Poland Sculpture
The oldest monuments of sculpture in Poland are the decorations of Romanesque churches. Masterpieces are the bronze doors of the Gniezno cathedral (1129-1137) and the door of the Płock cathedral currently in Velikij Novgorod in the USSR, belonging to the same period, made in Magdeburg.
Gothic, of the century. XIV-XV, are the tombs of the princes and kings of Poland of the Piasti dynasty in Breslau, Opole, Kresoborz, Lubusz, Krakow. One of the most important monuments is the sarcophagus of King Ladislao Jagiellon in the cathedral of Krakow. From the middle of the 14th century, wooden sculpture developed in Poland especially for the decoration of altars. From 1477 until 1496 the famous sculptor Vito Stvos worked in Krakow: this is how he wrote his name on the sarcophagus of King Casimir Jagiellon. The Stvos – Veit Stoss – also executed a grandiose altar for the church of St. Mary in Krakow, and other splendid works in Poland; and when he left for Nuremberg he left his workshop to his son Stanislaus. At the same time, Peter Vischer of Nuremberg was making bronze sepulchral monuments for Poland.
Renaissance sculptors, who came from Italy in the first half of the century. XVI, decorated buildings, executed numerous sepulchral monuments. Among them stood out: Giovanni Cini da Siena, decorator of the chapel of King Sigismund, who worked in Poland from the early years of the century. XVI until his death (1564), and Gian Maria Mosca known as Padovano, who arrived in Poland in 1530 where he seems to have worked until his death (around 1573). Girolamo Canavesi from Lugano stayed in Poland from 1562 until his death (around 1582) carrying out sepulchral monuments: his masterpiece is the monument of the Górka in the cathedral of Poznań. King Sigismondo II’s medalists and carvers were Domenico Veneziano and Jacopo Caraglio. Michałowiez da Urzędów, architect and sculptor, executed ‘ the very noble sepulchral monument of Bishop Padniewski in the cathedral of Krakow. In the already tired Renaissance style worked Santi Gucci from Florence, author of the chapel and the sepulchral monument of King Stephen Báthory in the cathedral of Krakow. Then, during the second half of the century. XVI, the influence of Flemish sculpture grew in Poland. The Veronese Bartolomeo Ridolfi, stucco master celebrated by Palladio, decorated churches and palaces in Poland from 1567 onwards. Wood carving developed under the influence of Vito and Stanislao Stvos, which lasted throughout the century. the influence of Flemish sculpture grew in Poland. The Veronese Bartolomeo Ridolfi, stucco master celebrated by Palladio, decorated churches and palaces in Poland from 1567 onwards. Wood carving developed under the influence of Vito and Stanislao Stvos, which lasted throughout the century. the influence of Flemish sculpture grew in Poland. The Veronese Bartolomeo Ridolfi, stucco master celebrated by Palladio, decorated churches and palaces in Poland from 1567 onwards. Wood carving developed under the influence of Vito and Stanislao Stvos, which lasted throughout the century.
Also in the Baroque period many Italian artists worked in Poland. Masterpiece of Costantino Tenealla and C. Molli is the column with the statue of King Sigismund in Warsaw (finished in 1644). The German sculptors Enrico Horst and Giovanni Pfister from Breslau worked in Lviv from 1610 to 1636. The former executed the sepulchral monuments of the Sieniawski family in Brzeżany and, together with Polish artists, decorated the Boim chapel in Lviv. The influence of German sculpture is also found in the chapel of St. Casimir in Vilna. At the end of the century XVII Baldassare Fontana sculptor-plasterer decorated many churches and palaces also together with his brother Francesco: his masterpiece is the decoration of the church of St. Anna in Krakow.
According to clothesbliss, the stuccos in the church of St. Peter and Paul in Vilna are also beautiful, the work of Pietro and Giovanni Galli from Milan.
In the Rococo period the churches were decorated for the most part by Polish sculptors, among whom Mattia Polejowski, Pietro Kornecki and Francesco Deibel stood out. Sculptors of King Stanislao Augusto were Le Brun, G. Monaldi, T. Righi, Staggi, F. Pink.
In the neoclassical era the influence of Canova and Thorwaldsen was very strong. Thorwaldsen made the equestrian statue of Prince Joseph Poniatowski for Warsaw and other works for Krakow and Lviv. Many Polish artists worked under the influence of Canova, among which the most eminent was M. Guyski (1833-1893). The influence of French classicism dominates the works of W. Oleszczyński (1808-1866). Poland Filippi (1836-1874) and KW Ostrowski (1848-1880) leaned rather towards realism.
In the second half of the century. XIX and in the century. XX distinguished themselves: L. Marconi, Poland Welonski, J. Raszka, A. Madeyski author of the sarcophagi of Queen Hedwig and Vladislaus Varnense in the Wawel, C. Godebski, author of the Mickiewicz monument in Warsaw, K. Laszczka, H. Glicenstein, W. Szymanowski, author of the monument to Chopin in Warsaw, E. Wittig, Ks. Dunikowski, J. Szczepkowski, H. Kuna, St. Szukalski, A. Zamoyski.
