Acta historiae artis Slovenica. Artistic and Architectural Heritage of the Nobility Between Old and New Regimes, 2023
The article aims to investigate aristocratic collecting practices in the former Polish-Lithuanian... more The article aims to investigate aristocratic collecting practices in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 19th century, focusing on three points. First, we highlight the specific situation of the Polish aristocracy compared to most European countries and note the weakness of collecting culture in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the early modern period, followed by its slow emergence at the end of the 18th century. Then, we investigate the most important phenomena of 19th-century aristocratic collecting and distinguish two major trends within it: collecting art and collecting national memorabilia. We also highlight the importance of aristocratic collections for a stateless nation. Finally, to illustrate the overview, using a specific example to underline the key issues, we discuss the collections of Princes Czartoryski. In this essay, we summarize our previous research on the collections of Polish aristocracy and provide, for the first time, a comprehensive and systematic panorama of this phenomenon.
OUT OF NO FEWER THAN FIVE SO-CALLED “SHAKESPEARE’S CHAIRS” that have been preserved or at least r... more OUT OF NO FEWER THAN FIVE SO-CALLED “SHAKESPEARE’S CHAIRS” that have been preserved or at least referred to in sources, the most remarkable one is probably the chair purchased by Princess Izabela Czartoryska (1746–1831) in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1790, today housed in the National Museum in Krakow. Despite its long and turbulent history, a large fragment of the chair has survived, having been kept in a reliquary-like case prepared especially for it at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Moreover, the number of preserved documents related to the object is exceptional. The two most important ones are an extensive, extremely detailed, vivid, slightly amusing, and slightly gruesome description of the circumstances of the purchase, written by Izabela Czartoryska herself around 1820, and a certificate of the chair’s authenticity issued in Stratford in January 1791. The other available documents contain only passing references to the chair, but still throw some light on its history. Izabela’s account is well-known and has been frequently cited and repeated in academic literature. Thus far, it has never been questioned. In this essay, I present ample evidence to suggest that many elements of the story are inaccurate, to say the least, while its most extraordinary and exciting fragments are entirely fictitious. I aim to reconstruct as faithfully as possible the circumstances of Izabela Czartoryska’s purchase of “Shakespeare’s chair,” to describe its later fate, and to propose an explanation for the fantastic story about its acquisition. From a broader perspective, the essay is concerned with the problem of a material relic as an essential element of a poet’s cult.
The Home, Nations and Empires, and Ephemeral Exhibition Spaces
This chapter discusses the so-called Temple of the Sibyl, the first Polish museum, opened in 1801... more This chapter discusses the so-called Temple of the Sibyl, the first Polish museum, opened in 1801 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska in Puławy. The idea of the creation of the temple originated from the reaction to the loss of Polish independence in 1795. The temple offered an exceptional, very emotional way of experiencing history, which here is called affective. It is argued that this manner of experiencing is the key to understanding the remarkable success of the Puławy museum among Poles. The intensity of feelings that visitors experienced was achieved by appealing to religious rhetoric and through theatrical references. Making it similar to a religious ritual ensured a sublime, solemn atmosphere, the theatrical nature of which allowed guests to freely express their feelings.
Acta Universitatis Nicolai Copernici Zabytkoznawstwo i Konserwatorstwo
Przedmiotem studium są znaczenia, jakie nadawano pojęciu „muzeum” w XVIII wieku. Analizie poddano... more Przedmiotem studium są znaczenia, jakie nadawano pojęciu „muzeum” w XVIII wieku. Analizie poddano definicje terminu „muzeum” zawarte w traktatach kolekcjonerskich oraz przede wszystkim w słownikach i encyklopediach. Teksty źródłowe pochodzą w większości z niemieckiego i francuskiego obszaru językowego, gdyż w nich szczególnie wyraźnie zaznaczyło się zjawisko zmiany zbioru desygnatów nazwy „muzeum”, a zarazem były one nośnikami nieco odmiennych tradycji. Wskazuje się na trzy główne przemiany, jakie dokonały się w rozumieniu słowa „muzeum” w XVIII wieku. Po pierwsze, „muzeum” zaczęło w sposób konsekwentny oznaczać przestrzeń realną, a nie również wirtualną (dyskursywną). Po drugie, zaczęło ono oznaczać przestrzeń raczej publiczną niż prywatną. Po trzecie – przestrzeń kolekcjonerską, ekspozycyjną, służącą w pierwszym rzędzie doświadczeniu sensualnemu, a nie przestrzeń wiedzy, służącą przede wszystkim doświadczeniu intelektualnemu. W konsekwencji złożonych procesów kulturowych stopniowo...
This book depicts the long rich life and wide ranging work of Count Athanasius Raczyński (1788-18... more This book depicts the long rich life and wide ranging work of Count Athanasius Raczyński (1788-1874). By exploring his complex personality, his processes of thought and his accomplishments, it reveals a man at once a wealthy aristocrat, a Pole in the Prussian diplomatic service, an active participant in and perceptive observer and critical commentator on political life, a connoisseur and art collector of European renown, and the author of ground breaking studies on German and Portuguese art – in short a distinguished and fascinating nineteenth century figure.
It is the plan to found the Polish Museum declared in 1775 by Michał Jerzy Wandalin Mniszech (174... more It is the plan to found the Polish Museum declared in 1775 by Michał Jerzy Wandalin Mniszech (1748–1806) that is tackled in the paper. Argumentation is presented that the major impulse for the idea to establish a museum in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was felt by Mniszech following his visit to the British Museum in 1766. It is from the inspiration by that Museum that the overall structural scheme of the Polish Museum, adjusted to the Polish potential and conditions was conceived. Just like the latter, the Polish Museum was to be funded with public financing and opened to the general public, while its main raison d’être, similarly as that of the London museum, was benefit understood as supporting and popularizing knowledge, since Mniszech’s museum first of all was to be an educational institution targeted mainly at young people and calculated to yield future advantages. Next to the reformed general public system and the academy of sciences, it was to become an essential elemen...
National trauma, a passion for graves, and the collecting of national memorabilia in early ninete... more National trauma, a passion for graves, and the collecting of national memorabilia in early nineteenth-century Poland Michał Mencfel This essay discusses collections of historical memorabilia assembled in Poland at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, which contained the physical remains (bones and hair) of historical figures. An analysis is offered of the traditions and circumstances that made it acceptable and possible for Polish antiquaries and collectors to open the tombs of eminent historical figures and to remove the contents of graves to private collections. Emphasis is placed on the role of national trauma, brought about by the crisis of the partition of Poland, culminating in 1795 in the demise of Poland as an independent state, which provided an impetus for the development of a distinctive historical consciousness. It is argued that while objects of this kind would cause moral and other dilemmas in other countries in Europe, such concerns were absent in Poland owing to its unique situation. Attention is also paid to changing attitudes throughout the nineteenth century, which influenced both the shape of historical collections and the manner of examining the corpses of historical figures. An explanation is offered for why, in the second half of the nineteenth century, despite the continuing exploration of tombs, the practice of collecting and displaying human remains and grave goods never gained wide public approval.
El objeto del presente ensayo es mostrar la historia de la amistad entablada entre Atanazy Raczyń... more El objeto del presente ensayo es mostrar la historia de la amistad entablada entre Atanazy Raczyński, aristócrata polaco y diplomático prusiano, y Juan Donoso Cortés, político, diplomático y pensador español. Para ello se indican las circunstancias de su encuentro en otoño de 1848 en Madrid y el rápido desarrollo de su relación, que, no obstante, tuvo un comienzo desafortunado y estuvo rodeado de prejuicios iniciales. La idea que aquí se desarrolla es que el fundamento de su amistad, a pesar de la divergencia de caracteres, se basaba en la coincidencia de sus ideas políticas. Dado que el pensamiento de Raczyński, a diferencia del de Donoso Cortés, es poco conocido en España, a él se dedica una parte del artículo, la cual va seguida por un comentario acerca de la infuencia que sobre el aristócrata ejercieron las ideas del pensador español, perteneciente a una generación más joven. A modo de ilustración sobre la relación que los unía, el texto se completa con tres cartas no publicadas de Raczyński a Donoso escritas entre 1851 y 1852.
Der Beitrag handelt von Kunst-und Naturaliensammlungen, die in Schlesien im 17. und 18. Jahrhunde... more Der Beitrag handelt von Kunst-und Naturaliensammlungen, die in Schlesien im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert angelegt wurden. Schlesien gehörte zu dieser Zeit zu den wichtigen Punkten auf der Sammler-Landkarte Europas. Aufgrund der günstigen politischen, gesellschaftlichen und kulturellen Umstände entstanden hier über einhundert Sammlungen; der Ruhm mancher von ihnen reichte weit über die Provinzgrenzen hinaus. Die Gruppe der Sammler war in Schlesien so zahlreich, ihre Mitglieder waren so bedeutend, die Beziehungen zwischen ihnen waren so eng, so dass es berechtigt ist, von einer lokalen Sammlerrepublik zu sprechen. Diese Gemeinschaft entwickelte eine Reihe geselliger und gelehrter Praktiken, die den Gemeinsinn pflegten und steigerten. Das Spezifikum der schlesischen Sammelkultur machte schließlich das hohe Niveau der theoretischen Reflexion über das Sammeln sowie das entwickelte Selbstbewusstsein schlesischer Sammler aus. Besonders viel Aufmerksamkeit wird im Beitrag der Person und der Sammlung Johann Christian Kundmanns, eines Arztes und Universalgelehrten aus Breslau, gewidmet. Die Interpretation dieser Sammlung, die sich durch Reichtum und Rang der Exponate sowie durch die große Anzahl der sie behandelnden Quellen auszeichnete, erlaubte es, den gesellschaftlichen, wissenschaftlichen und kulturellen Kontext zu rekonstruieren, in den diese, aber auch andere schlesische Sammlungen gehörten. Der Fall Kundmann zeigt, mit welchen Dilemmata viele der schlesischen Sammler sich in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, also in einer Wendezeit in der Geschichte des Sammelns, auseinandersetzen mussten. Das Ideal einer universellen, auf das Ungewöhnliche, Seltene und Fremde hin orientierten Sammlung, dem viele Kabinettbesitzer dieser Epoche immer noch treu blieben, wurde allmählich an den Rand der Sammelkultur verdrängt und endlich durch das Modell einer Kollektion des Normalen, Regulären und Nahen ersetzt. Die Antwort der schlesischen Sammler auf diesen Prozess und auf die von ihm verursachten tiefen Wandlungen der Sammelkultur stellen den Hauptgegenstand des Beitrages dar. The essay is dedicated to the collections of artistic and natural curiosities, established in Silesia in the 17 th and 18 th century. At that time, Silesia was an important centre of European collecting culture. More than one hundred cabinets of curiosities, art and natural history collections were established here within two centuries, due to favourable political, social and cultural circumstances. Some of them achieved international reputation. The cluster of collectors, made up of members of the social and intellectual elite of the province, developed a number of sophisticated practices to foster communication among each other and to increase their sense of community. Moreover, highly developed theoretical reflection upon collecting was a distinguishing mark of Silesian collecting culture. Special attention was paid to the cabinet of Johann Christian Kundmann, a physician and polyhistor from Breslau, that was distinguished from most other Silesian collections by the richness of its exhibits, by respect it enjoyed even beyond the Silesian province, and finally by a number of source references. An interpretative perusal of this cabinet allows us to reconstruct the social, scientific and cultural context in which the Silesian collections were embroiled. It also shows which dilemmas the collectors had to face with in the first half of the 18th century. It was the time when the ideal of a universally-oriented collection of rare and unusual things – an ideal that many Silesian collectors of that time remained faithful to – began to be questioned more and more intensively, to be finely rejected and replaced by collections that were focused on regular and usual items. The consequences of this process for the Silesian collectors and their answer the deep changes of collecting culture influenced by it form the prime theme of the paper.
Muzeum a pamięć: forma, produkcja, miejsce, red. Tomasz de Rosset, Ewelina Bednarz Doiczmanowa, Aldona Tołysz, 2018
Aristocratic memory. The Berlin and Gaj galleries of Atanazy Raczyński (1788–1874)
The endeavour... more Aristocratic memory. The Berlin and Gaj galleries of Atanazy Raczyński (1788–1874) The endeavours of this discerning scholar and art lover in the field of art collecting reflect two conceptions of aristocratic memory: the public one, which highlighted the social and cultural duties of the gentry as a class, and the private one, with its focus on traditional values and the perception of the place, significance, privileges and duties of the aristocracy in general. The first of those was put into effect by means of a private gallery, opened in the year 1836 in Berlin, which presented renowned paintings in a state-of- -the-art manner. This, combined with Raczyński’s output as an author and his involvement in the artistic life of Prussia and of Europe, quickly assured him the admiration of his contemporaries. Raczyński himself perceived his endeavour to amass a collection of classical paintings as a duty, but also as a source of personal prestige that enhanced the standing of his family. These aims were a component of the then-current strategies of restoring the ethos of the gentry class, firmly inculcated in Raczyński during his youth. His other, less renowned collection was a portrait gallery established in 1865–1870 in the Gaj Mały estate in Greater Poland. Its artistic and ideo- logical program was expressed through the architectural form of the edifi- ce which, together with the carefully arranged space where 46 portraits of family members and members of related families were exhibited, constitu- ted a sui generis family shrine. Similarly to the Berlin collection, this gallery was described in a catalogue published by Raczyński, even though its cha- racter was more private. A turning towards tradition, so clear in the case of the Gaj gallery, expressed not only Raczyński’s attachment to traditional values and ideals, but also his concern as to the subsequent fate of his material and non-material legacy. The article is based on earlier research and to a great extent reiterates the conclusions found in Atanazy Raczyński (1788–1874). Biografia, Poznań 2016, by the same author.
Czeska historia Śląska. Ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem Oleśnicy i Księstwa Oleśnickiego, red. Wojciech Mrozowicz, 2017
DUCAL DIVERTISSEMENTS. CABINET OF CURIOSITIES AT THE CASTLE IN OLEŚNICA (OELS)AT THE END OF THE ... more DUCAL DIVERTISSEMENTS. CABINET OF CURIOSITIES AT THE CASTLE IN OLEŚNICA (OELS)AT THE END OF THE 17TH AND IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY This paper concerns the collection of artistic and natural peculiarities, founded by Christian Ulrich I, duke of Württemberg-Oels (1652-1704), at the castle in Bierutów (Germ. Bernstadt). Said collection was moved to Oleśnica (Germ. Oels) after 1673. Along with a library and an armory it formed a compositional and ideological unity, consistent with popular early modern collectors’ theory as well as practices. It was a vessel for important contents and a useful tool for shaping the image of the founding duke. The selection and exposition of objects, the iconographic structure of decorations and the inscriptions in the collectors’ chambers were a testament to the glory of Christian Ulrich I and his successors. This painted a picture of the dukes’ line as representatives of an ancient and wealthy aristocratic family, which cultivated traditions and fidelity to knightly ideals. There was another necessary feature of a modern sovereign, being a pa- tron for scholars and artists, well versed in science and the arts. Moreover, if one is to follow the course of interpretation set by Johannes Sinapius, a contemporary of Christian Ulrich I, the duke’s commitment to collecting was a noble pastime, a refined way of spending time (otium), that is to say, a selfless, though beneficial endeavour, perfectly compatible with ducal decorum.
The Most Perfect Knowledge and Complete Power. Collecting and Art of Memory in the Early Modern P... more The Most Perfect Knowledge and Complete Power. Collecting and Art of Memory in the Early Modern Period - Abstract
The article focuses on the relations between the early modern theory and practice of collecting on the one hand and collecting on the other. An analysis of a selection of texts: museological, scientific, didactic and literary from between ca. 1550 and 1750 (by, among others, Samuel Quiccheberg, Johann Daniel Major, Francis Bacon, Caspar Fridrich Neickel) serves to indi- cate some places of their interpenetration, intersection, interaction, mainly in the areas of knowledge and power, both with a strong utopian streak. A close relationship between collecting and ars memoriae resulted firstly from the fact that they were rooted in the same assumptions: about a great persuasion power of objects and images, about the existence of pre-estab- lished harmony of things that could be discovered and imitated, about the possibility of universal science. They were also united both by the common purpose (that is knowledge, and in the ideal case – the total knowledge), and by methods (wandering through real or mental spaces with carefully arranged, strong visual and semantically expressive, thought-provoking objects or images). The author attempts to determine the consequences of this bringing together the art of collecting and mnemonics for the early mod- ern theories of knowledge and for the discourse of power and in which way it manifested itself in the utopian thought of that period.
Acta historiae artis Slovenica. Artistic and Architectural Heritage of the Nobility Between Old and New Regimes, 2023
The article aims to investigate aristocratic collecting practices in the former Polish-Lithuanian... more The article aims to investigate aristocratic collecting practices in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 19th century, focusing on three points. First, we highlight the specific situation of the Polish aristocracy compared to most European countries and note the weakness of collecting culture in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the early modern period, followed by its slow emergence at the end of the 18th century. Then, we investigate the most important phenomena of 19th-century aristocratic collecting and distinguish two major trends within it: collecting art and collecting national memorabilia. We also highlight the importance of aristocratic collections for a stateless nation. Finally, to illustrate the overview, using a specific example to underline the key issues, we discuss the collections of Princes Czartoryski. In this essay, we summarize our previous research on the collections of Polish aristocracy and provide, for the first time, a comprehensive and systematic panorama of this phenomenon.
OUT OF NO FEWER THAN FIVE SO-CALLED “SHAKESPEARE’S CHAIRS” that have been preserved or at least r... more OUT OF NO FEWER THAN FIVE SO-CALLED “SHAKESPEARE’S CHAIRS” that have been preserved or at least referred to in sources, the most remarkable one is probably the chair purchased by Princess Izabela Czartoryska (1746–1831) in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1790, today housed in the National Museum in Krakow. Despite its long and turbulent history, a large fragment of the chair has survived, having been kept in a reliquary-like case prepared especially for it at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Moreover, the number of preserved documents related to the object is exceptional. The two most important ones are an extensive, extremely detailed, vivid, slightly amusing, and slightly gruesome description of the circumstances of the purchase, written by Izabela Czartoryska herself around 1820, and a certificate of the chair’s authenticity issued in Stratford in January 1791. The other available documents contain only passing references to the chair, but still throw some light on its history. Izabela’s account is well-known and has been frequently cited and repeated in academic literature. Thus far, it has never been questioned. In this essay, I present ample evidence to suggest that many elements of the story are inaccurate, to say the least, while its most extraordinary and exciting fragments are entirely fictitious. I aim to reconstruct as faithfully as possible the circumstances of Izabela Czartoryska’s purchase of “Shakespeare’s chair,” to describe its later fate, and to propose an explanation for the fantastic story about its acquisition. From a broader perspective, the essay is concerned with the problem of a material relic as an essential element of a poet’s cult.
The Home, Nations and Empires, and Ephemeral Exhibition Spaces
This chapter discusses the so-called Temple of the Sibyl, the first Polish museum, opened in 1801... more This chapter discusses the so-called Temple of the Sibyl, the first Polish museum, opened in 1801 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska in Puławy. The idea of the creation of the temple originated from the reaction to the loss of Polish independence in 1795. The temple offered an exceptional, very emotional way of experiencing history, which here is called affective. It is argued that this manner of experiencing is the key to understanding the remarkable success of the Puławy museum among Poles. The intensity of feelings that visitors experienced was achieved by appealing to religious rhetoric and through theatrical references. Making it similar to a religious ritual ensured a sublime, solemn atmosphere, the theatrical nature of which allowed guests to freely express their feelings.
Acta Universitatis Nicolai Copernici Zabytkoznawstwo i Konserwatorstwo
Przedmiotem studium są znaczenia, jakie nadawano pojęciu „muzeum” w XVIII wieku. Analizie poddano... more Przedmiotem studium są znaczenia, jakie nadawano pojęciu „muzeum” w XVIII wieku. Analizie poddano definicje terminu „muzeum” zawarte w traktatach kolekcjonerskich oraz przede wszystkim w słownikach i encyklopediach. Teksty źródłowe pochodzą w większości z niemieckiego i francuskiego obszaru językowego, gdyż w nich szczególnie wyraźnie zaznaczyło się zjawisko zmiany zbioru desygnatów nazwy „muzeum”, a zarazem były one nośnikami nieco odmiennych tradycji. Wskazuje się na trzy główne przemiany, jakie dokonały się w rozumieniu słowa „muzeum” w XVIII wieku. Po pierwsze, „muzeum” zaczęło w sposób konsekwentny oznaczać przestrzeń realną, a nie również wirtualną (dyskursywną). Po drugie, zaczęło ono oznaczać przestrzeń raczej publiczną niż prywatną. Po trzecie – przestrzeń kolekcjonerską, ekspozycyjną, służącą w pierwszym rzędzie doświadczeniu sensualnemu, a nie przestrzeń wiedzy, służącą przede wszystkim doświadczeniu intelektualnemu. W konsekwencji złożonych procesów kulturowych stopniowo...
This book depicts the long rich life and wide ranging work of Count Athanasius Raczyński (1788-18... more This book depicts the long rich life and wide ranging work of Count Athanasius Raczyński (1788-1874). By exploring his complex personality, his processes of thought and his accomplishments, it reveals a man at once a wealthy aristocrat, a Pole in the Prussian diplomatic service, an active participant in and perceptive observer and critical commentator on political life, a connoisseur and art collector of European renown, and the author of ground breaking studies on German and Portuguese art – in short a distinguished and fascinating nineteenth century figure.
It is the plan to found the Polish Museum declared in 1775 by Michał Jerzy Wandalin Mniszech (174... more It is the plan to found the Polish Museum declared in 1775 by Michał Jerzy Wandalin Mniszech (1748–1806) that is tackled in the paper. Argumentation is presented that the major impulse for the idea to establish a museum in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was felt by Mniszech following his visit to the British Museum in 1766. It is from the inspiration by that Museum that the overall structural scheme of the Polish Museum, adjusted to the Polish potential and conditions was conceived. Just like the latter, the Polish Museum was to be funded with public financing and opened to the general public, while its main raison d’être, similarly as that of the London museum, was benefit understood as supporting and popularizing knowledge, since Mniszech’s museum first of all was to be an educational institution targeted mainly at young people and calculated to yield future advantages. Next to the reformed general public system and the academy of sciences, it was to become an essential elemen...
National trauma, a passion for graves, and the collecting of national memorabilia in early ninete... more National trauma, a passion for graves, and the collecting of national memorabilia in early nineteenth-century Poland Michał Mencfel This essay discusses collections of historical memorabilia assembled in Poland at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, which contained the physical remains (bones and hair) of historical figures. An analysis is offered of the traditions and circumstances that made it acceptable and possible for Polish antiquaries and collectors to open the tombs of eminent historical figures and to remove the contents of graves to private collections. Emphasis is placed on the role of national trauma, brought about by the crisis of the partition of Poland, culminating in 1795 in the demise of Poland as an independent state, which provided an impetus for the development of a distinctive historical consciousness. It is argued that while objects of this kind would cause moral and other dilemmas in other countries in Europe, such concerns were absent in Poland owing to its unique situation. Attention is also paid to changing attitudes throughout the nineteenth century, which influenced both the shape of historical collections and the manner of examining the corpses of historical figures. An explanation is offered for why, in the second half of the nineteenth century, despite the continuing exploration of tombs, the practice of collecting and displaying human remains and grave goods never gained wide public approval.
El objeto del presente ensayo es mostrar la historia de la amistad entablada entre Atanazy Raczyń... more El objeto del presente ensayo es mostrar la historia de la amistad entablada entre Atanazy Raczyński, aristócrata polaco y diplomático prusiano, y Juan Donoso Cortés, político, diplomático y pensador español. Para ello se indican las circunstancias de su encuentro en otoño de 1848 en Madrid y el rápido desarrollo de su relación, que, no obstante, tuvo un comienzo desafortunado y estuvo rodeado de prejuicios iniciales. La idea que aquí se desarrolla es que el fundamento de su amistad, a pesar de la divergencia de caracteres, se basaba en la coincidencia de sus ideas políticas. Dado que el pensamiento de Raczyński, a diferencia del de Donoso Cortés, es poco conocido en España, a él se dedica una parte del artículo, la cual va seguida por un comentario acerca de la infuencia que sobre el aristócrata ejercieron las ideas del pensador español, perteneciente a una generación más joven. A modo de ilustración sobre la relación que los unía, el texto se completa con tres cartas no publicadas de Raczyński a Donoso escritas entre 1851 y 1852.
Der Beitrag handelt von Kunst-und Naturaliensammlungen, die in Schlesien im 17. und 18. Jahrhunde... more Der Beitrag handelt von Kunst-und Naturaliensammlungen, die in Schlesien im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert angelegt wurden. Schlesien gehörte zu dieser Zeit zu den wichtigen Punkten auf der Sammler-Landkarte Europas. Aufgrund der günstigen politischen, gesellschaftlichen und kulturellen Umstände entstanden hier über einhundert Sammlungen; der Ruhm mancher von ihnen reichte weit über die Provinzgrenzen hinaus. Die Gruppe der Sammler war in Schlesien so zahlreich, ihre Mitglieder waren so bedeutend, die Beziehungen zwischen ihnen waren so eng, so dass es berechtigt ist, von einer lokalen Sammlerrepublik zu sprechen. Diese Gemeinschaft entwickelte eine Reihe geselliger und gelehrter Praktiken, die den Gemeinsinn pflegten und steigerten. Das Spezifikum der schlesischen Sammelkultur machte schließlich das hohe Niveau der theoretischen Reflexion über das Sammeln sowie das entwickelte Selbstbewusstsein schlesischer Sammler aus. Besonders viel Aufmerksamkeit wird im Beitrag der Person und der Sammlung Johann Christian Kundmanns, eines Arztes und Universalgelehrten aus Breslau, gewidmet. Die Interpretation dieser Sammlung, die sich durch Reichtum und Rang der Exponate sowie durch die große Anzahl der sie behandelnden Quellen auszeichnete, erlaubte es, den gesellschaftlichen, wissenschaftlichen und kulturellen Kontext zu rekonstruieren, in den diese, aber auch andere schlesische Sammlungen gehörten. Der Fall Kundmann zeigt, mit welchen Dilemmata viele der schlesischen Sammler sich in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, also in einer Wendezeit in der Geschichte des Sammelns, auseinandersetzen mussten. Das Ideal einer universellen, auf das Ungewöhnliche, Seltene und Fremde hin orientierten Sammlung, dem viele Kabinettbesitzer dieser Epoche immer noch treu blieben, wurde allmählich an den Rand der Sammelkultur verdrängt und endlich durch das Modell einer Kollektion des Normalen, Regulären und Nahen ersetzt. Die Antwort der schlesischen Sammler auf diesen Prozess und auf die von ihm verursachten tiefen Wandlungen der Sammelkultur stellen den Hauptgegenstand des Beitrages dar. The essay is dedicated to the collections of artistic and natural curiosities, established in Silesia in the 17 th and 18 th century. At that time, Silesia was an important centre of European collecting culture. More than one hundred cabinets of curiosities, art and natural history collections were established here within two centuries, due to favourable political, social and cultural circumstances. Some of them achieved international reputation. The cluster of collectors, made up of members of the social and intellectual elite of the province, developed a number of sophisticated practices to foster communication among each other and to increase their sense of community. Moreover, highly developed theoretical reflection upon collecting was a distinguishing mark of Silesian collecting culture. Special attention was paid to the cabinet of Johann Christian Kundmann, a physician and polyhistor from Breslau, that was distinguished from most other Silesian collections by the richness of its exhibits, by respect it enjoyed even beyond the Silesian province, and finally by a number of source references. An interpretative perusal of this cabinet allows us to reconstruct the social, scientific and cultural context in which the Silesian collections were embroiled. It also shows which dilemmas the collectors had to face with in the first half of the 18th century. It was the time when the ideal of a universally-oriented collection of rare and unusual things – an ideal that many Silesian collectors of that time remained faithful to – began to be questioned more and more intensively, to be finely rejected and replaced by collections that were focused on regular and usual items. The consequences of this process for the Silesian collectors and their answer the deep changes of collecting culture influenced by it form the prime theme of the paper.
Muzeum a pamięć: forma, produkcja, miejsce, red. Tomasz de Rosset, Ewelina Bednarz Doiczmanowa, Aldona Tołysz, 2018
Aristocratic memory. The Berlin and Gaj galleries of Atanazy Raczyński (1788–1874)
The endeavour... more Aristocratic memory. The Berlin and Gaj galleries of Atanazy Raczyński (1788–1874) The endeavours of this discerning scholar and art lover in the field of art collecting reflect two conceptions of aristocratic memory: the public one, which highlighted the social and cultural duties of the gentry as a class, and the private one, with its focus on traditional values and the perception of the place, significance, privileges and duties of the aristocracy in general. The first of those was put into effect by means of a private gallery, opened in the year 1836 in Berlin, which presented renowned paintings in a state-of- -the-art manner. This, combined with Raczyński’s output as an author and his involvement in the artistic life of Prussia and of Europe, quickly assured him the admiration of his contemporaries. Raczyński himself perceived his endeavour to amass a collection of classical paintings as a duty, but also as a source of personal prestige that enhanced the standing of his family. These aims were a component of the then-current strategies of restoring the ethos of the gentry class, firmly inculcated in Raczyński during his youth. His other, less renowned collection was a portrait gallery established in 1865–1870 in the Gaj Mały estate in Greater Poland. Its artistic and ideo- logical program was expressed through the architectural form of the edifi- ce which, together with the carefully arranged space where 46 portraits of family members and members of related families were exhibited, constitu- ted a sui generis family shrine. Similarly to the Berlin collection, this gallery was described in a catalogue published by Raczyński, even though its cha- racter was more private. A turning towards tradition, so clear in the case of the Gaj gallery, expressed not only Raczyński’s attachment to traditional values and ideals, but also his concern as to the subsequent fate of his material and non-material legacy. The article is based on earlier research and to a great extent reiterates the conclusions found in Atanazy Raczyński (1788–1874). Biografia, Poznań 2016, by the same author.
Czeska historia Śląska. Ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem Oleśnicy i Księstwa Oleśnickiego, red. Wojciech Mrozowicz, 2017
DUCAL DIVERTISSEMENTS. CABINET OF CURIOSITIES AT THE CASTLE IN OLEŚNICA (OELS)AT THE END OF THE ... more DUCAL DIVERTISSEMENTS. CABINET OF CURIOSITIES AT THE CASTLE IN OLEŚNICA (OELS)AT THE END OF THE 17TH AND IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY This paper concerns the collection of artistic and natural peculiarities, founded by Christian Ulrich I, duke of Württemberg-Oels (1652-1704), at the castle in Bierutów (Germ. Bernstadt). Said collection was moved to Oleśnica (Germ. Oels) after 1673. Along with a library and an armory it formed a compositional and ideological unity, consistent with popular early modern collectors’ theory as well as practices. It was a vessel for important contents and a useful tool for shaping the image of the founding duke. The selection and exposition of objects, the iconographic structure of decorations and the inscriptions in the collectors’ chambers were a testament to the glory of Christian Ulrich I and his successors. This painted a picture of the dukes’ line as representatives of an ancient and wealthy aristocratic family, which cultivated traditions and fidelity to knightly ideals. There was another necessary feature of a modern sovereign, being a pa- tron for scholars and artists, well versed in science and the arts. Moreover, if one is to follow the course of interpretation set by Johannes Sinapius, a contemporary of Christian Ulrich I, the duke’s commitment to collecting was a noble pastime, a refined way of spending time (otium), that is to say, a selfless, though beneficial endeavour, perfectly compatible with ducal decorum.
The Most Perfect Knowledge and Complete Power. Collecting and Art of Memory in the Early Modern P... more The Most Perfect Knowledge and Complete Power. Collecting and Art of Memory in the Early Modern Period - Abstract
The article focuses on the relations between the early modern theory and practice of collecting on the one hand and collecting on the other. An analysis of a selection of texts: museological, scientific, didactic and literary from between ca. 1550 and 1750 (by, among others, Samuel Quiccheberg, Johann Daniel Major, Francis Bacon, Caspar Fridrich Neickel) serves to indi- cate some places of their interpenetration, intersection, interaction, mainly in the areas of knowledge and power, both with a strong utopian streak. A close relationship between collecting and ars memoriae resulted firstly from the fact that they were rooted in the same assumptions: about a great persuasion power of objects and images, about the existence of pre-estab- lished harmony of things that could be discovered and imitated, about the possibility of universal science. They were also united both by the common purpose (that is knowledge, and in the ideal case – the total knowledge), and by methods (wandering through real or mental spaces with carefully arranged, strong visual and semantically expressive, thought-provoking objects or images). The author attempts to determine the consequences of this bringing together the art of collecting and mnemonics for the early mod- ern theories of knowledge and for the discourse of power and in which way it manifested itself in the utopian thought of that period.
This book depicts the long rich life and wide ranging work of Count Athanasius Raczyński (1788-18... more This book depicts the long rich life and wide ranging work of Count Athanasius Raczyński (1788-1874). By exploring his complex personality, his processes of thought and his accomplishments, it reveals a man at once a wealthy aristocrat, a Pole in the Prussian diplomatic service, an active participant in and perceptive observer and critical commentator on political life, a connoisseur and art collector of European renown, and the author of ground breaking studies on German and Portuguese art – in short a distinguished and fascinating nineteenth century figure.
Dziennik Atanazego Raczyńskiego (1788–1874) z lat 1808–1866, po raz pierwszy publikowany w tak ob... more Dziennik Atanazego Raczyńskiego (1788–1874) z lat 1808–1866, po raz pierwszy publikowany w tak obszernym wyborze, w polskim przekładzie i w krytycznym opracowaniu, należy do najobszerniejszych, najbardziej znaczących, a zarazem najmniej znanych przykładów polskiej diarystyki XIX wieku. Stanowi on nieocenione źródło dla badaczy świadomości politycznej i narodowej polskich elit arystokratycznych w przełomowym okresie między epoką ancien régime’u i nowoczesnością. Zawartość dziennika odzwierciedla w sposób sugestywny żywot autora, jego myślenie o świecie, a także kontekst jego życia: arystokraty osadzonego w środowisku polskim i prusko-niemieckim, polityka, dyplomaty, namiętnego komentatora europejskiej polityki, kolekcjonera, wpływowego krytyka i historyka sztuki niemieckiej i europejskiej. Biografia Raczyńskiego, znakomicie udokumentowana w Dzienniku, jest tu szczególna i przykładowa: monarchisty i konserwatysty, osobistości funkcjonującej w napięciu między lojalnością narodową i rozchodzącą się nią wizją aktualnej polityki i polityczno-społecznym światopoglądem, między pamięcią o dawnej Rzeczpospolitej, obserwacją nieudanych prób jej odrodzenia i wpisywaniem się w rzeczywistość Królestwa Pruskiego. Obok polityczno- i społeczno-historycznego wymiaru dokumentu można w nim odnaleźć walory w diarystyce polskiej nieomal wyjątkowe – m.in. szczerość Raczyńskiego w wyznaniach o sobie i bezwzględność w relacjach i niedyskrecjach o innych. W rezultacie Dziennik oddaje znakomicie obraz środowiska, w jakim się autor obracał, obraz zarówno fasadowych, jak i za fasadą ukrywających się obyczajów.
Dziennik Atanazego Raczyńskiego (1788–1874) z lat 1808–1866, po raz pierwszy publikowany w tak ob... more Dziennik Atanazego Raczyńskiego (1788–1874) z lat 1808–1866, po raz pierwszy publikowany w tak obszernym wyborze, w polskim przekładzie i w krytycznym opracowaniu, należy do najobszerniejszych, najbardziej znaczących, a zarazem najmniej znanych przykładów polskiej diarystyki XIX wieku. Stanowi on nieocenione źródło dla badaczy świadomości politycznej i narodowej polskich elit arystokratycznych w przełomowym okresie między epoką ancien régime’u i nowoczesnością. Zawartość dziennika odzwierciedla w sposób sugestywny żywot autora, jego myślenie o świecie, a także kontekst jego życia: arystokraty osadzonego w środowisku polskim i prusko-niemieckim, polityka, dyplomaty, namiętnego komentatora europejskiej polityki, kolekcjonera, wpływowego krytyka i historyka sztuki niemieckiej i europejskiej. Biografia Raczyńskiego, znakomicie udokumentowana w Dzienniku, jest tu szczególna i przykładowa: monarchisty i konserwatysty, osobistości funkcjonującej w napięciu między lojalnością narodową i rozchodzącą się nią wizją aktualnej polityki i polityczno-społecznym światopoglądem, między pamięcią o dawnej Rzeczpospolitej, obserwacją nieudanych prób jej odrodzenia i wpisywaniem się w rzeczywistość Królestwa Pruskiego. Obok polityczno- i społeczno-historycznego wymiaru dokumentu można w nim odnaleźć walory w diarystyce polskiej nieomal wyjątkowe – m.in. szczerość Raczyńskiego w wyznaniach o sobie i bezwzględność w relacjach i niedyskrecjach o innych. W rezultacie Dziennik oddaje znakomicie obraz środowiska, w jakim się autor obracał, obraz zarówno fasadowych, jak i za fasadą ukrywających się obyczajów.
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The essay is dedicated to the collections of artistic and natural curiosities, established in Silesia in the 17 th and 18 th century. At that time, Silesia was an important centre of European collecting culture. More than one hundred cabinets of curiosities, art and natural history collections were established here within two centuries, due to favourable political, social and cultural circumstances. Some of them achieved international reputation. The cluster of collectors, made up of members of the social and intellectual elite of the province, developed a number of sophisticated practices to foster communication among each other and to increase their sense of community. Moreover, highly developed theoretical reflection upon collecting was a distinguishing mark of Silesian collecting culture. Special attention was paid to the cabinet of Johann Christian Kundmann, a physician and polyhistor from Breslau, that was distinguished from most other Silesian collections by the richness of its exhibits, by respect it enjoyed even beyond the Silesian province, and finally by a number of source references. An interpretative perusal of this cabinet allows us to reconstruct the social, scientific and cultural context in which the Silesian collections were embroiled. It also shows which dilemmas the collectors had to face with in the first half of the 18th century. It was the time when the ideal of a universally-oriented collection of rare and unusual things – an ideal that many Silesian collectors of that time remained faithful to – began to be questioned more and more intensively, to be finely rejected and replaced by collections that were focused on regular and usual items. The consequences of this process for the Silesian collectors and their answer the deep changes of collecting culture influenced by it form the prime theme of the paper.
The endeavours of this discerning scholar and art lover in the field of art collecting reflect two conceptions of aristocratic memory: the public one, which highlighted the social and cultural duties of the gentry as a class, and the private one, with its focus on traditional values and the perception of the place, significance, privileges and duties of the aristocracy in general. The first of those was put into effect by means of a private gallery, opened in the year 1836 in Berlin, which presented renowned paintings in a state-of- -the-art manner. This, combined with Raczyński’s output as an author and his involvement in the artistic life of Prussia and of Europe, quickly assured him the admiration of his contemporaries. Raczyński himself perceived his endeavour to amass a collection of classical paintings as a duty, but also as a source of personal prestige that enhanced the standing of his family. These aims were a component of the then-current strategies of restoring the ethos of the gentry class, firmly inculcated in Raczyński during his youth. His other, less renowned collection was a portrait gallery established in 1865–1870 in the Gaj Mały estate in Greater Poland. Its artistic and ideo- logical program was expressed through the architectural form of the edifi- ce which, together with the carefully arranged space where 46 portraits of family members and members of related families were exhibited, constitu- ted a sui generis family shrine. Similarly to the Berlin collection, this gallery was described in a catalogue published by Raczyński, even though its cha- racter was more private. A turning towards tradition, so clear in the case of the Gaj gallery, expressed not only Raczyński’s attachment to traditional values and ideals, but also his concern as to the subsequent fate of his material and non-material legacy. The article is based on earlier research and to a great extent reiterates the conclusions found in Atanazy Raczyński (1788–1874). Biografia, Poznań 2016, by the same author.
This paper concerns the collection of artistic and natural peculiarities, founded by Christian Ulrich I, duke of Württemberg-Oels (1652-1704), at the castle in Bierutów (Germ. Bernstadt). Said collection was moved to Oleśnica (Germ. Oels) after 1673. Along with a library and an armory it formed a compositional and ideological unity, consistent with popular early modern collectors’ theory as well as practices. It was a vessel for important contents and a useful tool for shaping the image of the founding duke. The selection and exposition of objects, the iconographic structure of decorations and the inscriptions in the collectors’ chambers were a testament to the glory of Christian Ulrich I and his successors. This painted a picture of the dukes’ line as representatives of an ancient and wealthy aristocratic family, which cultivated traditions and fidelity to knightly ideals. There was another necessary feature of a modern sovereign, being a pa- tron for scholars and artists, well versed in science and the arts. Moreover, if one is to follow the course of interpretation set by Johannes Sinapius, a contemporary of Christian Ulrich I, the duke’s commitment to collecting was a noble pastime, a refined way of spending time (otium), that is to say, a selfless, though beneficial endeavour, perfectly compatible with ducal decorum.
The article focuses on the relations between the early modern theory and practice of collecting on the one hand and collecting on the other. An analysis of a selection of texts: museological, scientific, didactic and literary from between ca. 1550 and 1750 (by, among others, Samuel Quiccheberg, Johann Daniel Major, Francis Bacon, Caspar Fridrich Neickel) serves to indi- cate some places of their interpenetration, intersection, interaction, mainly in the areas of knowledge and power, both with a strong utopian streak.
A close relationship between collecting and ars memoriae resulted firstly from the fact that they were rooted in the same assumptions: about a great persuasion power of objects and images, about the existence of pre-estab- lished harmony of things that could be discovered and imitated, about the possibility of universal science. They were also united both by the common purpose (that is knowledge, and in the ideal case – the total knowledge), and by methods (wandering through real or mental spaces with carefully arranged, strong visual and semantically expressive, thought-provoking objects or images). The author attempts to determine the consequences of this bringing together the art of collecting and mnemonics for the early mod- ern theories of knowledge and for the discourse of power and in which way it manifested itself in the utopian thought of that period.
The essay is dedicated to the collections of artistic and natural curiosities, established in Silesia in the 17 th and 18 th century. At that time, Silesia was an important centre of European collecting culture. More than one hundred cabinets of curiosities, art and natural history collections were established here within two centuries, due to favourable political, social and cultural circumstances. Some of them achieved international reputation. The cluster of collectors, made up of members of the social and intellectual elite of the province, developed a number of sophisticated practices to foster communication among each other and to increase their sense of community. Moreover, highly developed theoretical reflection upon collecting was a distinguishing mark of Silesian collecting culture. Special attention was paid to the cabinet of Johann Christian Kundmann, a physician and polyhistor from Breslau, that was distinguished from most other Silesian collections by the richness of its exhibits, by respect it enjoyed even beyond the Silesian province, and finally by a number of source references. An interpretative perusal of this cabinet allows us to reconstruct the social, scientific and cultural context in which the Silesian collections were embroiled. It also shows which dilemmas the collectors had to face with in the first half of the 18th century. It was the time when the ideal of a universally-oriented collection of rare and unusual things – an ideal that many Silesian collectors of that time remained faithful to – began to be questioned more and more intensively, to be finely rejected and replaced by collections that were focused on regular and usual items. The consequences of this process for the Silesian collectors and their answer the deep changes of collecting culture influenced by it form the prime theme of the paper.
The endeavours of this discerning scholar and art lover in the field of art collecting reflect two conceptions of aristocratic memory: the public one, which highlighted the social and cultural duties of the gentry as a class, and the private one, with its focus on traditional values and the perception of the place, significance, privileges and duties of the aristocracy in general. The first of those was put into effect by means of a private gallery, opened in the year 1836 in Berlin, which presented renowned paintings in a state-of- -the-art manner. This, combined with Raczyński’s output as an author and his involvement in the artistic life of Prussia and of Europe, quickly assured him the admiration of his contemporaries. Raczyński himself perceived his endeavour to amass a collection of classical paintings as a duty, but also as a source of personal prestige that enhanced the standing of his family. These aims were a component of the then-current strategies of restoring the ethos of the gentry class, firmly inculcated in Raczyński during his youth. His other, less renowned collection was a portrait gallery established in 1865–1870 in the Gaj Mały estate in Greater Poland. Its artistic and ideo- logical program was expressed through the architectural form of the edifi- ce which, together with the carefully arranged space where 46 portraits of family members and members of related families were exhibited, constitu- ted a sui generis family shrine. Similarly to the Berlin collection, this gallery was described in a catalogue published by Raczyński, even though its cha- racter was more private. A turning towards tradition, so clear in the case of the Gaj gallery, expressed not only Raczyński’s attachment to traditional values and ideals, but also his concern as to the subsequent fate of his material and non-material legacy. The article is based on earlier research and to a great extent reiterates the conclusions found in Atanazy Raczyński (1788–1874). Biografia, Poznań 2016, by the same author.
This paper concerns the collection of artistic and natural peculiarities, founded by Christian Ulrich I, duke of Württemberg-Oels (1652-1704), at the castle in Bierutów (Germ. Bernstadt). Said collection was moved to Oleśnica (Germ. Oels) after 1673. Along with a library and an armory it formed a compositional and ideological unity, consistent with popular early modern collectors’ theory as well as practices. It was a vessel for important contents and a useful tool for shaping the image of the founding duke. The selection and exposition of objects, the iconographic structure of decorations and the inscriptions in the collectors’ chambers were a testament to the glory of Christian Ulrich I and his successors. This painted a picture of the dukes’ line as representatives of an ancient and wealthy aristocratic family, which cultivated traditions and fidelity to knightly ideals. There was another necessary feature of a modern sovereign, being a pa- tron for scholars and artists, well versed in science and the arts. Moreover, if one is to follow the course of interpretation set by Johannes Sinapius, a contemporary of Christian Ulrich I, the duke’s commitment to collecting was a noble pastime, a refined way of spending time (otium), that is to say, a selfless, though beneficial endeavour, perfectly compatible with ducal decorum.
The article focuses on the relations between the early modern theory and practice of collecting on the one hand and collecting on the other. An analysis of a selection of texts: museological, scientific, didactic and literary from between ca. 1550 and 1750 (by, among others, Samuel Quiccheberg, Johann Daniel Major, Francis Bacon, Caspar Fridrich Neickel) serves to indi- cate some places of their interpenetration, intersection, interaction, mainly in the areas of knowledge and power, both with a strong utopian streak.
A close relationship between collecting and ars memoriae resulted firstly from the fact that they were rooted in the same assumptions: about a great persuasion power of objects and images, about the existence of pre-estab- lished harmony of things that could be discovered and imitated, about the possibility of universal science. They were also united both by the common purpose (that is knowledge, and in the ideal case – the total knowledge), and by methods (wandering through real or mental spaces with carefully arranged, strong visual and semantically expressive, thought-provoking objects or images). The author attempts to determine the consequences of this bringing together the art of collecting and mnemonics for the early mod- ern theories of knowledge and for the discourse of power and in which way it manifested itself in the utopian thought of that period.