Leonard Jan Józef Lepszy

“ The square tomb is divided into panels containing figures, over each of which there is a tail-piece canopy with tracery. The tomb is surmounted by superb canopy on eight pillars, the whole monument profusely adorned with crockets and finials of exquisite workmanship.
Space forbidding us to give a detailed description of the consoles found in the convent cloisters, the ivory casket at St. Mary's Church, and sundry small objects wrought of precious material and preserved in the museums, we now pass on to fifteenth century sculpture. ”

“ IN the vast plains of Little Poland, now laid waste by the first Mongolian invasion, the whole civilization of the country was annihilated, the soil left fallow, the cities burnt down and depopulated. The only means to raise the country economically was the introduction of foreign capital and foreign hands for work. ”

“ Thus having finished our sketch of modern Polish painting as developed within the walls of Cracow, we turn to the history of Applied Art in the modern era. Here again, the Renascence proved a life-giving impulse, stirring up men's imaginations to the production of new forms. The applied art of the Renascence did not come to us, as painting did, through the medium of Germany, but direct from Italy, its original source. ”

“ INTERIOR OF HOLY CROSS CHURCH. Civil Architecture only began in the fourteenth century. The enormous architectural activity of Casimir the Great, as attested by history, proves true the saying of posterity, that he had found a Poland built of wood, and left behind one of brick. Cracow architecture was regulated by a statute for masons, issued in 1367. Although none of the medieval buildings has preserved its original form, yet those that remain show many traces of medieval structure and give us an idea of what profane architecture was like. ”

“ During the two short reigns of John Albert (1492-1501) and Alexander (1501-1506) the current of humanism grows continually stronger. Besides the works of art, of which we shall speak presently, this is manifested in classical Latin constantly gaining ground and becoming not only the language of literature, but also of general intercourse. In the long reigns of King Sigismund the Old (1506-1548) , and of his son, Sigismund Augustus ( 1548-1572) , the German element is to some extent supplanted by the Italian, and the native Polish middle-class gains in strength. ”

“ Every guild possessed, in one of the numerous churches, a chapel or at least an altar of its own, maintained and adorned at the guild's expense. Control was exercised over the members' regular attendance at divine service, and neglect of this duty was severely punished. At religious processions, like that on Corpus Christi Day, all craft guilds displayed extraordinary splendour; the members appeared corporately, in holiday clothes, and armed. The seniors, with badges and maces, marched ahead, followed by the brethren of the guild, in closed ranks, with ensigns spread and swords drawn. ”

“ At the diet of Korczyn, Tenczynski's family took their revenge on the city: in spite of Queen Elizabeth's personal intercession, six of the most distinguished citizens were beheaded. The aversion of the nobles to the foreign element was constantly growing, and exerting itself more and more effectively. For a long time there was to be no agreement between these two classes, but the national assimilation of the townspeople made rapid progress from this time. About the middle of the sixteenth century by far the greatest number of the town's inhabitants are entirely Polish. ”

“ The murdered prelate was canonized—like Thomas à Becket in England—the monarch's power, and with it Poland's political position and authority, sank far below what they had been. The dreadful catastrophe had happened in the centre of the oldest fortified settlement at Cracow, viz., on the Skalka, and the place became henceforth the aim of devout pilgrimages. The solemn celebration of the 8th of May as the day sacred to the Saint's memory developed into a Church festival of world-wide renown, attracting people from all countries and much frequented by traders. ”

“ Besides, we learn from records in the archives that the royal sculptors Filippo da Fiesole, Nicolo Castiglione, and Guglielmo Fiorentino took part in the adornment of this magnificent structure. Antonio da Fiesole was a pupil of Andrea Sansovino. The grand work of all these artists is a perfect gem among the masterpieces of Renascence art on our side of the Alps. Outwardly, the Sigismund Chapel exhibits a square substructure without windows; the moulding of the walls by means of pilasters is exquisitely elegant and neat. ”

“ They show seven coats-of-arms of the principalities of Poland; among these, the arms of the Dobrzyn country with the expressive head of King Casimir the Great, that of his wife Adelaide of Hesse, and other figures of men as well as of beasts and imaginary symbolical creatures. These works of plastic art are distinguished by subtle intuition of nature and eloquent expression of character; both they and those in the windows of St. Mary's Church prove an intimate knowledge of medieval symbolism on the artist's part, and his close contact with Western art. ”

“ This unique institution has done excellent work in improving the physical and moral conditions under which young people grow up in the city.
The collections in Cracow illustrative of history and civilization are rapidly growing, chiefly by gifts from private persons desirous to contribute towards constructing a full image of the glorious past. This tendency prevailing in the public mind is fostered by the municipality, which by preserving the National Museum, fulfils its historical task, and proves a faithful guardian of the relics of civilization. ”