DOI Artikel:
Secomska, Krystyna: Freski w opolskiej Kaplicy Piastowskiej i malowidła w kościele w Lubiechowej: ze studiów nad gotyckim malarstwem ściennym na Śląsku
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16407#0180
178
KRYSTYNA SECOMSKA
in writings of Epiphanius of Constantinople (about 780) translatée! into Latin in the 12th century (fn. 81, 82). Consequently, the
"First Offering" {Oblatio I) has a character of a symbolic ceremony after which parents and child return home; it's only after
several years that Mary stays in the temple. Traces of this literary version appear in a number of cycles devoted to the cuit of Mary,
i.a. in frescoes at Galatina at Apulia (ill. 16) and probably in Oppeln as well (ill. 4). Its is doubtful that a painter active in Apulia
about 1419 had tried to invent a new subject basing on apocryphal texts; he probably just imitated a local cycle of Mary's
Childhood (originating from the enclave of the Byzantium - which influenced Italian culture - and possibly impelled by Epipha-
nius). The author of the Oppeln's frescoes had also surely taken over this rare iconographie variant from an Italian or Italianate
(?) cycle of paintings.
As specified by A. Karlowska-Kamzowa (fn. 55), the artist of St. Anna's chapel represented the "Czech orientation" at art.
I suppose that founders of the paintings were prince Bolko III and his wife Anna (residing at Oppeln at that time). From documents
one сап infer that Bolko III was a fréquent guest at the court of the Emperor Charles IV (1357, 1365, 1370?). St. Anna's chapel
had been built in 1309 as a burial place for the Oppeln's Piast dynasty; hence it was from Prague that Bolko III brought a sculptor
to carve grave tombstones in its interior (fn. 49). The dates concerning the exquisite sepulchral sculptures in the Piast Chapel (ca
1378-1382) should therefore provide a point of référence for dating the frescoes. However, to settle this question analogies to the
Czech wali painting will be of more help. For this reason I believe the Oppeln's cycle ought to be dated ca 1360-1370.
The significance of Czech influences on Polish art in the second half of the 14th century cannot be overestimated. In the
Silesian wall painting, for example, Czech filiations took various forms. The genesis of groups such as church décorations at
Kalkau (Kalków) and Hohgiersdorf (Modliszów) (about 1380-1400?) is certainly linked with the miniatures in the manuscripts
of Wenceslaus IV (fn. 134, 135). Paintings at Alt—Bielitz (Stare Bielsko) (about 1380-1390) présent simplified, provincial imi-
tation of Czech models (fn. 136).
Of a real distinction are three monuments: the cycle of Oppeln, St. Christopher at Striegau (Strzegom), and above ail the
"first phase" of church décoration at Mollwitz (Malujowice) near Brieg (Brzeg). What I mean by the last are enormous frescoes,
in the attic above the 16th-century ceiling: the story of Adam and Eve, The Adoration of the Kings and The Annunciation to the
Shepherds. Their Czech lineage has already been noticed by D. Frey; A. Karlowska-Kamzowa had recognized their author as a
follower of Theodoric but later decided he must belonged to a group of painters active at Emmaus. Undoubtedly, the "painter of
Mollwitz" was directly referring to the style of the "Master В" of Emmaus; he had adopted his types of physiognomy (ill. 17-20)
and the austère range of colors which enhanced the volume of the figures. True, the disciple's works lack the rare spaciousness
so typical of the Emmaus cycle. The fact remains, however, that the artist of Mollwitz grasped the core of the monumental Czech
"ars nova". Karlowska-Kamzowa has recently (fn. 142) pointed to a painting in St Adalbert and Dorothy's chapel at Hradćany (ca
1378-1379?; fn. 149) as a prototype of The Adoration of the Kings. Yet, in this case, I'd rather support the primary hypothesis of
Karlowska-Kamzowa (fn. 144); Master Theodoric's formula applied in the Chapel of the Holy Cross is much closer to the com-
position at Mollwitz. It seems to me that the Mollwitz's artist was not affected by the Czech art later than the décorations in
Karlśtejn and that he left Prague about 1367-1370. Nevertheless, the Karlowska-Kamzowa's hypothesis that this master was later
brought to Silesia by prince Ludwig I of Brieg (fn. 145) should constitute a starting point for further research.
With a later stage in the development of the Czech painting should be associated Saint Christopher at Striegau (ill. 21;
fii.146; the painting partially covered by a later built-in musical choir). St Christopher belongs to a type created by the „Master
В" of Emmaus (fn. 147); cf. also certain figures from the Breviary ofVitek of Rajhrad (ill. 22; fn. 148). Still, the style of „master
of Striegau" took shape in Prague in the seventies of the 14th century. Just like the author of The Adoration of the Kings at
Hradćany (a painter from the Oswald's circle?; fn.149), the author of St Christopher treated color as a value in itself; he has
composed an entire „polyphony" of miscellaneous reds, greens, browns and purples, lavishing colorful réflexes - with a less
attention paid to drawing. I would hence suggest dating of this masterpiece to late seventies (before 1380? - the dating is not
defmite due to still unclear construction chronology of the church of the Knights of St. John of Jérusalem at Striegau).
In comparison to the extraordinary frescoes at Mollwitz and Striegau, the cycle in the Piast Chapel seems „conservative" and
truły „Gothic": its soft forms are never hindered by a sharp play of light. It is ail too easy here to define the major source of the
style: the oeuvre of Nicolaus Wurmser - the „Master A" of Emmaus. But surely enough, the Czech inspiration in the Oppeln's
paintings meant more than imitating Wurmser. (In the summary I am omitting the vivid and everlasting polemics between Czech
specialists on „separating hands" at Emmaus and at Karlśtejn; fn.114-133, esp.153-155). Неге I would like to point the major
analogies: the angel on the altar wall at Oppeln and Archangel Gabriel in The Annunciation at Emmaus (ill. 6, 27), unanimously
attributed to Wurmser; a spécifie déformation observable in the Silesian cycle (an oval face with a protubérant chin above a frail
neck): St Anna at Oppeln and women accompanying Sybilla Libusha in a Wurmser's fresco at Emmaus (ill. 13, 23, 29). St Anna's
face in the Oppeln's Présentation also recalls faces in The Crucifixion in the oratory of St Catherine in Karlśtejn (ill. 23, 28; fn.
153). Sinuous, dense lines and rich texture of The Annunciation to the Shepherds justifity comparison to those in the Patrons
ofBohemia in the oratory (ill. 24, 25, 30), which according to K. Stejskal were painted by the „Master В" (fn.154). Last but not
least a magnifical head of the red-haired angel in The Annunciation to Anna: the outline of the face with a dark complexion takes
proportions and features after the Apocalyptic Woman in the Our Lady Church at Karlśtejn (ill. 9, 31). This painting, attributed
to Wurmser by Dvofakovâ, according to K. Stejskal was finished by a différent artist (the Master of the Karlśtein Apocalypse; fn.
125,155). - On the other hand, a délicate drawing of the large-eyed face of Mary in The Flight into Egypt (ill. 8, 26) proves
a distinction of the cycle at Oppeln. Is it due to an influence of Siena or Bologna? - We may as well have to do here with a (still
elusive to us) „idiom" of the local style.
Each of the three masters active in Silesia in the years 1360-1380 (?) - at Mollwitz, Striegau and Oppeln - had a long
practice in Prague behind him. The fragments of their paintings preserved today do not allow, though, for a complète évaluation
of new iconographical éléments the artists brought to our soil. Merely in the case of the Oppeln's cycle we сап conjecture
KRYSTYNA SECOMSKA
in writings of Epiphanius of Constantinople (about 780) translatée! into Latin in the 12th century (fn. 81, 82). Consequently, the
"First Offering" {Oblatio I) has a character of a symbolic ceremony after which parents and child return home; it's only after
several years that Mary stays in the temple. Traces of this literary version appear in a number of cycles devoted to the cuit of Mary,
i.a. in frescoes at Galatina at Apulia (ill. 16) and probably in Oppeln as well (ill. 4). Its is doubtful that a painter active in Apulia
about 1419 had tried to invent a new subject basing on apocryphal texts; he probably just imitated a local cycle of Mary's
Childhood (originating from the enclave of the Byzantium - which influenced Italian culture - and possibly impelled by Epipha-
nius). The author of the Oppeln's frescoes had also surely taken over this rare iconographie variant from an Italian or Italianate
(?) cycle of paintings.
As specified by A. Karlowska-Kamzowa (fn. 55), the artist of St. Anna's chapel represented the "Czech orientation" at art.
I suppose that founders of the paintings were prince Bolko III and his wife Anna (residing at Oppeln at that time). From documents
one сап infer that Bolko III was a fréquent guest at the court of the Emperor Charles IV (1357, 1365, 1370?). St. Anna's chapel
had been built in 1309 as a burial place for the Oppeln's Piast dynasty; hence it was from Prague that Bolko III brought a sculptor
to carve grave tombstones in its interior (fn. 49). The dates concerning the exquisite sepulchral sculptures in the Piast Chapel (ca
1378-1382) should therefore provide a point of référence for dating the frescoes. However, to settle this question analogies to the
Czech wali painting will be of more help. For this reason I believe the Oppeln's cycle ought to be dated ca 1360-1370.
The significance of Czech influences on Polish art in the second half of the 14th century cannot be overestimated. In the
Silesian wall painting, for example, Czech filiations took various forms. The genesis of groups such as church décorations at
Kalkau (Kalków) and Hohgiersdorf (Modliszów) (about 1380-1400?) is certainly linked with the miniatures in the manuscripts
of Wenceslaus IV (fn. 134, 135). Paintings at Alt—Bielitz (Stare Bielsko) (about 1380-1390) présent simplified, provincial imi-
tation of Czech models (fn. 136).
Of a real distinction are three monuments: the cycle of Oppeln, St. Christopher at Striegau (Strzegom), and above ail the
"first phase" of church décoration at Mollwitz (Malujowice) near Brieg (Brzeg). What I mean by the last are enormous frescoes,
in the attic above the 16th-century ceiling: the story of Adam and Eve, The Adoration of the Kings and The Annunciation to the
Shepherds. Their Czech lineage has already been noticed by D. Frey; A. Karlowska-Kamzowa had recognized their author as a
follower of Theodoric but later decided he must belonged to a group of painters active at Emmaus. Undoubtedly, the "painter of
Mollwitz" was directly referring to the style of the "Master В" of Emmaus; he had adopted his types of physiognomy (ill. 17-20)
and the austère range of colors which enhanced the volume of the figures. True, the disciple's works lack the rare spaciousness
so typical of the Emmaus cycle. The fact remains, however, that the artist of Mollwitz grasped the core of the monumental Czech
"ars nova". Karlowska-Kamzowa has recently (fn. 142) pointed to a painting in St Adalbert and Dorothy's chapel at Hradćany (ca
1378-1379?; fn. 149) as a prototype of The Adoration of the Kings. Yet, in this case, I'd rather support the primary hypothesis of
Karlowska-Kamzowa (fn. 144); Master Theodoric's formula applied in the Chapel of the Holy Cross is much closer to the com-
position at Mollwitz. It seems to me that the Mollwitz's artist was not affected by the Czech art later than the décorations in
Karlśtejn and that he left Prague about 1367-1370. Nevertheless, the Karlowska-Kamzowa's hypothesis that this master was later
brought to Silesia by prince Ludwig I of Brieg (fn. 145) should constitute a starting point for further research.
With a later stage in the development of the Czech painting should be associated Saint Christopher at Striegau (ill. 21;
fii.146; the painting partially covered by a later built-in musical choir). St Christopher belongs to a type created by the „Master
В" of Emmaus (fn. 147); cf. also certain figures from the Breviary ofVitek of Rajhrad (ill. 22; fn. 148). Still, the style of „master
of Striegau" took shape in Prague in the seventies of the 14th century. Just like the author of The Adoration of the Kings at
Hradćany (a painter from the Oswald's circle?; fn.149), the author of St Christopher treated color as a value in itself; he has
composed an entire „polyphony" of miscellaneous reds, greens, browns and purples, lavishing colorful réflexes - with a less
attention paid to drawing. I would hence suggest dating of this masterpiece to late seventies (before 1380? - the dating is not
defmite due to still unclear construction chronology of the church of the Knights of St. John of Jérusalem at Striegau).
In comparison to the extraordinary frescoes at Mollwitz and Striegau, the cycle in the Piast Chapel seems „conservative" and
truły „Gothic": its soft forms are never hindered by a sharp play of light. It is ail too easy here to define the major source of the
style: the oeuvre of Nicolaus Wurmser - the „Master A" of Emmaus. But surely enough, the Czech inspiration in the Oppeln's
paintings meant more than imitating Wurmser. (In the summary I am omitting the vivid and everlasting polemics between Czech
specialists on „separating hands" at Emmaus and at Karlśtejn; fn.114-133, esp.153-155). Неге I would like to point the major
analogies: the angel on the altar wall at Oppeln and Archangel Gabriel in The Annunciation at Emmaus (ill. 6, 27), unanimously
attributed to Wurmser; a spécifie déformation observable in the Silesian cycle (an oval face with a protubérant chin above a frail
neck): St Anna at Oppeln and women accompanying Sybilla Libusha in a Wurmser's fresco at Emmaus (ill. 13, 23, 29). St Anna's
face in the Oppeln's Présentation also recalls faces in The Crucifixion in the oratory of St Catherine in Karlśtejn (ill. 23, 28; fn.
153). Sinuous, dense lines and rich texture of The Annunciation to the Shepherds justifity comparison to those in the Patrons
ofBohemia in the oratory (ill. 24, 25, 30), which according to K. Stejskal were painted by the „Master В" (fn.154). Last but not
least a magnifical head of the red-haired angel in The Annunciation to Anna: the outline of the face with a dark complexion takes
proportions and features after the Apocalyptic Woman in the Our Lady Church at Karlśtejn (ill. 9, 31). This painting, attributed
to Wurmser by Dvofakovâ, according to K. Stejskal was finished by a différent artist (the Master of the Karlśtein Apocalypse; fn.
125,155). - On the other hand, a délicate drawing of the large-eyed face of Mary in The Flight into Egypt (ill. 8, 26) proves
a distinction of the cycle at Oppeln. Is it due to an influence of Siena or Bologna? - We may as well have to do here with a (still
elusive to us) „idiom" of the local style.
Each of the three masters active in Silesia in the years 1360-1380 (?) - at Mollwitz, Striegau and Oppeln - had a long
practice in Prague behind him. The fragments of their paintings preserved today do not allow, though, for a complète évaluation
of new iconographical éléments the artists brought to our soil. Merely in the case of the Oppeln's cycle we сап conjecture