Prace badawczo-odkrywkowe na obecność polichromii w pomieszczeniach skrzydła zachodniego pałacu Pod Krzysztofory w Krakowie

Abstract

RESEARCH WORKS AND POLYCHROME DETECTION SURVEY IN THE ROOMS OF THE WEST WING OF KRZYSZTOFORY PALACE IN KRAKÓW

The subject of conservation works discussed in the  paper were the exploration and survey conducted in the  rooms located on the first, second and third floor in the  west wing of Krzysztofory Palace in Kraków to detect polychrome  decorations. Because it was necessary to reinforce  the structure of the ceilings, the first stage of the project  covered the assessment of the technical condition of ceilings  and covings, while in the second stage the survey covered all  the walls, including window and door chamfers, in each of  the rooms that had been made accessible for the purposes  of the research.  In its long history, the building underwent restoration  and adaptation works many times. The current research  and conservation project has contributed a great deal to the  knowledge about its past, but it has not yielded a full picture  of all the transformations that took place over the centuries  (only the removal of all the subsequent layers from  the historical wall paintings which are scheduled for public  display in the future can enable reliable dating or stylistic  and formal analysis thereof ).  The survey has revealed the existence of painted decorations  on the walls of six rooms located on the mansion’s  first and second floor. On the third floor which dates to  the 1920s no decorative wall paintings were found. Faint  traces of stencilled decorations from the second half of  the 19th century were discovered on the ceilings, but with  no traces of technological or stylistic continuation on the  walls.  The lack of a historical layer worthy of restoration for  the purposes of future display in the ceilings, and the bad  technical condition thereof justified the decision to remove  them and to reconstruct the form of the covings. About  eight distinct chronological layers were isolated during the  analysis of the walls in the rooms covered by the survey.  The fragments of multicolour pictorial decorations that  were revealed in the examined samples belong to the third  chronological layer which was painted over a colourful undercoat  and plaster covering brick walls which were dated  to the 17th century.  The polychromes discovered in the abovementioned  rooms share the same kind of three-dimensionality, del icacy, finesse of detail and extraordinary meticulousity regarding  their form and use of colour. They are illusionistic  decorations representing the type of architectural board  compositions, with elaborate frames featuring floral, and  sometimes also bird ornaments, and with arabesque and  sequin motifs.  The specific use of three-dimensionality, the colour  scheme, and the composition and layout of the uncovered  polychromes suggest the probable period in which they  were created: they represent the early neo-classical style and  must have been painted in the last decade of the 18th, or in  the first decade of the 19th century. It has been proposed  that the polychromes discovered on the walls of the six  rooms be completely uncovered to undergo technical conservation,  and later on aesthetic restoration to be arranged  for public display.  To get a full picture of the architectural and conservation  transformations of Krzysztofory Palace, a historical  analysis would have to be carried out after the removal of all  the layers that are subsequent to the oldest layer of pictorial  decorations which is scheduled for public display, and a  survey of the rooms located on the ground floor in the west  wing wound need to be completed. These developments  can only take place after the rooms that until recently had  been used by Cricoteca are emptied and made accessible for  research purposes.