Coffin portrait
Coffin portraits are mostly pentagonal or hexagonal portraits of deceased people. They were placed at the head of the coffin during the funeral ceremonies of Polish nobles in the 17th and 18th centuries . An epitaph was attached to the foot end and the deceased's coat of arms was attached to the side.
The angular shape corresponded to the cross-sectional shape of the coffin. After the burial , the coffin portrait was hung on the church wall. The portraits were made by provincial guild painters in a naturalistic manner, often during the nobleman's lifetime. They were painted with oil paints on tin or copper sheets.
The oldest surviving coffin portrait depicts the Polish King Stefan Batory and dates from the end of the 16th century.
literature
- Jan K. Ostrowski, Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Krystyna Malcharek, Piotr Krasny, Kazimierz Kuczman, Adam Zamoyski: Art in Poland. Land of the Winged Horsemen. 1572-1764. Yale University Press, New Haven CT et al. 1999, ISBN 0-300-07918-4 .
Web links
Commons : Coffin Portraits - Collection of images, videos and audio files
