Tomb of King Władysław II Jagiełło
The tomb of King Władysław II Jagiełło (* before 1362; † June 1, 1434), who was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1377 and also King of Poland from 1386 to 1434 , is located in the Wawel Cathedral in Krakow . It impresses with its high artistic quality and is one of the most important works of Gothic sculpture in Central Europe in the second quarter of the 15th century. The canopy, made about a hundred years later in the Renaissance style, is also characterized by its excellent quality.
motivation
The Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania, who ruled as a heath from 1377 to 1386, became a Catholic Christian Władysław in 1386 because of his marriage to the heiress of the Kingdom of Poland and, through the subsequent acquisition of the Polish crown, had risen to become one of the greatest territorial lords and one of the most powerful rulers in Europe . Militarily successful, among other things, against the mighty Teutonic Order in the Battle of Tannenberg in 1410 and related to half of Europe through his four marriages, he did not want to go behind his predecessors Władysław I. Ellenlang († 1333) and Casimir the Great († 1370) on his tomb stand back, who rested in magnificent tumba tombs with canopies in Wawel Cathedral. During his lifetime he therefore commissioned the best available stone sculptors to build his tumba and perhaps also allowed them to make an impression of his face so that they could represent a portrait-like image on the tumba, so that his facial features would remain present for generations to come for centuries.
Artistic design
The grave monument is located on the right side of the central nave under an arcade that connects the main nave with the southern aisle on the right. It is a free-standing Tumba tomb with a canopy that rests on eight columns. On the top plate of the tumba lies the fully plastic figure of the monarch with royal insignia, the head, which is obviously portrayed, lies on a cushion flanked by two lions, while the feet are supported on a dragon. The side panels show mourners who are interpreted as representatives of the Council of the Kingdom. They carry shields with the coats of arms of their domain, such as Poland, Lithuania, the Dobriner Land , the Land of Wieluń and Greater Poland . Hunting dogs and hunting falcons are depicted on the base.
The tomb consists of two parts, different in material and style. While the tumba and the surrounding columns are made of red Hungarian marble and originated in the 15th century, the canopy is made of white sandstone and dates back to the 16th century. In the absence of signatures and documents, both the exact date of origin and the authorship of this tomb are controversial, but it is clear that it differs stylistically from all other Gothic sculptures of the 14th century in Poland.
The completion of the tumba is dated differently, according to K. Estreicher it was done in 1421 by an artist from Tuscany, while other researchers date it after the death of the king in 1434, assuming because of the portrait character of the head, that this is based on the use of a death mask. There are also different opinions with regard to the artists, as their origins are sought by different scientists in very different directions, either in southern Germany, in Burgundy or in Hungary.
The canopy, which is obviously a replacement for the original canopy in red marble, can be dated a little more precisely. Obviously, no attempt was made to restore the original material and color uniform character of the grave monument by using the same or a similar marble, but made the canopy out of white sandstone, creating a sharp contrast to the dark red tumba. One can only speculate about the reasons for this decision, whereby one could think of various reasons, be it spiritual - hint of heaven or paradise? - to artistic - avoidance of a simple imitation in favor of an independent "contemporary" work of art - or also to purely economic reasons that spoke in favor of an inexpensive design in white sandstone.
This stone canopy was made in the years 1519 to 1524, almost a hundred years later than the Tumba, on behalf of King Sigismund I the Elder by Italian artists under the direction of the important Renaissance architect Bartolomeo Berrecci (* 1480 in Florence, † 1537 in Krakow). Berecci, who came from Florence, came to Poland around 1516 and spent most of his career there. He received extensive orders from King Sigismund I, including the task of rebuilding the Wawel Royal Castle , which had been badly damaged by fire in 1499, in the Renaissance style and of building the magnificent Sigismund Chapel as a royal burial place in the Wawel Cathedral .
The canopy of the tomb he created has semicircular archivolts, grows from finely chiseled Corinthian capitals and is characterized by a rich ornamentation with grotesque motifs and panoplies, i.e. with decorative compositions of ancient armor, shields, weapons and flags. The coats of arms of Poland and Lithuania as well as representations of royal triumphs can be seen in the coffered vault.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Andrzej Fischinger: “Grave monuments of the kings from the Jagiellonian dynasty in the cathedral on the Wawel in Cracow”, page 137, in: “Poland in the Age of the Jagiellonians 1386 - 1572” Catalog of the exhibition at the Schallaburg 1986
- ↑ K. Estreicher: Grobowiec Władysława Jagiełly (grave of Ladislas Jagiello) Rocznik Krakowski XXXIII Heft 1 1953
- ↑ Andrzej Fischinger: “Grave monuments of the kings from the Jagiellonian dynasty in the cathedral on the Wawel in Cracow”, page 137, in: “Poland in the Age of the Jagiellonians 1386 - 1572” Catalog of the exhibition at the Schallaburg 1986
- ↑ Andrzej Fschinger: “Funerary monuments of the kings from the Jagiellonian dynasty in the cathedral on the Wawel in Krakow”, pages 137/138, in: “Poland in the Age of the Jagiellonians 1386 - 1572” catalog of the exhibition at the Schallaburg 1986
literature
- Andrzej Fschinger: “Grave monuments of the kings from the Jagiellonian dynasty in the cathedral on the Wawel in Krakow” p. 137/138, in: “Poland in the Age of the Jagiellonian 1386 - 1572” Catalog of the exhibition at the Schallaburg 1986
- Michał Rożek: “Groby królewskie na Wawelu” wyd. II Kraków 2008
- Vis-à-Vis Krakau Teresa Czerniewicz-Umer (main author): "Vis - A - Vis Krakau" Dorling Kindersley Verlag London, edition 2015/16 ISBN 978-3-7342-0083-0
- K. Estreicher, Grobowiec Władysława Jagiełły (Tomb of Ladislaus Jagiello) Rocznik Krakowski XXXIII issue 1 1953
- Jaroslaw Krawczyk: “On Poland and Poles”; Page 69; Bellona; Warszawa, 2004, ISBN 978-83-11-13546-8