„Dei auxilio et munificentia benefactorum”

Kilka uwag o działalności fundacyjnej przeorów klasztoru dominikanów w Krakowie w XVII wieku

Abstract

“DEI AUXILIO ET MUNIFICENTIA BENEFACTORUM”. SOME REMARKS ON THE FOUNDING WORK OF THE PRIORS OF THE DOMINICAN MONASTERY IN 17TH CENTURY KRAKÓW

In the history of Krakow’s Dominican Holy Trinity Monastery, the 17th century was the Baroque heyday era, launched earlier by the grand celebrations of the canonisation of St. Hyacynth in 1594. In the following decades, the Dominican priors engaged in numerous artistic and construction projects; and the community gathered around the Dominican Monastery included numerous craftsmen and artists, such as Thomas Dolabella. Subsequent priors carried out the restoration and modernisation work; in the form which emerged at that time, the complex of monastery buildings survived until the disastrous fire of the city in 1850. In the 17th century, thanks to the efforts of the Priors Erazm Koniuszowski and Tomasz Schmith, the main church altars were created, and the retable from the 1680s adorned the chancel of the church until the mid-19th century. The founding work of the Kraków Dominican Priors also enriched the Holy Trinity Church with an impressive collection of elaborate argenteria, a collection of magnificent liturgical paraments often made of imported fabrics, coverlets and chasubles embroidered with pearls and precious stones, and a collection of paintings. The article presents the founding work and artistic initiatives of a group of Dominican priors, such as Erazm Koniuszowski, Jan Konstanty Morski, Tomasz Schmith, Just Słowikowski and Kazimierz Napolski. Changes in the interior design of the church, contracts with eminent artists and craftsmen, costly acquisitions, and major artistic and architectural projects of the Priors were possible thanks to fruitful cooperation with the benefactors of the monastery.