Sztuka w kręgu bractw religijnych w Skalbmierzu. Addenda

Abstract

This paper is an analysis of the religious brotherhoods of Skalbmierz and their Early Modern furnishings. The article discusses both the preserved objects and those known from written sources, with particular emphasis on the recent discoveries made during the restoration works. In the Early Modern era, Skalbmierz was classified as a medium- sized city in Lesser Poland, but due to the collegiate church and the school there, it was an important centre in the region. This is visible, for example, in the case of religious brotherhoods, whose number and activity are impressive, considering thesize of the city. The oldest brotherhoods are the craft guilds that have been listed in Skalbmierz since the mid-15th century. The only remnant of their activity is an altar from around 1700 with images of Saints Cryspin and Cryspinian. The literary brotherhood, listed in 1546, had also an altar in the collegiate church. Unfortunately, both the retable and its settings are known only from brief references in the inventories. The dynamic development of the confraternities in the city took place at the beginning of the 17th century. In this time, the confraternities of the Passion and of St. Anne were established. The first, modelled on the Kraków Archconfraternity of the Passion, had an altar with the image of the Crucifixion in the church (in mid-18th century it was replaced by the present one by provost Antoni Stanclewicz) and a crypt decorated with paintings. The frescoes show brethren in costumes identical to those worn by the Kraków confraternity. The 17th-century chalice belonging to the confraternity, funded by one of the townspeople, has also been preserved. The 17th-century equipment of the brotherhood of St. Anne is known only from written sources and included the altar, paraments and liturgical books. In the mid-18th century, the brethren’s retable was rebuilt, including a picture modelled on the image in the main altar of St. Anne church in Kraków. In the second half of the 17th century, the brotherhood of Our Lady of the Rosary was established, modelled on the confraternity at the Dominican Church in Kraków. The image of Our Lady of the Snow was associated with the brotherhood altar, dated to the mid-18th century. Its careful examination, which was possible thanks to the removal of the silver robe for conservation purposes, indicates that the painting was modelled on the image from the Kraków’s church of The Holy Trinity. A lost painting of Infant Jesus, belonging to the second Rosary brotherhood, was discovered in the same altar. The image contains a complex iconographic program with the Eucharistic meaning, likewise the feretory belonging to the same confraternity with an image based on the Book of Ecclesiastes. In the summary, attention is paid to drawing inspiration from Kraków, which included the transfer of both organizational and artistic patterns, and to the role of the canons who were responsible for the complex iconography and ideological meaning of the works. It is also significant that the equipment was funded by both brethren, townspeople who did not belong to the brotherhoods and canons, which indicates the significant role that the organizations played in the life of the city.