Jerzy Mizioek

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 Stanisaw Samostrzelnik and
Jan Michaowicz of Urzdw 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 studied
2
. 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 Canterbury
4
. However,
due to the subject of the painting, it is sometimes referred to as
The Chapel of the Magi
5
.
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
385
Originalverffentlichung in: Popp, Dietmar (Hrsg.): Die Jagiellonen : Kunst und Kultur einer europischen Dynastie an der Wende zur Neuzeit,
Nrnberg 2002, S. 385-394
the tomb of the Bishop and the chapel's other furnishings, most
of which are known only through archival sources
6
.
Bishop Piotr Tomicki (1464-1535), one of the most distingui-
shed humanists and statesmen of 1 th-century Poland, was
educated in Leipzig, Cracow and Bologna
7
. He studied at the
University of Bologna from 1494, and received his doctorate
in canon law there in June 1500
8
. Subsequently, he spent
approximately six months at the papai chancellery in Rome.
Following his return to Cracow, Tomicki joined first the chan
cellery 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 Pozna
(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 Cracow
10
. At his own
court in Cracow, Tomicki created a centr 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 death
12
. 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 ars
13
. In the 1 520s, he commissioned for the
Pozna Cathedral a tomb for Bishop Jan Lubraski 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 death
14
. 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 Stanisaw
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 Czstocho-
wa
16
. 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 1535
18
. 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 sour-
ces 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 scen of the
Annunciation, commissioned in Nuremberg
19
, and stained
386
glass produced in The Netherlands
20
. No longer extant (or
covered with intonaco) were also the murals by Stanisaw
Samostrzelnik that adorned the chapel's walls and cupola,
a tapestry depicting The Assumption of the Virgin
2
' and two
paintings
22
. One of the latter depicted Saints Peter and Tho
mas, while the other portrayed The Crucifixion. Both were
used to cover the altar painting during Advent and Lent
respectively. Cardinal Stanisaw 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 Chapel
23
.
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 pain
ting 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 completion
24
. 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 pain
ting. 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 1533
26
.
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 scen 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 black
27
. 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 lth-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 Adora-
tion of the Magi by Georg Pencz, dating from about 1 530
28
.
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
387
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-
vas
32
, 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 Stanis
aw Samostrzelnik
33
, 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 ori
ginal 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 lth century. Its artistic quality is
also considerably inferior. Nor is it executed on a panel, but
rather on much cheaper canvas
30
, which - from the second
quarter of the 1 th century - was used quite often in Northern
European painting
3
'. The Wawel painting is a much modified
and simplified version of Pencz's composition in which the pain
ter 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 investigation
34
.
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 scen of the adoration, by the Bishop, of the
388
Fig. 7 Albrecht Durer, The Adoration of the Magi, woodcut
Ma d o n n a and Chi l d (at the back of the t omb) . A s will be
shown bel ow, like The Vi si on of St. J ohn the latter scen
refers to the symbol i sm of light. However, it is not difficult to
see that the style of the canvas in the Tomicki Chapel di ffers
consi der abl y f rom that of Samost rzel ni k, sice it is charact e-
ri zed by decorat i veness a nd a lack of dept h.
It woul d seem that it mi ght ver y well have been Hans Durer
wh o execut ed the pai nt i ng in questi on. His late style, empl oy-
ed when he wa s servi ng in Cr a c o w as pi ctor regi us after
1527, is still little known. However, it wa s he wh o , in 1531,
di d the proj ect of the al t arpi ece for the Si gi smund Chapel ,
whi ch wa s af t erwards execut ed in Nuremberg
36
. On e of the
scenes of that al t arpi ece depi cts The Ador at i on of the Ma gi
(fig. 6) whi ch, in addi t i on to its hori zont al rather than vertical
composi t i on, reveal s striking similarities with the Wa we l pai n-
ting
37
. The anal ogi es i ncl ude not onl y the poses and gestures
of the Ki ngs a nd the depi ct i on of the Hol y Fami l y, but al so the
archi tecture, and even the star seen through the ar cade. Parti-
cul arl y characteristic in both representati ons ar e the Black Ki ng
shown f rom the back and St. J os eph standi ng behi nd Ma r y
and the Chi l d. Whi l e the iormer ma y have been i nspi red by
Ludwi g Krug' s woodcut of The Ador at i on of the Ma gi dat i ng
from 1516
38
, the latter seems to have been deri ved f rom
Al brecht Dur er s wel l - known woodcut of that s ame subj ect,
done in 1503 (fig. 7 p .
It shoul d be ment i oned at this poi nt that, in the col l egi ate
church of Sandomi er z in Little Pol and, there is a fine, slightly
modi f i ed c opy of The Ador at i on of the Ma gi by anot her
Ge r ma n artist, Hans Suess von Kul mbach
40
. Unfortunatel y, its
ori gi nal desti nati on remai ns unknown.
The Tomicki Chapel is most pr obabl y the first f unerary cha-
pel in Cr a c ow to hav e had an al t arpi ece depi cti ng The A d o -
ration of the Magi . Wh y wa s this subj ect di spl ayed in the
chapel and what is its si gni f i cance? J udgi ng from the Bishop' s
letters, the content of his l i brary and the gl osses in his preser-
ved books, he wa s appar ent l y great l y interested in ast rol ogy
and the symbol i sm of light"". Most pr obabl y he wa s al so f ami -
liar with some Italian f unerary chapel s havi ng altars or fre-
scoes depi cti ng The Ador at i on of the Ma gi . It woul d seem
that al t hough the Bi shop, like the Ki ng, f avour ed both Ge r ma n
and Italian artists, he wi shed to be buri ed al ht al i ana. In fact,
he wa s referred to by his cont emporari es ltalus.
A s has al r eady been poi nt ed out, one of the mi ni atures in the
Cat al ogus Ar chi epi scopor um Gnesnensi um et Vi t ae Epi sco-
por um Cr acovi ensi um dat i ng from the 1530s depi cts The
Ador at i on of the Ma gi (fig. 8). Of even greater si gni f i cance
for this present i nvesti gati on is the fact that this s ame subj ect
wa s i nt ended to ador n a pl uvi al e commi ssi oned by Tomicki
in Rome just a year bef ore his deat h. In a letter to St ani s aw of
Rzeczyca, his agent in Rome, dat ed Oct ober 3, 1534, the
Bi shop wrot e: We request of you that you order on our behal f
an embr oi der ed i mage for a >pluviale<. Let it be that the
embroi derer pr oduce a port rayal of the hol y three Magi in
accor dance with a mor e beautiful pattern instead of the e x am-
pl e on the hood [f rom an ol d >pluviale<] whi ch we are sendi ng
you
42
. Thus it seems that Tomicki not onl y commi ssi oned
a pl uvi al e embr oi der ed with The Three Ma gi (in whi ch he
possi bl y wi shed to be buri ed) , but that even earl i er he had
wor n a hood ador ned with this subject. Wor t h stressing is the
fact that in his letter, the Bi shop refers to the Magi as sai nts.
The relics of the Three Ki ngs wh o had read f rom the stars of
the birth of J esus a nd wh o had brought him gol d, f ranki ncen-
se and myrrh (interpreted as gifts for Christ as Ki ng, G o d and
Ma n , the myrrh bei ng consi dered connect ed with his deat h)
wer e kept, after 1200, in Col ogne. Yet duri ng the Late Medi e-
val and Renai ssance peri ods, it wa s in Italy that the Three
Ki ngs wer e most venerated
43
. In s ome cities there exi sted
Co mpa gni e dei Ma gi whi ch, at the begi nni ng of each Ne w
Year or gani z ed sol emn processi ons
44
. Numer ous t ombs and
3 8 9
Fig. 8 Stanisaw Samostrzelnik, The Adoration of the Magi.
Miniatur 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 comet
45
. 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
art
46
. 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 star
47
.
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 Trinita
49
; the second, by Botticelli, is from the
no longer extant Chapel of Guaspare dal Lama at Santa
Maria Novella
50
. 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 light
51
. In the chapel, in ortu solis sita, this sym
bolism is clearly expressed not only in the scen 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 it
52
, 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
390
meandering sunbeams (fig. 9) which are not to be found
elsewhere in Polish images of the Madonna
53
. 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 Rotterdam
55
. 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 emerged
50
. In his hymn, Pru
dentius 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, sice 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 miniatur by Stanisaw Samostrzelnik (fig. 8).
391
Notes
* I wi s h t o e x p r e s s my d e e p gr a t i t ude t o Fat he r Pr e l at e J a n u s z Bi e l a s k i , Mg r .
Kr z y s z t o f C z y e w s k i , Dr. K a z i mi e r z K u c z ma n , Dr. Mi k o a j S z y ma s k i , Dr.
Mi e c z y s a w Mo r k a a n d Dr. M a g d a l e n a P i wo c k a w h o s e he l p a n d e n c o u r a g -
me n t e n a b l e d me t o p r o d u c e t hi s p a p e r . I a m p a r t i c ul a r l y gr a t e f ul t o Dr. Pet er
Ma r t y n f or hi s a me n d me n t s t o my Engl i s h.
1 S e e , a m o n g o t he r s , J a n Bi a o s t o c k i : T h e A r t o f t he R e n a i s s a n c e i n Eas t e r n
Eu r o p : Hu n g a r y , B o h e mi a , P o l a n d . O x f o r d 1 9 7 6 , p. 2 3 . - T h o ma s D a C o s t a
K a u r ma n n : Co u r t , Cl oi s t er s a n d Ci t y. T h e Ar t a n d Cul t ur e of Ce n t r a l E u r o p
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 mb o l i s m in t he S i g i s mu n d C h a p e l , s e e J . Bi a os t ocki
( not e 1), p p . 3 9 - 4 3 . - Lech Ka l i n o ws k i : Di e S i g i s mu n d k a p e l l e i m W a w e l d o m
z u Kr a k a u . In: Po l e n i m Zei t al t er 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 . Ca 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 a w Mo s s a k o ws k i : B a r t o l o me o Ber -
recci a C r a c o v i e ; l a c h a p e l l e S i g i s mo n d . In: Re v u e d e l ' ar t , Vo 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 w szt uki w Po l s c e . Mi a s t o K r a k w [ C a t a l o g u e o f A r t Mo n u -
me nt s in P o l a n d . T h e Ci t y of C r a c o w ] , Vo l . 4 , Par t I: Wa w e l . Ed. b y J e r z y S z a -
b o ws k i . W a r s a w 1 9 6 5 , p. 9 2 . - J e r z y oz i s ki : G r o b o w e k a p l i c e k o p u o w e
w Po l s c e 1 5 2 0 - 1 6 2 0 [ Cent r al 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 mi e r z K u c z ma n : W a w e l Hi l l . 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 Mi z i o 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 uc a r i s t i c o di G i a n m a r i a Mo s c a , de t t o \\ P a d o v a n o p e r l a Ca t t e d r a l e
di C r a c o v i a . In: Mi t t e i l unge n d e s Kuns t hi s t o r i s c he n Insti tutes i n Fl o r e nz , Vo l .
3 6 , 1 9 9 3 , p p . 3 0 3 - 3 3 6 , e s p . 3 2 6 , f i g. 15.
4 I n we n t a r z K a t e d r y Wa w e l s k i e j z r o ku 1 5 6 3 [ l nv e nt o r y of t he W a w e l C a t h e -
dr a l f r o m 1 5 6 3 ] . Ed. 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 Ki e s z k o ws k i : P r z y c z y n e k d o kul t ur al nej d z i a a l n o c i Pi ot r a T o mi c k i e g o
[ Re ma r k s o n t he Cul t ur al E n d e a v o u r s o f Pi ot r Tomi c ki ] . In: S p r a w o z d a n i a
Ko mi s y i d o B a d a n i a Hi s t or yi Sz t uki w Po l s c e , Vo l . 7 / 1 - 2 , 1 9 0 2 , c o l .
CCL X X V I . - Fel i ks K o p e r a : J a n Ma r i a P a d o v a n o . In: P r a c e Ko mi s j i Hi st ori i
Sz t uki , Vo l . 7 / 2 , 1 9 3 8 , p. 2 3 4 .
6 A c t a T o mi c i a n a r a nk s a m o n g t he mo s t s i gni f i c a nt s uch s o ur c e s , a s it c o n -
t ai ns d o c u me n t s a n d t he d i p l o ma t i c c o r r e s p o n d e n c e o f Tomi cki a n d hi s c o n -
t e mp o r a r i e s , s e e : A c t a T o mi c i a n a . Ed. b y W a d y s a w P o c i e c h a et al l . , Vo l .
I - XVI I , P o z n a 1 8 5 2 - 1 9 6 6 .
7 S t a n i s a w Ho z j u s z : Vi t a Petri Tomi c i i . In: A c t a Hi s t o r i c a Res G e s t a s Po l o ni -
a e l l l ust rant i a, Vo l . IV: S. Hos i i Epi s t o l a e , Vo l . 1. Ed. b y Fr a nc i s c us Hi pl er , V i n -
cent i us Za k r z e ws k i . C r a c o w 1 8 7 9 , col i . CLI I CLXI X. - Les z ek Ha j d u k i e wi c z :
Ks i g o z b i r i z a i n t e r e s o wa n i a bi bl i of i l s ki e Pi ot r a T o mi c k i e g o n a tl e j e g o d z i a -
a l no c i kul t ur al nej [ The Bo o k Co l l e c t i o n a n d Bi bl i o phi l i c I nt erest s o f Pi ot r
Tomi cki wi t hi n t he Co n t e x t of Hi s Cul t ur al Act i vi t i es ] . W r o c a w - W a r s a w - C r a -
c o w 1 9 6 1 . - Ma r i a Cy t o ws k a : Pi ot r Tomi c ki . In: T h e C o n t e mp o r a r i e s o f Er a s -
mus . A Bi b l i o g r a p h i c a l Regi st er o f t he R e n a i s s a n c e a n d t he Re f o r ma t i o n , Vo l .
3 . Ed. b y P G . Bi e t e nho 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 Backv i s : C o mme n t l es P o l o n a i s d u X V I e s i ecl e v o y a i e n t r I t al i e et l es Ita-
l i ens. In: Li t er ar y St udi es in P o l a n d , Vo l . XI X, 1 9 8 8 , p p . 7 - 3 9 .
8 J o a n n e s Fi j a ek: Do mi n u s Bar t ol us 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 i n
P o l o n o s a uc o r i t a s . C r a c o w 1 9 1 4 , p p . 7 4 - 7 5 .
9 Vi t a Petri Tomi ci i ( not e 7) , p. CLV. - S e e a l s o : C . Ba c k v i s ( no t e 7 ) , p. 3 4 .
1 0 L. Ha j d u k i e wi c z ( not e 7) .
1 1 M. C y t o ws k a ( not e 7) , p. 3 2 8 . - L. Ha j d u k i e wi c z ( not e 7) , p p . 1 1 4 - 1 1 6 .
1 2 C l a u d e Ba c k v i s : La fortun d ' E r a s me 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 nt e r na t i o na l e r euni a Mo 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 me . Mo n s 1 9 6 8 , p p . 1 7 3 - 2 0 2 . - M.
C y t o ws k a ( no t e 7) , p p . 3 2 7 - 3 2 9 .
1 3 J . Ki e s z k o ws k i ( not e 5) . - J . Mi z i o e k ( no t e 3) .
1 4 J . Mi z i o e k ( not e 3) , p p . 3 0 3 - 3 3 6 . - A n n e Ma r k h a m Sc h ul z : G i a m m a r i a
Mo s c a c a l l e d P a d o v a n o : a Re n a i s s a n c e Sc ul p t o r in I t al y a n d P o l a n d . Un i v e r -
si ty Pa 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 Mi o d o s k a : Mi n i a t u r y S t a n i s a wa S a mo s t r z e l n i k a [ Mi ni a t ur e s o f
St a ni s l a s S a mo 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 Ma r i a n S o k o o ws k i : W o t a w o s k o w e f l o r e nc k i e j a k o o b j a n i e n i e w o t w
T o mi c k i e g o [ Fl or ent i ne Vo t i v e W a x Fi gur es a s a n Ex p l a n a t i o n o f Tomi cki ' s V o -
t i ve Fi gur es ] . In: S p r a w o z d a n i a Ko mi s y i d o B a d a n i a Hi s t or y i Sz t uki w Po l s c e ,
Vo l . 7 / 1 - 2 , 1 9 0 2 , col i . C C X C - C C X C I I .
1 7 A c t a T o mi c i a n a ( not e 6 ) , Vo l . 1 7 , n o . 3 7 4 . - M. S o k o o ws k i ( not e 1 6 ) , col i .
C C X C - C C X C I I . - J . Mi z i o e k ( not 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 t he v o t i v e w a x f i gur e s i n Fl o r e nc e a r o u n d 1 5 0 0 , s e e A b y Wa r b u r g : A r t e
del ri tratto e b o r g h e s i a f i o r e nt i na . A p p e n d i c e I: St at u v o t i v e in c e r a . In: La
r i nas c i t a d e l p a g a n e s i mo a nt i c o . Fl o r e nc e 1 9 8 0 , p p . 1 3 7 - 1 4 1 .
1 8 For t he e r e c t i o n o f t he c h a p e l a n d its a r c hi t e c t ur e , s e e J . oz i s ki ( no t e 3) ,
p p . 4 5 - 4 8 . - J . Bi a os t oc ki ( not e 1) , p. 4 3 . - For t he t o mb , s e e He l e n a K o z a -
k i e wi c z o wa : R z e b a XVI wi e k u w Po l s c e [ Si x t e e n t h - Ce n t u r y Pol i sh Scul pt ur 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 mi c i a n a ( no t e 6) , V . 17, n o . 1 9 9 .
2 0 A c t a T o mi c i a n a ( not e 6) , Vo l . 8 , p. 1 5 0 ; Vo l . 1 5 , p p . 4 9 3 a n d 6 2 3 . - J .
Ki e s z k o ws k i ( not e 5) , col . CCL X X V I .
21 J . Ki e s z k o ws k i ( not e 5 ) , col i . C C L X X I X - C C L X X X . - J . o z i s k i ( not e 3 ) , p p .
4 5 - 4 6 . - Ma r i a He n n e l - B e r n a s i k o wa : G o b e l i n y k a t e d r y wa we l s k i e j [ Ta pe -
st ri es o f t he W a w e l Ca 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 we n t a r z K a t e d r y Wa w e l s k i e j ( not e 4 ) , p p . 1 9 4 - 1 9 6 .
2 3 Vi t a Petri Tomi ci i ( no t e 7 ) , col i . CLXI V.
2 4 Cf . K a t a l o g z a b y t k w szt uki w Pol s ce ( no t e 3) , p. 9 2 .
2 5 A c t a vi s i t at i oni s i l l ust ri ssi mi et r e v e r e ndi s s i mi d o mi n i Be r na r d i c a r d i n a l i s
Ma c i e i o ws k i . A r c h i w u m Ka t e d r a l n e n a Wa w e l u , no . 1 9 b , p. 3 1 3 .
2 6 The fi rst me n t i o n o f t he rel i ef b e i n g in t he c h a p e l w a s m a d e in A c t a vi s i t a-
t i oni s Ec c l e s i a e Ca t t e d r a l i s Cr a c o v i e n s i s , M S no . 6 4 , f ol . 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 wu m Ka p i t u y Me t r o p o l i t a l ne j ) . T h e p a s s a -
g e r ef er r i ng t o t he rel i ef r e a d s : a l t a r e i n h a c c a p e l l a est u n i c u m vet er i s et
r udi s s t r uct ur ae in q u o est i m a g o SS. Tr i um R e g u m .
2 7 For t he i dent i f i cat i on o f t he Ki ngs , s e e J o h n o f Hi l d e s h e i m: Hi s t or i a Tr i um
R e g u m. In: T h e T h r e e Ki n g s o f C o l o g n e . A n Ear l y Engl i s h Tr ans l at i on o f t he
Hi s f o r i a Tr i um R e g u m b y J o h n of Hi l d e s h e i m. Ed. Tr o m t he ms s . b y Ca r l
Ho r s t ma n n ( Ear l y Engl i s h Text Soci et y, 8 5 ) . L o n d o n 1 8 8 6 ( Repr i nt Mi l l -
w o o d / N . Y . 1 9 8 8 ) . - S e e a l s o , Y o n a Pi ns o n: C o n n o t a t i o n s o f Si n a n d He r e s y
in t he Fi g ur o f t he Bl a c k Ki n g in S o me No r t h e r n Re 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 Hi s t o r i a e , Vo l . 3 4 ( XVI I ) , 1 9 9 6 , p p . 1 5 9 - 1 7 5 .
2 8 Ha n s G e o r g Gme l i n : G e o r g P e n c z ai s Ma l e r . In: Mu 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 , Vo 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 i gs. 1 - 3 .
- Me i s t e r urn Al b r e c h t Dur er . Ex h i b . Ca t . Nu r e mb e r g 1 9 6 1 , p. 1 5 2 , no . 2 5 6 .
2 9 H. G . G me l i n ( no t e 2 8 ) , p. 5 3 , f i g. 4 .
392
30 From one of Tomicki's letters (Acta Tomiciana (note ), Vol. 16, p. 645) , it
is known fhat Tomicki did not particularly appreci ate painting. In his letter he
compl ai ns about the high price of a painting he ordered for the parish church
in Tomice and about the i mpermanence of painting.
31 Cf. Di an Wol fthal : The Beginnings of Netherlandish Canvas Painting:
1400- 1530. Cambri dge 1989.
32 H. G. Gmel i n (note 28), pp. 49-76. - See al so Tadeusz Kruszyski: J erzy
Pencz z Norymbergi j ako twrca mal owi de tryptyku w Kaplicy Zygmuntows-
kiej [ Georg Pench of Nuremberg as the Artist Wh o Produced Paintings for the
Al tarpi ece in the Sigismund Chapel ]. In: Biuletyn Historii Sztuki i Kultury, Vol.
II, 1 9 3 3 / 3 4 , pp. 179- 216.
33 B. Mi odoska (note 15). - Barbara Mi odoska: Die Buchmalerei in Polen
zur Zeit der Jagi el l onen. In: Polen im Zeitalter der Jagi el l onen (note 2), pp.
2 2 4 - 2 5 4 , esp. 2 2 9 - 2 3 0 , 252- 254.
34 Rainer Brandl: Zwischen Kunst und Handwerk. Kunst und Kunstler im
mittelalterlichen Nurnberg. In: Nurnberg 1300- 1500. 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 - Schl oss. - Polen im Zeitalter der Jagi el -
lonen (note 2), pp. 187, 2 13- 2 14.
35 B. Mi odoska (note 15), pp. 96- 117.
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 al i as visirungk
tabul ae Nurembergae argenteae f abri candae depictum est... Item dedi l oan-
ni Dyrer pictori regio a l abore et pictura delineamenti m. 12 gr. 24. . . Cited
afterT. Kruszyski (note 32), pp. 181- 182.
3 7 Helena and Stefan Kozaki ewi cz: The Renaissance in Pol and. War s aw
1976, pp. 9 9 - 1 0 3 , figs. 90- 91.
38 The lllusrated Bartsch, 13 (7). Ed. by W.L. Strauss. New York 1981, 2
( 536) , p. 300.
3 9 It was Adam Bochnak: Mecenat Zygmunta Starego w zakresi e rzemiosa
artystycznego [Sigismund the Ol d as a Patron of the Crafts], Cracow 1 960, p.
67, fig. 57, who noted similarities between Durer's woodcut and the scen in
the Sigismund Chapel ' s altarpiece.
40 Jzef Muczkowski - J zef Zdanowski : Hans Suess z Kul mbachu. 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 Gemal degal eri e Staatliche Museen
Preussischer Kulturbesitz Berlin. Katalog der ausgestellten Gemdl de des
13. - 18. Jahrhunderts. Berlin 1975, p. 220, no. 596 A.
41 L. Haj duki ewi cz (note 7). - Stanisaw Mossakowski : La non piu esistente
decorazi one astrologica del castello reale di Cracovi a. In: Magi a, astrologia
e religione nel Rinascimento (Convegno pol acco- i tal i ano, Varsavi a: 2 5 - 2 7
settembre 1972). Wr oc l aw- War s aw- Cr ac ow 1974, pp. 9 0 - 9 8 .
42 Acta Tomiciana (note 6), Vol. 1 6 / 2, p. 270, no. 529: Rogamus vos, ut
i am scutum ad pluviale laborari nobis faciatis, quod l aborea phrygi o seu
rechamator non secundum picturam per nos vobi s missam, sed iuxta figuram
suam sanctorum Trium Regum, quam habet elegantiorem.... - See also:
J. Mi zi o ek (note 3), p. 309 and note 9 on p. 328.
43 For the Adorati on of the Magi , see Richard C. Trexler: The Journey of the
Magi . Meani ngs 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. 94- 114. - Erich Depel: Das Klner Dombi l d und di e
Lochnernachfolge urn 1500. In: Klner Domblatt, Vbl. 2 3 / 2 4 , 1964, pp.
3 7 1 - 4 1 0 .
44 Rab Hatfield: The Compagni a de' Magi . In: Journal of the Warburg and
Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 33, 1970, p. 107- 161. - See also Andre Chastel:
Arte e umanesi mo a Firenze al tempo di Lorenzo il Magni fi co. Transl. by
Renzo Federici. Torino 1964, pp. 245- 252, 4 4 0 - 4 4 2 .
45 Richard C. Trexler: Triumph and Mourni ng in North Italian Magi Art. In:
Art and Politics in Late Medi eval and Early Renaissance Italy: 1250- 1500. Ed.
by Charles M. Rosenberg, Notre Dame- London 1990, pp. 38- 66. - For
comets in Italian art, see Andreas Beyer: De significatione cometae. Gugl i el -
mo De Becchis Traktat De Cometa (1456) und sein EinfluB auf di e bilafiche
Kometeni konographi e in Florenz. In: Die Kunst und das Studium der Natur
vom 14. zum 16. Jahrhundert. Ed. by Wol f ram Pri nz- Andreas Beyer. Wei n-
heim 1987, pp. 181- 211.
46 Die Hul di gung der Magi er in der Kunst der Spatantike. In: Die Heiligen
Drei Kni ge - Darstellung und Verehrung. Exhib.Cat. Col ogne 1982, pp.
20- 32.
4 7 llka Kloten: Wandmal erei im Grossen Kirchenschisma. Die Cappel l a
Bolognini in San Petronio zu Bol ogna. Heidelberg 1986. - Darrell D. Davis-
son: The Iconol ogy of the S. Trinita Sacristy, 1418- 1435: A Study of the Pri-
vate and Public Function of Religious Art in the Early Ouattrocento. In: Art Bul-
letin, Vol. 57, 1975, pp. 316- 334.
48 Rab Hatfield: Botticelli's Uffizi Adorati on. A Study in Pictorial Content.
Princeton 1 976, pp. 30- 32 .
4 9 Andrea de Marchi : Gentile da Fabri ano. Un vi aggi o nella pittura italiana
alla fine del gotico. Mi l ano 1992, pp. 135- 143.
50 R. Hatfield (note 48). - Richard C. Trexler: Captai ns and Kings. The Medi -
ci Chapel . In: Church and Communi ty 1200- 1600. Studies in History of Flo-
rence and New Spain. Rome 1987, pp. 203- 223.
51 L. Haj duki ewi cz (note 7), pp. 206, 218. - Tomicki's copy of Durandus
1
Rationale Divinorum officiorum is preserved in the Biblioteka Jagielloska in
Cracow.
5 2 J. Kieszkowski (note 5), coli. CCLXXVI.
53 J. Mi zi o ek (note 3), p. 326, fig. 18. - A. M. Schulz (note 14), p. 1 26.
54 J. Mizioek (note 3), pp. 324- 327, fig. 13. - Jerzy Mizioek: Ocul us coeli:
osservazioni sulla simbologia delia luce nella cappella del primate Uchanius a
Lovitium (owicz). In: GJuasar, Vol. 8 / 9 , 1992/ 1993, pp. 5- 18, esp. p. 9, fig.
1 3. - For the Adorati on of the Magi and the Eucharist, see Ursula Nilgen: The
Epiphany and the Eucharist: on the Interpretation of Eucharistic Motifs in Medi -
aeval Epi phany Scenes. In: Art Bulletin, Vol. 49, 1967, pp. 311- 316. - Wi l l i -
am Hood: Fra Angel i co at San Marco. New Haven-London 1993, pp.
248- 253.
55 Korespondencj a Erazma z Rotterdamu z Polakami [Erasmus
1
Correspon-
dence with Poles]. Transl. by Mari a Cytowska. War s aw 1965.
56 Stephen M. Buhler: Marsilio Ficino's De stella magorum and Renaissan-
ce Vi ews of the Magi . In: Renaissance Ouarterly, Vol. 43, 1990, pp.
348- 371.
57 Hymns of Prudentius. The Cathemeri non; or, The Dai l y Round. Transl. by
David R. Slavitt. Bal ti more-London 1996, pp. 54- 61.
58 Collected Works of Erasmus: Literary and Educational Writings 7. Ed. by
Elaine Fgntham-Eri ka Rummel. Toronto- Buffal o- London 1989, pp. 196- 205.
- The same ideas about the Epi phany and the afterlife occur in several Polish
Renaissance Christmas carols, see: Patrzgc na rozmai te wiata tego sprawy.
Antol ogi a polskiej poezj i renesansowej [With a Vi ew to Yari ous Matters of
393
This World. Anthology of Polish Renaissance Poetry]. Ed. by Jadwiga Sok- 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. Mos
sakowski (note 41), p. 91. Sources of illusrations
60 Katalog zabytkw sztuki w Polsce. Vol. IV: Miasto Krakw, cz V: Kazi- Krakw, Pastwowe Zbiory Sztuki na Wawelu: 1; Krakw, Stanisaw Michta:
mierz i Stradom, Kocioy 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 Dbrowska: 7.
394