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- Author Francesco Fiorentino, Jörg Huber
- Date of production 1502–1505
- Place of creation Kraków
- Dimensions height: 657.5 cm, length: 452.75 cm, width: 164.5 cm
- ID no. WKW/eIV/03
- Museum The Wawel Royal Cathedral
- Subjects authority, religion, sculpted, famous people , death
- Technique stonework, forging, sculpture
- Material limestone from Pińczów, red limestone from Gran
- Acquired date 1502–1505
- Object copyright The Archcathedral Parish of St Stanislaus and St Wenceslaus
- Digital images copyright public domain
- Digitalisation Terramap Sp. z o.o.
- Tags Wawel Cathedral , grave , 3D plus , sculpture , King , public domain , sarcophagus
The tomb of Jan I Olbracht is a milestone piece not only for Kraków artistic circles but for the entire country. It was sculpted in the years 1502–1505 and consists of two parts executed by two different artists of different backgrounds, education and experience. From the local tradition of commemorating dead rulers derives the tomb sculpted in red stone from the Esztergom quarry, placed in a very deep niche carved into the western wall of a chapel. The tomb is decorated on the front side only (the sides are not exposed), while figural representations were replaced by a rectangular inscribed plaque. This simple and sophisticated solution clearly refers to the art of ancient Rome, in which inscription plaques were the basic element of commemoration of the deceased (Lat. tabulae ansatae). The long inscription was carved in the humanist capitals that had been created based on ancient Roman letterforms and is one of the first instances where such a font was used in Poland.
more The tomb of Jan I Olbracht is a milestone piece not only for Kraków artistic circles but for the entire country. It was sculpted in the years 1502–1505 and consists of two parts executed by two different artists of different backgrounds, education and experience. From the local tradition of commemorating dead rulers derives the tomb sculpted in red stone from the Esztergom quarry, placed in a very deep niche carved into the western wall of a chapel. The tomb is decorated on the front side only (the sides are not exposed), while figural representations were replaced by a rectangular inscribed plaque. This simple and sophisticated solution clearly refers to the art of ancient Rome, in which inscription plaques were the basic element of commemoration of the deceased (Lat. tabulae ansatae). The long inscription was carved in the humanist capitals that had been created based on ancient Roman letterforms and is one of the first instances where such a font was used in Poland.
One of the most important innovations used in Olbracht’s gravestone consists in the placement of the top slab on the tomb at a certain angle, as if to make it easier to admire the king’s figure in coronation robes on the top of it. The image is an artless emulation of the top slab from Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk’s tomb, but written sources unfortunately do not state the author. Many years ago, Jan Białostocki put forward an intriguing thesis that the tomb was created by Jörg Huber of Passau, who accepted the city laws in 1496 and hence became a full citizen of Kraków. The hypothesis is probable in as much as Olbracht’s figure was modelled after Kazimierz IV’s statue on his tomb and this very work bears Jörg Huber’s sign.
The niche into which the tomb was squeezed was lined with Pińczów limestone tiles and framed with a wide arcade of the same materials. The creator of this magnificent setting was the King’s stonemason, Francesco Fiorentino, who introduced the theme of a Roman triumphal arch and a wide scope of solutions aimed at extolling all antica -among others, the panoply and references to imperial triumphs – in this piece.
Elaborated by Marek Walczak, PhD (The Institute of Art History), editorial team of Małopolska's Virtual Museums, |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Poland License.
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