistic source and come from the same place. There is rather scarce literaturę available on
either. The present study contributes to it with some new observations. Far-reaching for-
mal and stylistic analogies suggest that the two figures were created around the same time,
among the same artistic circle, highly likely in one workshop; additionally, they may have
been executed by the same artist. It is, however, very unlikely for works of such high ąuality
to come from rural parish churches. The close vicinity of Gdańsk, as well as the genesis of
the figures’ style could suggest that they might have come from one of Gdańsks churches.
Both sculptures have a very close equivalent in the double presentation of the Virgin with
Child in the Church of St Christopher in Werne (Kreis Unna) in North Rhine-Westphalia.
It seems that the figures in Garczyn and Sianów, as well as the Werne work, are variants of
the formal model outstandingly implemented in the stone statues of the Virgin and Child
in the Liibeck Cathedral and the Hamburg Church of St Peter, executed mostly likely by an
artist active in Liibeck. Following historical records, the figures can be dated at 1460-70.
The Garczyn and Sianów statues additionally reveal kinship with other Liibeck works as
for their form, execution techniąue, and materiał. The similarities allow for the hypoth-
esis that the two works in ąuestion originate from Liibeck from around 1470-80, though
they were not necessarily executed there. Interestingly, the works also display elear Neth-
erlandish features, stemming from the oeuvre of Master of Flemalle/Robert Campin. It is
not at all surprising that art pieces from Liibeck are to be found in Gdańsk, sińce the first
was the latters major trading partner. The bulk of Gdańsks patriciate originated from the
western regions of the Baltic coast, including Schleswig-Holstein, and Liibeck itself. There
exist a number of testimonies to the manifold mutual artistic bonds between Gdańsk and
Liibeck. Artists educated in the latter were active in Gdańsk. In Gdańsk and around it there
may have been other sculptures from Liibeck copying the scheme whose variants are to be
found in the pieces from Garczyn and Sianów, this confirmed by a smali figurę of Virgin
and Child in St Catherines Church in Stężyca near Kartuzy, paraphrasing the stone Virgin
from Hamburg to a higher degree than the figures from Garczyn and Sianów. There are
strong premises to claim that the presence of the sculptures in ąuestion in Prussia was con-
nected with Gdańsk. Gdańsk may have mediated their import from Liibeck, or they may
have been executed in Gdańsk by an artist (or workshop) educated in Liibeck. On the other
hand, it is also likely that Gdańsk was to be their finał destination, sińce the cosmopolitan
emdronment here had customers interested in art of Western provenance. At the same
time, however, it cannot be ruled out that the discussed sculptures were from the beginning
meant to find their destination outside Gdańsk. In this case, however, only in convents. The
example of the Premonstratensians from Żukowo reveals that monastic circles also had
founders and customers seeking high-quality art works, available from further afield
than merely the closest vicinity.
57