DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23631#0090
with art which he sees as a sublimated form of creativeness, as a natural link in the long chain of human
activity, which starts off with what is simple and originates from the people and leads to what is heroic
and of universal import. The notion of historical continuity and the conviction that tradition is an essential
creative factor of the present-day are derived from Hegelian dialectic. Norwid believed that folk crafts
would trigger off a revival of national art. Impressed by the ideas advanced in Promethidion, Adam Potocki
intended to entrust Norwid with the task of building ideal cottages, inns and gameskcepers1 lodges
on his estate. This apparently Utopian idea was put to practice in circa 1890 by Stanislaw Witkiewicz,
the art critic who discovered and interpreted the Zakopane style. In fact this fascination with folklore
and folk art originated much earlier in the sentimentalism of the Enlightenment period. Izabela Czartoryska
was deeply interested in the peasants, their culture and folk art and probably it was at her request that
Norblin made his famous sketches of village types. In the latter half of the 19th century, Oskar Kolberg
wrote a monumental work on peasant customs and folk art in practically every region of the country.
Though in a large measure folk art was influenced by the art and culture of the upper classes — the country
gentry above all — it was distinguished by an incomparable freshness and sincerity, which was particularly
fascinating in that period of the cosmopolitan decadent impact of modernism. In their determination
to revive national culture and win the peasants over to the national cause, the leading representatives of
the Young Poland movement, Wlodzimierz Tetmajer, Lucjan Rydel and Stanislaw Wyspiahski, established
direct contact with country people. Rydel and Tetmajer even married peasant girls, and the wedding of
the former was depicted in Wyspiahski s The Wedding, the most moving of Polish dramas written in
that period.
Unquestionably, on the threshold of the 20th century, folk culture, which took shape mainly in the
1 8th and 19th centuries, though its traditions reached back to pre-Christian times, represented a striking
and colourful picture and preserved far more national characteristics than urban culture which was beginning
to develop, or the upper class culture which was in a state of regression. The popularity of folklore and
folk art was influenced to a considerable extent by the Kosciuszko legend; his troop of Cracow peasants
with their feathered caps, white coats and scythes set endwise, who had fought so gallantly at Raclawice,
had grown to the rank of symbol. Among the great variety of peasant styles, the most picturesque were
costumes from the areas of Cracow, Zakopane, Lowicz, Zywiec, and Hutsul in Eastern Galicia akin to
the Zakopane highland style. It should be noted that folk culture in those and many other regions was
absolutely original and authentic, produced by local craftsmen and following local customs in building,
interior furnishings, church architecture, particularly that of the little wooden churches, their decorations
and ornaments, the little wayside shrines and figures of saints, dress and objects serving traditional rites
and customs, and inns, the favourite places of social gatherings and festivities.
The peasant costume of the Cracow region was one of the most attractive with its red square-topped
cap adorned with peacock feathers, white coat with red trimmings and red lining, dark blue sleeveless
long jacket worn over a white linen shirt, trousers in narrow white and red stripes and black boots ending
just below the knee worn over the trouser legs. A broad leather belt studded with brass hobnails and fitted
with a small pocket for loose change was worn on the jacket. White sheepskin coats, embroidered in
red, were worn in winter. The women's dress was equally colourful. The most decorative item was the
bodice worn over a white linen shirt, which was usually made of velvet, dark blue, green, light blue,
red or occasionally black, trimmed with mother-of-pearl buttons, beads, sequins and embroidery, and
lined with red cloth. Over the bodice a long-sleeved caftan was worn unbuttoned down the front,
embroidered and adorned with coloured beads. Skirts, always flowered, were green, white, blue or red;
they were very amply pleated and reached down just above the ankles. These were worn with under-skirts
of white linen, usually richly embroidered, and pinafores of fine linen, also embroidered. High laced
boots about halfway up the calf went with this dress. The shoulders were covered with a shawl in
colourful Turkish-style design. Strings of coral, sometimes as many as nine, were worn round the neck.
The longest string had a silver or brass holy medal or cross set with five coral beads. Unmarried girls
wore artificial corals known as bread-beads. Jewel ornaments worn with the Cracow dress deserve special
mention. The men fastened their shirts with silver or brass studs set with corals, recalling the bosses on
the gentry zhupan. Rings, shaped in imitation Romanesque style, had a coral eye. As colourful as the regional
dress were Cracow painted dowry chests in which the most prized possessions were kept. The most popular
type of chest was that made in Skawina. The standard dowry chest was very large and therefore sometimes
stood on a wheeled base to facilitate movement. Its lid was flat and inside it contained a case half of its
activity, which starts off with what is simple and originates from the people and leads to what is heroic
and of universal import. The notion of historical continuity and the conviction that tradition is an essential
creative factor of the present-day are derived from Hegelian dialectic. Norwid believed that folk crafts
would trigger off a revival of national art. Impressed by the ideas advanced in Promethidion, Adam Potocki
intended to entrust Norwid with the task of building ideal cottages, inns and gameskcepers1 lodges
on his estate. This apparently Utopian idea was put to practice in circa 1890 by Stanislaw Witkiewicz,
the art critic who discovered and interpreted the Zakopane style. In fact this fascination with folklore
and folk art originated much earlier in the sentimentalism of the Enlightenment period. Izabela Czartoryska
was deeply interested in the peasants, their culture and folk art and probably it was at her request that
Norblin made his famous sketches of village types. In the latter half of the 19th century, Oskar Kolberg
wrote a monumental work on peasant customs and folk art in practically every region of the country.
Though in a large measure folk art was influenced by the art and culture of the upper classes — the country
gentry above all — it was distinguished by an incomparable freshness and sincerity, which was particularly
fascinating in that period of the cosmopolitan decadent impact of modernism. In their determination
to revive national culture and win the peasants over to the national cause, the leading representatives of
the Young Poland movement, Wlodzimierz Tetmajer, Lucjan Rydel and Stanislaw Wyspiahski, established
direct contact with country people. Rydel and Tetmajer even married peasant girls, and the wedding of
the former was depicted in Wyspiahski s The Wedding, the most moving of Polish dramas written in
that period.
Unquestionably, on the threshold of the 20th century, folk culture, which took shape mainly in the
1 8th and 19th centuries, though its traditions reached back to pre-Christian times, represented a striking
and colourful picture and preserved far more national characteristics than urban culture which was beginning
to develop, or the upper class culture which was in a state of regression. The popularity of folklore and
folk art was influenced to a considerable extent by the Kosciuszko legend; his troop of Cracow peasants
with their feathered caps, white coats and scythes set endwise, who had fought so gallantly at Raclawice,
had grown to the rank of symbol. Among the great variety of peasant styles, the most picturesque were
costumes from the areas of Cracow, Zakopane, Lowicz, Zywiec, and Hutsul in Eastern Galicia akin to
the Zakopane highland style. It should be noted that folk culture in those and many other regions was
absolutely original and authentic, produced by local craftsmen and following local customs in building,
interior furnishings, church architecture, particularly that of the little wooden churches, their decorations
and ornaments, the little wayside shrines and figures of saints, dress and objects serving traditional rites
and customs, and inns, the favourite places of social gatherings and festivities.
The peasant costume of the Cracow region was one of the most attractive with its red square-topped
cap adorned with peacock feathers, white coat with red trimmings and red lining, dark blue sleeveless
long jacket worn over a white linen shirt, trousers in narrow white and red stripes and black boots ending
just below the knee worn over the trouser legs. A broad leather belt studded with brass hobnails and fitted
with a small pocket for loose change was worn on the jacket. White sheepskin coats, embroidered in
red, were worn in winter. The women's dress was equally colourful. The most decorative item was the
bodice worn over a white linen shirt, which was usually made of velvet, dark blue, green, light blue,
red or occasionally black, trimmed with mother-of-pearl buttons, beads, sequins and embroidery, and
lined with red cloth. Over the bodice a long-sleeved caftan was worn unbuttoned down the front,
embroidered and adorned with coloured beads. Skirts, always flowered, were green, white, blue or red;
they were very amply pleated and reached down just above the ankles. These were worn with under-skirts
of white linen, usually richly embroidered, and pinafores of fine linen, also embroidered. High laced
boots about halfway up the calf went with this dress. The shoulders were covered with a shawl in
colourful Turkish-style design. Strings of coral, sometimes as many as nine, were worn round the neck.
The longest string had a silver or brass holy medal or cross set with five coral beads. Unmarried girls
wore artificial corals known as bread-beads. Jewel ornaments worn with the Cracow dress deserve special
mention. The men fastened their shirts with silver or brass studs set with corals, recalling the bosses on
the gentry zhupan. Rings, shaped in imitation Romanesque style, had a coral eye. As colourful as the regional
dress were Cracow painted dowry chests in which the most prized possessions were kept. The most popular
type of chest was that made in Skawina. The standard dowry chest was very large and therefore sometimes
stood on a wheeled base to facilitate movement. Its lid was flat and inside it contained a case half of its