Jerzy Miziołek

The Bishop Piotr Tomicki Chapel in the Cracow Cathedral, and Its Altarpiece Depicting »The Adoration of the Magi«*

Some scholars have noted that Renaissance art in Poland resulted from an interplay of Polish patronage and foreign artists'. Among the numerous non-Polish names, those of such Polish painters and sculptors as Stanisław Samostrzelnik and Jan Michałowicz of Urzędów are seldom found. Excellent cases in point are those of the two earliest Renaissance funera-ry chapels erected in the Cathedral of Cracow (the Wawel Cathedral). Both the Sigismund Chapel (1517-1533) and the

Fig. I Altarpiece in the Chapel of Bishop Piotr Tomicki. Cracow Cathedral

Bishop Piotr Tomicki Chapel (1524-1535) were built by Bar-tolomeo Berrecci and were embellished with various art objects produced largely by artists from Nuremberg.

Unlike the iconographic programme of the Royal Chapel, that of the Tomicki Chapel has not yet been studied2. Its cen-trepiece is the altarpiece depicting »Adoration of the Magi«, which has been referred to until now only in passing (figs. 1, 2)3. As has been confirmed in written sources, that chapel was officially dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury4. However, due to the subject of the painting, it is sometimes referred to as The Chapel of the Magi5.

The primary purpose of this paper is to investigate prelimi-narily the significance of the above altarpiece, in the context of

Fig. 2 and pi VIII The Adoration of the Magi in the altarpiece of the Bishop Piotr Tomicki Chapel

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Originalveröffentlichung in: Popp, Dietmar (Hrsg.): Die Jagiellonen : Kunst und Kultur einer europäischen Dynastie an der Wende zur Neuzeit, Nürnberg 2002, S. 385-394

the tomb of the Bishop and the chapel's other furnishings, most of which are known only through archival sources6.

Bishop Piotr Tomicki (1464-1535), one of the most distingui-shed humanists and statesmen of 1 óth-century Poland, was educated in Leipzig, Cracow and Bologna7. He studied at the University of Bologna from 1494, and received his doctorate in canon law there in June 15008. Subsequently, he spent approximately six months at the papai chancellery in Rome.

Following his return to Cracow, Tomicki joined first the chan­cellery of Cardinal Fryderyk the Jagiellonian and then, in 1 506, became a secretary of King Sigismund I. He was Vice-Chancellor of the Kingdom (from 1515), Bishop of Poznań (from 1 520), then Bishop of Cracow from 1 523 until his death in 1535. From 1523, Bishop Tomicki was also Chancellor of the University of Cracow and founder of a chair of Roman Law. It was there that he encouraged the teaching of Greek

Fig. 3 Giammaria Mosca called Padovano, lempietto deriving from the tabernacle commissioned by Bishop Piotr Tomicki. Presently in the parish

church in Modlnica near Cracow

and Hebrew. Due to his fluent Italian, as well as his habits and his interest in Italian culture, the Bishop was called by his con-temporaries »The ltalian« (»ltalus«)9.

Until the end of his life, he maintained strong links with Italy, ordering books and various art obiects from there. He amas-sed a library of at least five hundred volumes, purchasing them systematically through a number of agents. A considerable number of these books have been preserved and are current-ly housed in the Jagiellonian Library in Cracow10. At his own court in Cracow, Tomicki created a centrę for the advancement of patristic studies". He strived to attract to Cracow the most distinguished luminaries, among them Erasmus of Rotterdam with whom he corresponded from 1527 until his death12. In 1529, the great Dutchman dedicated to Tomicki his second edition of Seneca's writings.

Bishop Tomicki was second only to King Sigismund I as a patron of the arłs13. In the 1 520s, he commissioned for the Poznań Cathedral a tomb for Bishop Jan Lubrański and a ciborium, now lost. In 1533, he ordered another tabernacle for the host, for the Wawel Cathedral. Fashioned of Hungari-an red marble by Giammaria Mosca, known as »ll Padova-no«, it was installed in the cathedrals »in cornu Evangelii« in 1536, a year after the Bishop's death14. Fragments of that veri-table masterpiece of the Polish Renaissance dismantled in the 1 7th century, including a pair of adorning angels, a relief depicting the Trinity and half of a »tempietto«, are still preser-ved in Cracow (in the National Museum and the Tomicki Cha-pel), and in the parish church at Modlnica (fig. 3).

Tomicki was also a patron of the Polish painter Stanisław Samostrzelnik who, among other artists in the 1530s, adorned with miniatures the »Catalogus Archiepiscoporum Gnesnen-sium et Vitae Episcoporum Cracoviensium«15. In the last years of his life, the Bishop commissioned a number of votive wax figures for the Wawel Cathedral and the church in Częstocho­wa16. The ordering of these items strongly suggests that during his long sojourn in Italy'7 he also visited Florence.

The construction of the Tomicki Chapel, situated behind the ambulatory in the southeast corner of the Wawel Cathedral, had been completed by 1530, but its furnishing continued until the Bishop's death in 153518. With no drum or sculpted deco-ration, it is a simplified version of the Royal Chapel. In place of such ornamentation, it has a beautifully-designed eastern wali with two arched windows flanking the altarpiece and the round window above it. The tomb, fashioned of Hungarian red marble and sandstone by Berrecci's workshop, was ready by 1532 (fig. 4). Apart from his effigy, the Bishop is shown a second time at tne back of the sepufchral niche, adoring the half-length »Madonna and Child«. From various written sour­ces it is known that, among the now lost furnishi ngs of the Tomicki Chapel executed between 1530 and 1535, there were numerous brasses and a bronze grille with a scenę of the »Annunciation«, commissioned in Nuremberg19, and stained

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glass produced in The Netherlands20. No longer extant (or covered with »intonaco«) were also the murals by Stanisław Samostrzelnik that adorned the chapel's walls and cupola, a tapestry depicting »The Assumption of the Virgin«2' and two paintings22. One of the latter depicted Saints Peter and Tho­mas, while the other portrayed »The Crucifixion«. Both were used to cover the altar painting during Advent and Lent respectively. Cardinal Stanisław Hozjusz, in his »Vita Petri Tomicii« written some fifteen years after the Bishop's death, records that in the entire kingdom the chapel's beauty was comparable only to that of the Royal Chapel23.

Today, the chapel's superb artistic level is attested to by the Bishop's magnificenttomb (fig. 4), the iron doors leading to the sacristy, some fine marble slabs that once framed the crypts entrance (and which, at present, are fixed onto one of the chapel walls) and, to some extent, the altar with the pain­ting depicting »The Adoration of the Magi« (figs. 1, 2). As for the altar itselr, only its »mensa« bearing Tomickis coat of arms made of sandstone and the painting date from the time of the chapel's completion24. The two columns and the entablature fashioned of black marble are of a much later date. The origi-nal columns were sculpted, and thus were similar to those on the Bishop's tomb. This is confirmed by the »Acta visitationis« of Bishop Maciejowski of 1602, which also mentions the pain­ting. One passage in the »Acta« reads: »in capella versus solis sita ... est altare unicum lapideum cum mensa integra consa-cratum imaginem habens pictam artificiose historiom Epi-phaniae Domini referentem inter columnas celatas duas posi-tam«25. Above the altar is a relief showing The Trinity surrounded by the heads of winged angels. It was first men-tioned as being in the chapel in 1731. In all probability, the latter came from the previously-mentioned Tomicki tabernacle for the host, commissioned in 153326.

The canvas »The Adoration of the Magi« (measuring 170 x 115 cm) appears to have been parfially repainted (fig. 2). There is no record of its cleaning or conservation during the 20th century. The scenę is situated in a building having a large semi-circular arcade through which a landscape with trees and some buildings may be seen. The Holy Family is shown to the right, on the stairs, while the Magi are approaching from the left. In front of Mary, who is seated on a stone bench with the Child, kneels an old, semi-bald King presenting a smali casket filled with gold coins. The Child is dipping his right hand into the casket, while in his left hand he holds one of the coins. Of the remaining two Magi, one, still wearing his crown, is shown frontally, pointing with his right hand to the beautiful chalice-like container held in his left hand. The youngest of the Magi, shown from the back and with his cha-racteristic sabre, is black27. At one side of the painting is St. Joseph, standing behind Mary. On the opposite side is a ser-vant of the Magi, pointing to a star that emits three long rays. Neifher the Bishop's abundant correspondence concerning the

Fig. 4 Tomb of Bishop Piotr Tomicki in his funerary chapel. Cracow Cathedral

furnishment of the chapel (to be found in the »Acta Tomicia-na«) nor other lóth-century written sources mention the sub-ject of the altar's painting. As stated above, it was first men-tioned in 1602.

Upon closer examination, this picture appears to be a version of the only partially preserved panel painting of »The Adora­tion of the Magi« by Georg Pencz, dating from about 1 53028. That panels three remaining fragments, housed in the Gemdl-degalerie in Dresden, depict the Black King, St. Joseph and one more witness of »The Epiphany«. Fortunately, Pencz's painting is also known through a »sehr gute Kopie aus der zweiten Hdlf-te des 1 6. Jahrhunderts«, as Hans Georg Gmelin put it (fig. 5)29. Until 1944, it was kept among the Lubomirski collection in Lvov. It is now housed in a private collection in Switzerland. Its

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Fig. 5 Copy of Georg Pencz's panel with The Adoration of the Magi. Today in a private collection in Switzerland, formerly in the

Lubomirski Collection in L'viv

over, the painting in the Tomicki Chapel differs from the Pencz original and its copy in terms of the colours of the Magis clo-thing and the representation of St. Joseph, who is not kneeling to the left of Mary, but is standing behind her.

Who was the painter of »The Adoration of the Magi« in the Tomicki Chapel? Even if Georg Pencz did paint the wings of the altarpiece for the Sigismund Chapel dating from the 1 530s, it is hardly possible to attribute to him the Tomicki can-vas32, for it lacks the depth and the grace of the Pencz panel. A certain provincialism in the Wawel painting is especially evi-dent in the treatment of the architecture, which is fiat and sim-plified. Most probably what we are considering here is a ver-sion of Penczs composition, produced by an artist active in Cracow. In this connection, two painters may be taken into consideration. One of them is the already-mentioned Stanis­ław Samostrzelnik33, Bishop Tomicki's favourite painter. The

Fig. 6 The Adoration of the Magi, one of the scenes in the silver altarpiece in the Sigismund Chapel. Cracow Cathedral

measurements are 200 x 160 cm, whereas the height of the ori­ginal panel is 1 81 cm. Thus the painting in the Tomicki Chapel is smaller than both Pencz's panel and the copy of it dating from the second half of the lóth century. Its artistic quality is also considerably inferior. Nor is it executed on a panel, but rather on much cheaper canvas30, which - from the second quarter of the 1 óth century - was used quite often in Northern European painting3'. The Wawel painting is a much modified and simplified version of Pencz's composition in which the pain­ter omitted not only the upper part of the original composition, but also depicted only one or the kings' servants, instead of three. The star seen here through the arcade of the building is no longer a shining globe, but a true star emanating three long rays and thus to some degree reminiscent of a comet. More-

other is Hans Durer, one of the younger brothers of Albrecht, whose activity in Cracow from 1 527 until his death in 1 534 awaits further investigation34.

In the last years of Tomicki's life, when the furnishing of his funerary chapel was close to completion, Samostrzelnik ador-ned with miniatures the previously-mentioned »Catalogus Archiepiscoporum Gnesnensium et Vitae Episcoporum Craco-viensium«. The scenes inspired by the New Testament which are depicted in the »Catalogus« portray »The Annunciation, The A doration of the Magi and The Vision of St. John on Pat-mos« (the vision of »Mulier amicta sole«)35. This choice is quite similar to the iconographic programme in the chapel incorpo-rating »The Annunciation« (on the grille), »The Epiphany« (on the altar) and the scenę of the adoration, by the Bishop, of the

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Fig. 7 Albrecht Durer, The Adoration of the Magi, woodcut

M a d o n n a a n d Child (at the back of the tomb). A s will be shown be low, like »The Vis ion of St. J o h n « the latter scenę refers to the symbol ism of light. However, it is not difficult to see that the style of the canvas in the Tomicki Chape l differs cons iderably from that of Samostrzelnik, sińce it is characte-r ized b y decorat iveness a n d a lack of depth.

It wou ld seem that it might very well have been Hans Durer w h o executed the painting in question. His late style, emp loy -ed when he w a s serving in C r a c o w as »pictor regius« after 1 5 2 7 , is still little known. However, it w a s he w h o , in 1 5 3 1 , d id the project of the altarpiece for the S ig ismund Chape l , which w a s a f terwards executed in Nuremberg3 6 . O n e of the scenes of that altarpiece depicts »The Adora t i on of the M a g i « (fig. 6) wh ich , in addit ion to its horizontal rather than vertical composi t ion, reveals striking similarities with the W a w e l pa in ­ting37. The ana log ies include not only the poses a n d gestures of the Kings a n d the depict ion of the Holy Family, but a lso the

architecture, a n d even the star seen through the arcade . Parti-cularly characteristic in both representations are the Black King shown from the back a n d St. J o seph standing behind M a r y a n d the Child. W h i l e the iormer m a y have been inspired b y Ludwig Krug's w o o d c u t of »The Adora t i on of the M a g i « dat ing from 15163 8 , the latter seems to have been derived from Albrecht Durers wel l -known woodcu t of that s a m e subject, d o n e in 1 5 0 3 (fig. 7 p .

It should b e ment ioned at this point that, in the collegiate church of S a n d o m i e r z in Little Poland, there is a fine, slightly modi f ied c o p y of »The Adora t i on of the M a g i « by another G e r m a n artist, Hans Suess von Kulmbach40 . Unfortunately, its original destination remains unknown.

The Tomicki Chape l is most p robab ly the first funerary cha ­pel in C r a c o w to h a v e h a d an altarpiece depicting »The A d o ­ration of the M a g i « . W h y w a s this subject d isp layed in the chapel a n d wha t is its s ignif icance? Judg ing from the Bishop's letters, the content of his l ibrary and the glosses in his preser-ved books , he w a s apparent ly greatly interested in astrology and the symbolism of light"". Most p robab ly he w a s also fami-liar with some Italian funerary chapels having altars or fre-scoes depicting »The Adora t i on of the M a g i « . It wou ld seem that a l though the Bishop, like the King, favoured both G e r m a n a n d Italian artists, he wished to be buried a l h t a l i a n a . In fact, he w a s referred to by his contemporar ies »ltalus«.

A s has a l ready been pointed out, o n e of the miniatures in the »Cata logus Arch iep i scoporum Gnesnens ium et Vi tae Episco-porum Cracov iens ium« dat ing from the 1 5 3 0 s depicts »The Adora t i on of the M a g i « (fig. 8). O f even greater signif icance for this present investigation is the fact that this same subject w a s intended to adorn a »pluviale« commiss ioned by Tomicki in Rome just a year before his death. In a letter to Stanis ław of Rzeczyca , his agent in Rome, dated Oc tober 3, 1 5 3 4 , the Bishop wrote: » W e request of you that you order on our behalf an embro idered i m a g e for a >pluviale<. Let it be that the embroiderer produce a portrayal of the holy three M a g i in a c c o r d a n c e with a more beautiful pattern instead of the e x a m -ple on the hood [from an old >pluviale<] which w e are sending you«42 . Thus it seems that Tomicki not only commiss ioned a »pluviale« embro idered with »The Three M a g i « (in which he possibly wished to b e buried), but that even earlier he h a d worn a hood a d o r n e d with this subject. Worth stressing is the fact that in his letter, the Bishop refers to the M a g i as »saints«.

The relics of the Three Kings w h o had read from the stars of the birth of Jesus a n d w h o had brought him go ld , frankincen-se a n d myrrh (interpreted as gifts for Christ as King, G o d a n d M a n , the myrrh being considered connected with his death) were kept, after 1 2 0 0 , in Co logne . Yet during the Late Med ie -val a n d Renaissance periods, it w a s in Italy that the Three Kings were most venerated43 . In some cities there existed » C o m p a g n i e dei M a g i « which , at the beginning of each N e w Year o r g a n i z e d solemn processions44 . N u m e r o u s tombs a n d

3 8 9

Fig. 8 Stanisław Samostrzelnik, The Adoration of the Magi. Miniaturę in the Catalogus Archiepiscoporum Gnesnensium et Vitae

Episcoporum Cracoviensium. Warsaw, Biblioteka Narodowa

funerary chapels in Venice, Padua, Bologna and Florence were adorned with depictions of »The Adoration of the Magi« and of the star shining in the heavens, which sometimes had the form of a comet45. Since the Early Christian period, due to their symbolism of light and myrrh, scenes of »The Adoration of the Magi« and »The Epiphany« were linked with sepulchral art46. Some of the funerary chapels (such as that of the Bolog-nini family at San Petronio in Bologna) depict not only scenes of »The Adoration«, but also the journey or the Magi and their following of the star47.

From the two Florentine funerary chapels, neither of which was consecrated to the Three Kings (the Magi were not de facto saints, although they were commonly seen as such)48, there derive two famous altarpieces depicting »The Epi-phany«. The first, by Gentile da Fabriano, is from the Strozzi Chapel at Santa Trinita49; the second, by Botticelli, is from the no longer extant Chapel of Guaspare dal Lama at Santa Maria Novella50. Tomicki was undoubtedly very well acquain-ted with the Bolognini Chapel in one of the most outstanding churches in Florence, the city where he had spent six years. If he revisited Florence, which he almost certainly did, he may have seen, among other chapels, those at Santa Maria Novel-la and Santa Trinita.

It would suffice to look through the preserved books from the Bishop's private library - among them, writings by Ficino and other Neo-Platonists, as well as Durandus' »Rationale divino-rum officiorum« - to understand that he must have been high-ly versed in the sophisticated thinking expressed in the Medie-val and Renaissance writings on the »stella magorum« and the symbolism of light51. In the chapel, »in ortu solis sita«, this sym­bolism is clearly expressed not only in the scenę of »The Epi-phany«, placed between the three windows that originally were adorned with stained glass - »multum lucidum et trans-parens«, as Tomicki himself put it52, but it is also to be found on the tomb of the Bishop. At the back of the sepulchral niche there is a half-length Madonna and Child, adorned with a standing St. Peter and a kneeling Tomicki - appearing very much like one of the Magi. The Madonnas halo comprises

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meandering sunbeams (fig. 9) which are not to be found elsewhere in Polish images of the Madonna53. However, they may be seen at the crown of the cupola on the tempietto of the tabernacle commissioned by Tomicki, in 1533, for his cathe-dral (fig. 3)54. It is hardly possible that this important element of the decoration of both the sacrarium and the tomb could have been infroduced without the Bishops influence.

Mention has already been made of Tomicki's interest in patri-stic studies and his friendship with Erasmus of Rotterdam55. We may now cite Prudentius' »Hymn on Jesus' Epiphany« and Erasmus' Commentary on that hymn. It is possible that from these writings, as well as from those of Ficino, the programme of the Tomicki chapel may have emerged50. In his hymn, Pru­dentius says:

»The gold and Sabas frankincense Proclaim you king and God;

The powder of the myrrh foretells The sepulchre of death [...].

This is the sepulchre where God Allowed his corpse to die,

And raised it up from burial And broke the chains of death [...].

Ali people now, come praise your prince, The blessed and the lost,

The live, the sick, the dead also -For henceforth none are dead«57.

In turn, Erasmus's commentary reads: »... the Magi were enthusiastic astrologers, and so he [Christ] attracted them by the sign of the star that shone with its own peculiar light... For as he [Christ] was a guiding light, calling us back from the darkness of sin and opening our way to the homeland of eter-nal light. He came down to us to lead us to heaven. ... Let him who dies praise his praise, sińce he is being transferred to a happier life. But that way which will lead straight to eternal life should no longer be called >death<, now that Jesus has opened the kingdom of heaven. For those who die in Christ do not die but merely sleep, in bodies that will awake at the voice of the angel«58.

It would be difficult to find a more suitable subject for the altar of the funerary chapel of a Bishop educated in Italy and interested in astrology and comets, in »prisca theologia«, as well as in the symbolism of light, than the »Adoration of the Magi«59.

Fig. 10 The Adoration of the Magi, Epitaph of Canon Melchior Sobek, originally in the Cracow Cathedral

The »Adoration of the Magi« in the Tomicki Chapel was echoed as early as 1542 in the epitaph of Melchior Sobek, one ofthe canons of the Wawel Cathedral (fig. 10)60. Not only was this artistically modest panel patterned on the canvas in question, but its meaning, referring to eternal life, is also iden-tical. The painter, an anonymous artist, repeated almosf exact-ly the composition of the Tomicki alterpiece, the only difference being that it is one of the Magi, and not their servant, who points to the star shining in the sky - thus closely resembling that detail in the miniaturę by Stanisław Samostrzelnik (fig. 8).

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Notes

* I w i s h to e x p r e s s m y d e e p g r a t i t u d e t o F a t h e r P r e l a t e J a n u s z B i e l a ń s k i , M g r . K r z y s z t o f C z y ż e w s k i , Dr. K a z i m i e r z K u c z m a n , Dr. M i k o ł a j S z y m a ń s k i , Dr. M i e c z y s ł a w M o r k a a n d Dr. M a g d a l e n a P i w o c k a w h o s e h e l p a n d e n c o u r a g -m e n t e n a b l e d m e to p r o d u c e this p a p e r . I a m p a r t i c u l a r l y g r a t e f u l t o Dr. Peter M a r t y n for h is a m e n d m e n t s t o m y E n g l i s h .

1 S e e , a m o n g o t h e r s , J a n B i a ł o s t o c k i : T h e A r t o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e in E a s t e r n E u r o p ę : H u n g a r y , B o h e m i a , P o l a n d . O x f o r d 1 9 7 6 , p . 2 3 . - T h o m a s D a C o s t a K a u r m a n n : C o u r t , C l o i s t e r s a n d Ci ty . T h e A r t a n d C u l t u r e o f C e n t r a l E u r o p ę 1 4 5 0 - 1 8 0 0 . L o n d o n 1 9 9 5 , p . 5 7 .

2 For i c o n o g r a p h y a n d s y m b o l i s m in the S i g i s m u n d C h a p e l , s e e J . B i a ł o s t o c k i ( no te 1), p p . 3 9 - 4 3 . - Lech K a l i n o w s k i : D i e S i g i s m u n d k a p e l l e im W a w e l d o m z u K r a k a u . In: P o l e n im Ze i ta l t e r d e r J a g i e l l o n e n 1 3 8 6 - 1 5 7 2 . E x h i b . C a t . S c h a l l a b u r g 1 9 8 6 , p p . 1 3 1 - 1 3 6 . - S t a n i s ł a w M o s s a k o w s k i : B a r t o l o m e o B e r -recc i a C r a c o v i e ; la c h a p e l l e S i g i s m o n d . In: R e v u e d e l ' a r t , V o l . 1 0 1 , 1 9 9 3 , p p . 6 7 - 8 5 .

3 K a t a l o g z a b y t k ó w sz tuk i w P o l s c e . M i a s t o K r a k ó w [ C a t a l o g u e o f A r t M o n u -m e n t s in P o l a n d . T h e C i t y o f C r a c o w ] , V o l . 4 , Pa r t I: W a w e l . E d . b y J e r z y S z a ­b ł o w s k i . W a r s a w 1 9 6 5 , p . 9 2 . - J e r z y Ł o z i ń s k i : G r o b o w e k a p l i c e k o p u ł o w e w P o l s c e 1 5 2 0 - 1 6 2 0 [ C e n t r a l F u n e r a r y C h a p e l s in P o l a n d 1 5 2 0 - 1 6 2 0 ] . W a r s a w 1 9 7 3 , p . 4 7 . - K a z i m i e r z K u c z m a n : W a w e l Hill. G u i d e - B o o k . C r a ­c o w 1 9 9 0 , p . 1 0 1 . - J e r z y M i z i o ł e k : O p u s e g r e g i u m a c s p e c t a n d u m . Il t q b e r -n a c o l o e u c a r i s t i c o d i G i a n m a r i a M o s c a , d e t t o \\ P a d o v a n o p e r la C a t t e d r a l e di C r a c o v i a . In: M i t t e i l u n g e n d e s K u n s t h i s t o r i s c h e n Institutes in F l o r e n z , V o l . 3 6 , 1 9 9 3 , p p . 3 0 3 - 3 3 6 , e s p . 3 2 6 , f ig . 1 5 .

4 I n w e n t a r z K a t e d r y W a w e l s k i e j z r o k u 1 5 6 3 [ l n v e n t o r y o f t h e W a w e l C a t h e -d r a l f r o m 1 5 6 3 ] . E d . b y A d a m B o c h n a k . C r a c o w 1 9 7 9 , p . 1 8 8 .

5 J e r z y K i e s z k o w s k i : P r z y c z y n e k d o k u l t u r a l n e j d z i a ł a l n o ś c i P i o t r a T o m i c k i e g o [ R e m a r k s o n t h e C u l t u r a l E n d e a v o u r s o f Piotr T o m i c k i ] . In: S p r a w o z d a n i a K o m i s y i d o B a d a n i a H i s to ry i Sz tuk i w P o l s c e , V o l . 7 / 1 - 2 , 1 9 0 2 , c o l . C C L X X V I . - Fe l iks K o p e r a : J a n M a r i a P a d o v a n o . In: P r a c e K o m i s j i Histor i i S z t u k i , V o l . 7 / 2 , 1 9 3 8 , p . 2 3 4 .

6 » A c t a T o m i c i a n a « r a n k s a m o n g the m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t s u c h s o u r c e s , a s it c o n -t a ins d o c u m e n t s a n d the d i p l o m a t i c c o r r e s p o n d e n c e o f T o m i c k i a n d h i s c o n -t e m p o r a r i e s , s e e : A c t a T o m i c i a n a . E d . b y W ł a d y s ł a w P o c i e c h a et a l l . , V o l . I - X V I I , P o z n a ń 1 8 5 2 - 1 9 6 6 .

7 S t a n i s ł a w H o z j u s z : V i t a Petri T o m i c i i . In: A c t a H i s t o r i c a Res G e s t a s P o l o n i -a e l l lustrant ia , V o l . IV: S. Hos i i E p i s t o l a e , V o l . 1. E d . b y F r a n c i s c u s H ip l e r , V i n -cen t ius Z a k r z e w s k i . C r a c o w 1 8 7 9 , co l i . CLII—CLXIX. - L e s z e k H a j d u k i e w i c z : K s i ę g o z b i ó r i z a i n t e r e s o w a n i a b i b l i o f i l s k i e P i o t r a T o m i c k i e g o n a tle j e g o d z i a ­ł a l n o ś c i ku l tu ra lne j [ T h e B o o k C o l l e c t i o n a n d B i b l i o p h i l i c Interests o f P iotr Tomick i w i t h i n t h e C o n t e x t o f H is Cu l tu ra l A c t i v i t i e s ] . W r o c ł a w - W a r s a w - C r a -c o w 1 9 6 1 . - M a r i a C y t o w s k a : Piotr T o m i c k i . In: T h e C o n t e m p o r a r i e s o f E r a s -m u s . A B i b l i o g r a p h i c a l Reg is ter o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e a n d t h e R e f o r m a t i o n , V o l . 3 . E d . b y P G . B i e t e n h o l z . T o r o n t o - B u f f a l o - L o n d o n 1 9 8 7 , p p . 3 2 7 - 3 2 9 . -C l a u d e B a c k v i s : C o m m e n t les P o l o n a i s d u X V I e s i ec l e v o y a i e n t r I ta l ie et les Ita-l i ens . In: L i te rary S t u d i e s in P o l a n d , V o l . X I X , 1 9 8 8 , p p . 7 - 3 9 .

8 J o a n n e s F i j a ł ek : D o m i n u s B a r t o l u s d e S a x o f e r r a t o e i u s q u e p e r m a g n a in P o l o n o s a u c ł o r i t a s . C r a c o w 1 9 1 4 , p p . 7 4 - 7 5 .

9 V i t a Petri Tomic i i ( n o t e 7 ) , p . CLV. - S e e a l s o : C . B a c k v i s ( n o t e 7 ) , p . 3 4 .

1 0 L. H a j d u k i e w i c z ( n o t e 7 ) .

1 1 M . C y t o w s k a ( n o t e 7 ) , p . 3 2 8 . - L. H a j d u k i e w i c z (no te 7 ) , p p . 1 1 4 - 1 1 6 .

1 2 C l a u d e B a c k v i s : La fortunę d ' E r a s m e e n P o l o g n e . In: A c t e s d u C o l l o g u e

I n t e r n a t i o n a l e reun i a M o n s d u 2 6 a u 2 9 o c t o b r e 1 9 6 7 a l ' o c c a s i o n d u 5 0 0 e c e n t e n a i r e d e la n a i s s a n c e d ' E r a s m e . M o n s 1 9 6 8 , p p . 1 7 3 - 2 0 2 . - M . C y t o w s k a ( n o t e 7 ) , p p . 3 2 7 - 3 2 9 .

1 3 J . K i e s z k o w s k i ( n o t e 5 ) . - J . M i z i o ł e k ( n o t e 3 ) .

1 4 J . M i z i o ł e k ( n o t e 3 ) , p p . 3 0 3 - 3 3 6 . - A n n e M a r k h a m S c h u l z : G i a m m a r i a M o s c a c a l l e d P a d o v a n o : a R e n a i s s a n c e S c u l p t o r in I taly a n d P o l a n d . U n i v e r -sity P a r k 1 9 9 8 , p p . 9 7 - 9 8 , 2 7 1 - 2 7 4 .

1 5 B a r b a r a M i o d o ń s k a : M i n i a t u r y S t a n i s ł a w a S a m o s t r z e l n i k a [ M i n i a t u r e s o f S t a n i s l a s S a m o s t r z e l n i k ] . W a r s a w 1 9 8 3 , p p . 9 6 - 1 1 7 .

1 6 M a r i a n S o k o ł o w s k i : W o t a w o s k o w e f l o r e n c k i e j a k o o b j a ś n i e n i e w o t ó w T o m i c k i e g o [ F l o r e n t i n e V o t i v e W a x F i g u r e s a s a n E x p l a n a t i o n o f T o m i c k i ' s V o -t i ve F i g u r e s ] . In: S p r a w o z d a n i a K o m i s y i d o B a d a n i a H i s t o r y i Sz tuk i w P o l s c e , V o l . 7 / 1 - 2 , 1 9 0 2 , co l i . C C X C - C C X C I I .

1 7 A c t a T o m i c i a n a ( n o t e 6 ) , V o l . 1 7 , n o . 3 7 4 . - M . S o k o ł o w s k i ( n o t e 1 6 ) , co l i . C C X C - C C X C I I . - J . M i z i o ł e k ( n o t e 3 ) , p p . 3 0 5 , 3 2 4 a n d n o t e 9 o n p . 3 2 8 . -For the v o t i v e w a x f i g u r e s in F l o r e n c e a r o u n d 1 5 0 0 , s e e A b y W a r b u r g : A r t e d e l r itratto e b o r g h e s i a f i o r e n t i n a . A p p e n d i c e I: S t a t u ę v o t i v e in c e r a . In: La r i n a s c i t a d e l p a g a n e s i m o a n t i c o . F l o r e n c e 1 9 8 0 , p p . 1 3 7 - 1 4 1 .

1 8 For t h e e r e c t i o n o f t h e c h a p e l a n d its a r c h i t e c t u r e , s e e J . Ł o z i ń s k i ( n o t e 3 ) , p p . 4 5 - 4 8 . - J . B i a ł o s t o c k i ( n o t e 1) , p . 4 3 . - Fo r t h e t o m b , s e e H e l e n a K o z a -k i e w i c z o w a : R z e ź b a X V I w i e k u w P o l s c e [ S i x t e e n t h - C e n t u r y Po l i sh S c u l p t u r e ] . W a r s a w 1 9 8 4 , p p . 5 2 - 5 6 .

J 9 A c t a T o m i c i a n a ( n o t e 6 ) , Vó ł . 1 7 , n o . 1 9 9 .

2 0 A c t a T o m i c i a n a ( n o t e 6 ) , V o l . 8 , p . 1 5 0 ; V o l . 1 5 , p p . 4 9 3 a n d 6 2 3 . - J . K i e s z k o w s k i ( n o t e 5 ) , c o l . C C L X X V I .

21 J . K i e s z k o w s k i ( n o t e 5 ) , co l i . C C L X X I X - C C L X X X . - J . Ł o z i ń s k i ( n o t e 3 ) , p p . 4 5 - 4 6 . - M a r i a H e n n e l - B e r n a s i k o w a : G o b e l i n y k a t e d r y w a w e l s k i e j [ T a p e -stries o f t h e W a w e l C a t h e d r a l ] . C r a c o w 1 9 9 4 , p p . 3 6 - 3 7 .

2 2 I n w e n t a r z K a t e d r y W a w e l s k i e j ( n o t e 4 ) , p p . 1 9 4 - 1 9 6 .

2 3 V i t a Petri Tomic i i ( n o t e 7 ) , co l i . CLXIV.

2 4 C f . K a t a l o g z a b y t k ó w sztuki w P o l s c e ( n o t e 3 ) , p . 9 2 .

2 5 A c t a v i s i t a t i o n i s i l lustr issimi et r e v e r e n d i s s i m i d o m i n i B e r n a r d i c a r d i n a l i s M a c i e i o w s k i . A r c h i w u m K a t e d r a l n e n a W a w e l u , n o . 1 9 b , p . 3 1 3 .

2 6 T h e first m e n t i o n o f t h e rel ief b e i n g in t h e c h a p e l w a s m a d e in A c t a v i s i t a -t i on i s E c c l e s i a e C a t t e d r a l i s C r a c o v i e n s i s , M S n o . 6 4 , fo l . 1 0 2 v o f 1 7 3 1 ; A r c h i ­w u m K a t e d r a l n e n a W a w e l u ( A r c h i w u m K a p i t u ł y M e t r o p o l i t a l n e j ) . T h e p a s s a -g e r e f e r r i n g to t h e rel ief r e a d s : » a l t a r e in h a c c a p e l l a es t u n i c u m v e t e r i s et r u d i s s t r u c t u r a e in q u o es t i m a g o S S . T r i u m R e g u m « .

2 7 For t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e K i n g s , s e e J o h n o f H i l d e s h e i m : H i s t o r i a Tr ium R e g u m . In: T h e T h r e e K i n g s o f C o l o g n e . A n Ear l y E n g l i s h T r a n s l a t i o n o f the » H i s f o r i a Tr ium R e g u m « b y J o h n o f H i l d e s h e i m . E d . T r o m the mss . b y C a r l H o r s t m a n n ( E a r l y E n g l i s h Text S o c i e t y , 8 5 ) . L o n d o n 1 8 8 6 ( R e p r i n t Mi l l -w o o d / N . Y . 1 9 8 8 ) . - S e e a l s o , Y o n a P i n s o n : C o n n o t a t i o n s o f S in a n d H e r e s y in the F i g u r ę o f the B l a c k K i n g in S o m e N o r t h e r n R e n a i s s a n c e A d o r a t i o n s . In: A r t i b u s et H i s t o r i a e , V o l . 3 4 (XVII) , 1 9 9 6 , p p . 1 5 9 - 1 7 5 .

2 8 H a n s G e o r g G m e l i n : G e o r g P e n c z a i s M a l e r . In: M u n c h n e r J a h r b u c h d e r b i l d e n d e n Kuns t , V o l . 1 7 , 1 9 6 6 , p p . 4 9 - 7 6 , e s p . p p . 5 3 - 5 5 , 7 5 - 7 6 , f igs . 1 - 3 . - M e i s t e r urn A l b r e c h t Durer . E x h i b . C a t . N u r e m b e r g 1 9 6 1 , p . 1 5 2 , n o . 2 5 6 .

2 9 H . G . G m e l i n ( n o t e 2 8 ) , p . 5 3 , f ig . 4 .

392

30 From one of Tomicki's letters (Acta Tomiciana (note ó), Vol. 16, p. 645), it is known fhat Tomicki did not particularly appreciate painting. In his letter he complains about the high price of a painting he ordered for the parish church in Tomice and about the impermanence of painting.

31 Cf. Dianę Wolfthal: The Beginnings of Netherlandish Canvas Painting: 1 4 0 0 - 1 5 3 0 . Cambridge 1989.

3 2 H.G. Gmelin (note 28), pp. 49-76. - See also Tadeusz Kruszyński: Jerzy Pencz z Norymbergi jako twórca malowideł tryptyku w Kaplicy Zygmuntows-kiej [Georg Pench of Nuremberg as the Artist W h o Produced Paintings for the Altarpiece in the Sigismund Chapel]. In: Biuletyn Historii Sztuki i Kultury, Vol. II, 1 9 3 3 / 3 4 , pp. 1 7 9 - 2 1 6 .

33 B. Miodońska (note 15). - Barbara Miodońska: Die Buchmalerei in Polen zur Zeit der Jagiellonen. In: Polen im Zeitalter der Jagiellonen (note 2), pp. 2 2 4 - 2 5 4 , esp. 2 2 9 - 2 3 0 , 2 5 2 - 2 5 4 .

3 4 Rainer Brandl: Zwischen Kunst und Handwerk. Kunst und Kunstler im mittelalterlichen Nurnberg. In: Nurnberg 1 3 0 0 - 1 5 0 0 . Kunst der Gotik und Renaissance. Exhib.Cat. Nuremberg 1986. Munich 1986, pp. 5 1 - 6 0 , esp. 5 9 - 6 0 : Hans Dijrer auf dem Wawel-Schloss. - Polen im Zeitalter der Jagiel­lonen (note 2), pp. 187, 2 1 3 - 2 1 4 .

3 5 B. Miodońska (note 15), pp. 9 6 - 1 1 7 .

36 A passage in the Ms. 1035 of the Czartoryski Library in Cracow reads as follows: »ltem dedi pro telle uln. 21 super qua delineamentum alias visirungk tabulae Nurembergae argenteae fabricandae depictum est... Item dedi loan-ni Dyrer pictori regio a labore et pictura delineamenti m. 12 gr. 24. . .« Cited afterT. Kruszyński (note 32), pp. 1 8 1 - 1 8 2 .

3 7 Helena and Stefan Kozakiewicz: The Renaissance in Poland. W a r s a w 1976, pp. 9 9 - 1 0 3 , figs. 9 0 - 9 1 .

38 The lllusłrated Bartsch, 13 (7). Ed. by W.L. Strauss. N e w York 1981, 2 (536) , p. 300.

3 9 It was A d a m Bochnak: Mecenat Zygmunta Starego w zakresie rzemiosła artystycznego [Sigismund the O ld as a Patron of the Crafts], Cracow 1 960, p. 67 , fig. 57 , who noted similarities between Durer's woodcut and the scenę in the Sigismund Chapel's altarpiece.

4 0 Józef Muczkowski-Józef Zdanowski: Hans Suess z Kulmbachu. Cracow 1 927 , pp. 2 6 - 3 0 , fig. 7. - The original panel, the one from the church of Sf. Stanislas in Cracow, is now in Berlin, see Gemaldegalerie Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz Berlin. Katalog der ausgestellten Gemdlde des 1 3 . - 1 8 . Jahrhunderts. Berlin 1975, p. 220, no. 5 9 6 A.

41 L. Hajdukiewicz (note 7). - Stanisław Mossakowski: La non piu esistente decorazione astrologica del castello reale di Cracovia. In: Mag ia , astrologia e religione nel Rinascimento (Convegno polacco-ital iano, Varsavia: 2 5 - 2 7 settembre 1972). W r o c l a w - W a r s a w - C r a c o w 1974, pp. 9 0 - 9 8 .

4 2 Acta Tomiciana (note 6), Vol. 1 6 / 2, p. 270 , no. 529: »Rogamus vos, ut iam scutum ad pluviale laborari nobis faciatis, quod laborea phrygio seu rechamator non secundum picturam per nos vobis missam, sed iuxta figuram suam sanctorum Trium Regum, quam habet elegantiorem...«. - See also: J. Miziołek (note 3), p. 3 0 9 and note 9 on p. 328.

43 For the Adoration of the Magi , see Richard C. Trexler: The Journey of the Magi . Meanings in History of a Christian Story. Princeton 1997. - See also Gertrud Schiller: Iconography of Christian Art. Vol. I. Transl. by Janet Selig-man. London 1971, pp. 9 4 - 1 1 4 . - Erich Depel: Das Kólner Dombild und die Lochnernachfolge urn 1500. In: Kólner Domblatt, Vbl. 2 3 / 2 4 , 1964, pp. 3 7 1 - 4 1 0 .

4 4 Rab Hatfield: The »Compagnia de' Magi«. In: Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 33, 1970, p. 1 0 7 - 1 6 1 . - See also Andre Chastel: Arte e umanesimo a Firenze al tempo di Lorenzo il Magnifico. Transl. by Renzo Federici. Torino 1964, pp. 2 4 5 - 2 5 2 , 4 4 0 - 4 4 2 .

4 5 Richard C. Trexler: Triumph and Mourning in North Italian Magi Art. In: Art and Politics in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance Italy: 1 2 5 0 - 1 5 0 0 . Ed. by Charles M. Rosenberg, Notre Dame-London 1990, pp. 3 8 - 6 6 . - For comets in Italian art, see Andreas Beyer: De significatione cometae. Gugliel-mo De Becchis Traktat »De Cometa« (1456) und sein EinfluB auf die bilafiche Kometenikonographie in Florenz. In: Die Kunst und das Studium der Natur vom 14. zum 16. Jahrhundert. Ed. by Wolfram Prinz-Andreas Beyer. Wein -heim 1987, pp. 1 8 1 - 2 1 1 .

4 6 Die Huldigung der Magier in der Kunst der Spatantike. In: Die Heiligen Drei Kónige - Darstellung und Verehrung. Exhib.Cat. Cologne 1982, pp. 2 0 - 3 2 .

4 7 llka Kloten: Wandmalerei im Grossen Kirchenschisma. Die Cappella Bolognini in San Petronio zu Bologna. Heidelberg 1986. - Darrell D. Davis-son: The Iconology of the S. Trinita Sacristy, 1 4 1 8 - 1 4 3 5 : A Study of the Pri-vate and Public Function of Religious Art in the Early Ouattrocento. In: Art Bul-letin, Vol. 57 , 1975 , pp. 3 1 6 - 3 3 4 .

48 Rab Hatfield: Botticelli's Uffizi »Adoration«. A Study in Pictorial Content. Princeton 1 976 , pp. 3 0 - 3 2 .

4 9 Andrea de Marchi: Gentile d a Fabriano. Un viaggio nella pittura italiana alla fine del gotico. Milano 1992, pp. 1 3 5 - 1 4 3 .

5 0 R. Hatfield (note 48). - Richard C. Trexler: Captains and Kings. The Medi-ci Chapel. In: Church and Community 1 2 0 0 - 1 6 0 0 . Studies in History of Flo-rence and N e w Spain. Rome 1987, pp. 2 0 3 - 2 2 3 .

51 L. Hajdukiewicz (note 7), pp. 206 , 218. - Tomicki's copy of Durandus1

Rationale Divinorum officiorum is preserved in the Biblioteka Jagiellońska in Cracow.

5 2 J. Kieszkowski (note 5), coli. CCLXXVI.

5 3 J. Miziołek (note 3), p. 326 , fig. 18. - A .M. Schulz (note 14), p. 1 26.

5 4 J. Miziołek (note 3), pp. 3 2 4 - 3 2 7 , fig. 13. - Jerzy Miziołek: Oculus coeli: osservazioni sulla simbologia delia luce nella cappella del primate Uchanius a Lovitium (Łowicz). In: GJuasar, Vol. 8 / 9 , 1 9 9 2 / 1 9 9 3 , pp. 5 - 1 8 , esp. p. 9, fig. 1 3. - For the Adoration of the Magi and the Eucharist, see Ursula Nilgen: The Epiphany and the Eucharist: on the Interpretation of Eucharistic Motifs in Medi-aeval Epiphany Scenes. In: Art Bulletin, Vol. 49, 1967, pp. 3 1 1 - 3 1 6 . - Willi­am Hood: Fra Angelico at San Marco. New Haven-London 1993, pp. 2 4 8 - 2 5 3 .

55 Korespondencja Erazma z Rotterdamu z Polakami [Erasmus1 Correspon-dence with Poles]. Transl. by Maria Cytowska. Warsaw 1965.

56 Stephen M. Buhler: Marsilio Ficino's »De stella magorum« and Renaissan­ce Views of the Magi. In: Renaissance Ouarterly, Vol. 43 , 1990, pp. 3 4 8 - 3 7 1 .

5 7 Hymns of Prudentius. The Cathemerinon; or, The Daily Round. Transl. by David R. Slavitt. Baltimore-London 1996, pp. 5 4 - 6 1 .

58 Collected Works of Erasmus: Literary and Educational Writings 7. Ed. by Elaine Fgntham-Erika Rummel. Toronto-Buffalo-London 1989, pp. 1 9 6 - 2 0 5 . - The same ideas about the Epiphany and the afterlife occur in several Polish Renaissance Christmas carols, see: Patrzgc na rozmaite świata tego sprawy. Antologia polskiej poezji renesansowej [With a View to Yarious Matters of

393

This World. Anthology of Polish Renaissance Poetry]. Ed. by Jadwiga Sokół- and Monasteries, 2]. Ed. by Izabella Rejduch-Samkowa-Jan Samek. Warsaw owska. Warsaw 1984, pp. 203 and 214. ' 1994, p. 38, fig. 188.

59 In a letter to Sigismund the Old, dated 1 531, the Bishop states: »Hic cum rege de me magna fuit disputatio ex declaratione comete«, cited after S. Mos­sakowski (note 41), p. 91. Sources of illusłrations

60 Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce. Vol. IV: Miasto Kraków, część V: Kazi- Kraków, Państwowe Zbiory Sztuki na Wawelu: 1; Kraków, Stanisław Michta: mierz i Stradom, Kościoły i klasztory, 2 [Catalogue of Art Monuments in 2; Warszawa, Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Sztuki: 3-6, 8-10; Krystyna Poland. Vol. IV: The City of Cracow, part V: Kazimierz and Stradom, Churches Dąbrowska: 7.

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