How the Baroque Took Off in Poland
Dramatic and ornamental – but with a distinctly Sarmatian flair – the baroque became a prominent style in Polish culture between the early 17th and mid-18th century. Its roots lay in the traditions of the Polish nobility and its influence can still be found today, particularly in some of the country’s best-loved architecture. But just why did the Baroque take off in Poland? And what kind of impact did it have across Polish culture?
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St. George's Cathedral (Sobor sviatoho Yura) in Lviv, Ukraine, photo: iStockphoto/Getty Images
Whilst the term ‘baroque’ is well known as a style of art and architecture, associated mainly with the 17th century, its influence also encompassed wider questions around epistemology, religion, philosophy, politics and changing aesthetic values in the period. John D. Lyons suggests there was a ‘Crisis of the Baroque’, arguing the movement was:
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Characterized by painterliness, grandness, massiveness, and movement […] this age had a specific worldview.
Noting changes in ‘scientific discovery and religious discord’ in the early modern period – from new technological developments, to shifts in religious belief and authority, and intercultural trade, exploration, and the expansion of knowledge – Lyons goes on to situate the Baroque within the contemporary tension between two antitheses:
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On one hand, there was a commitment to rule, reason, classification, correct perception, and rigid structure. On the other hand, there was a fascination with disorder, with the irrational, with all that does not fit into existing classifications, with illusion, and with rebellion against order […] Walter Benjamin perceived the Lutheran Baroque as a period of profound melancholy […] the Baroque became the first global culture. It was a culture of amazement.
Baroque culture, he contends, was thus characterised by confusion as much as authoritarianism, as well as disguise, theatricality, and competition; delusion; and interests in machinery. Its name derived from a Portuguese word meaning ‘an irregular pearl’.
Sarmatian style
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Scale armour, so-called "karacena", second half of 17th century, photo: Polish Army Museum/Wikimedia.org
But in Poland, the Baroque was also associated with other unique cultural changes. As Catherine S. Leach notes, art historians have labelled Polish culture of the 17th century as ‘Sarmatism’ or the ‘Sarmatian Baroque’. She argues that the term ‘Sarmatian Baroque’ was:
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Meant to indicate that while the culture bears many features of the Baroque style as experienced everywhere in Europe – a preference for dynamic tensions, violent contrasts, accumulative detail, pomp and ceremony, exaggeration, and playfulness – its intellectual, social, and political content was a specific product of the Polish gentry, and that it possessed certain aesthetic contents found nowhere else in Europe. Foreign influences were usually formal; the contents always native.
Others, including Adam Zamoyski, suggest the Polish adoption of the style reflected contemporary Sarmatian tradition, which was:
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Itself a unique growth produced by cross-pollination between the Catholic high baroque and Ottoman culture at its zenith. It could only flourish in the ethnically diverse soil of the commonwealth. It was a natural East-West synthesis, perfectly suited to the Poles’ need for expression. Everything about it was theatrical and declamatory,
Sarmatism was a cultural ideology between the Renaissance and 18th century – and with particular prominence during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – which traced Poland’s origin to the ancient Sarmatian people. The Polish nobility adopted Ottoman-style clothing and lavish cultural traditions, defended Catholicism against other religions, and backed modern ideas of law and order, religious freedom, and elective offices and monarchies. Yet, however novel, these traditions eventually contributed to the fickle political fortunes of the commonwealth. Thus, and true to its association with both order and chaos, the Baroque accompanied the triumphs and eventual downfall of the Polish state.
Architecture
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View at Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Old Town of Krakow, Poland, photo: iStockphoto/Getty Images
The 17th century saw a wealth of Polish Baroque developments, most prominently in architecture. With family and religion seen as cornerstones of life, Poles became invested in erecting plush palaces and churches, or refurbishing existing buildings in the Baroque style. Many of these buildings are still admired today – and some now exist outside of Poland’s current borders.
The reign of King Sigismund III Vasa – a devout Catholic – was particularly marked by the construction of several examples of Baroque architecture. Sigismund himself designed facades and other architectural features, and funded the construction of the Saints Peter and Paul Church in Kraków, built between 1597 and 1619. Also renowned was the construction of Sigismund’s Chapel, a royal chapel of Krakow’s Wawel Cathedral, which is seen today as one of the most immaculate examples of Tuscan Renaissance architecture. Churches in present-day Lviv and Vilnius also were constructed in the Baroque style, including the yellow St George’s Church (1744-60) in the former, and the peach St Casimir’s Church (1618) in the latter, the oldest Baroque church in Vilnius.
On a smaller scale, other churches acquired elaborate tombstones – to match the equally elaborate funerals of the age. The deceased were depicted kneeling, rather than sleeping, with tombs frequently made from black limestone, or black ‘marble’, a material obtained in southern Poland, or imported from western Europe.
Jewish synagogues also were constructed in the period, including the Łańcut Synagogue – now one of only a few examples of vaulted synagogues in Poland – and the Izaak Synagogue in Kraków.
Also of note were the extravagant palaces built throughout the 17th century – including the gargantuan Wilanów Palace, south of Warsaw. Another architectural development was an extension to the Royal Castle by Sigismund, which subsequently became a home for new Oriental fabrics and tapestries, as well as famous sculptures and paintings.
Throughout the era, foreign architects were sponsored to work in the country. The most famous was Dutch artist Tylman van Gameren, who was honoured by Jan III Sobieski for the plethora of projects he completed – around 70 in total, including the Palace in Puławy and the Krasiński Palace in Warsaw. His designs were characterised by simplicity, proportionality, and balance. In addition, the German architect Johann Christoph Glaubitz played a significant role in the architecture of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Musical collaboration
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Plaque commemorating Adam Jarzębski at Castle Square in Warsaw, photo: Krzysztof Dudzik / Wikimedia.org
But outside architecture, the Baroque also influenced other cultural disciplines, including music. Baroque styles – including basso continuo – were adopted by Polish musicians, whilst adaptations were published and performed outside the royal household, disseminating musical developments among the wider public.
Polish music was substantially influenced by foreign developments. Barbara Przybyszewska-Jarmińska notes that late-16th-century recruitment campaigns were organised with the support of Pope Clement VIII, which brought groups of Italian musicians to Poland, and with them, polychoral masses and new styles of compositions in royal bands.
Polish musicians also adopted new styles after visiting Italy. Przybyszewska-Jarmińska writes that after his travels, the Jesuit Jan Brant composed a setting of Invitatorium in festo Nativitatis – the first known Polish composition with basso seguente (an instrumental bass). One of the most well-known Polish baroque composers was Mikołaj Zieliński. Przybyszewska-Jarmińska suggests he also visited Italy, given his works demonstrate ‘certain features of Renaissance as well as Baroque music’. Adam Jarzębski, a composer, violinist, and writer, also stayed in Italy before becoming a royal musician. Jarzębski’s compositions feature little information about the instruments used, instead noting only voice registers, yet they display a mature knowledge of form and instrument technique.
Aside from a prolific Italian influence on Polish music, German composers also had a notable role, including, as Przybyszewska-Jarmińska writes, Andreas Hakenberger, Paul Siefert, Christoph Werner, Daniel Jacobi, Kaspar Förster Senior and Kaspar Förster Junior. The best-known Polish composer of the age was Marcin Mielczewski, who also worked as a royal musician. Mielczewski’s compositions became famous around Europe, especially in German centres.
Epics, pastoral, letter-writing
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Antoni Zaleski, "Jan Chryzostom Pasek refreshes himself with mulled honey after a sea voyage". Illustration for Pasek's "Diaries", 1827, photo in the graphic collection of the National Museum in Warsaw
Through a combination of the interest in the translation of western European works, Jesuit schools, which used Latin classics for teaching, and Polish innovation across a variety of genres, the period saw the publication of a number of prominent works that have had a lasting legacy.
Among the genres embraced in the period was religious poetry, similar to the English Metaphysical poetry style. The religious poems of Mikołaj Sęp Szarzyński are particularly notable. Satire and pastoral also were adopted by Polish writers, including Krzysztof Opaliński and Samuel Twardowski, respectively.
Renowned translations of the era included a Polish version of the Italian Torquato Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered. Translated by Piotr Kochanowski, the work reflected the general embrace of the heroic epic style in the period. Homegrown epics about Polish themes were also written by Wacław Potocki and Wespazjan Kochowski, whose 1695 Psalmodia polska (Polish Psalmody) described Jan III Sobieski’s victory at the Battle of Vienna in 1683.
Among the genres popular in the era, one in particular stood out: letter writing. Nobleman Jan Chryzostom Pasek achieved renown for one single work – his memoirs – which are now seen as one of the most outstanding examples of Polish literature. Written at the end of his life, Pasek’s memoirs describe his military exploits, as well as his personal life, and demonstrate an indebtedness to the oral tradition. The work was praised by many, including Adam Mickiewicz, who noted its humour and light-heartedness. Catherine S. Leach writes that:
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No previously published work gave the public such an intimate insight into the mentality of the seventeenth-century Polish squiredom. Pasek’s lively and often amusing stories delighted readers with their rich and racy colloquial language.
From literature to architecture to music, and from tombs to translations, the Baroque touched all aspects of Polish culture in the 17th century. Although Polish culture was subsequently repressed under the partitions, the arts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth demonstrated a considerable maturity, as well as close connections to wider European culture.
Written by Juliette Bretan, Oct 2021
Sources: John D. Lyons, The Oxford Handbook of the Baroque, 2019; Jan K. Ostrowski et. al., Art in Poland, 2019; Mariola Marszałek, Black “marble” in the Polish architecture, in Geology, Geophysics & the Environment, 40 (2014); Baroque in Poland; Polishmusic.usc.edu; Brittanica.com
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