St. Stanislaus casting a curse on King Bolesław the Bold

Description: The frame of the picture, in the shape of a vertical rectangle, in its main part is made of relatively wide slats, profiled in such a way that they create the illusion of a greater than the actual depth of the frame. Outside and inside the frame, there are narrow profiled gilded strips enclosing two internal, wider strips in white color of the polished primer: from the side of the painting, much wider than the next one, convex and set slightly diagonally towards the inner edge of the frame, and an external, narrow strip set flat towards the viewer. Ornamental motifs can be seen on both of these strips: close to the corners within the width of the strips, flat, golden, with ribbon motifs arranged in the so-called regency, supplemented with leafy twigs. At the vertical sides and the upper edge of the frame, plastic, openwork “ears” are placed outside it – coils of acanthus leaves in the white color of the polished primer, with a rather dry styling (overlapping in places with the frame slats), intertwined with sections of a rather narrow, golden, transversely grooved ribbon with volute-wrapped ends. The scroll of the ornament at the upper edge is symmetrically shaped, slightly raised on the axis. At the bottom edge of the frame, on the sides, there are two partially openwork, white and gold garlands, the outer ends of which are attached to the lower ends of the coils at the side edges of the frame. Almost symmetrical garlands, made of various leaves and twigs with flowers. The inner ends of the garlands are attached to a symmetrical cartouche placed in the middle of the lower section of the frame. The top of the cartouche extends onto the field of the picture, and the bottom reaches below the line of the garlands, sticking out strongly from the surface of the frame. Its decorations around the shield are plastic and openwork, and its outer edge is irregular. In the center of the white and gold cartouche, there is an oval field surrounded by a narrow profiled strip. In this field, golden motifs are placed on a white background: a large “IHS” monogram with a cross placed on the horizontal bar of the letter “H”, and below the monogram, a flaming heart with three wavy nails driven into it, shown against the background of flames. Below the oval field, a horizontal field, rounded at the ends, framed by a frieze of pearls. In this field, the golden letters “C.S.I.S.” are placed on a red background. Both fields are bordered with intertwined decorative motifs forming the proper cartouche – architectural motifs connected are visible (sections of the broken abutment made of reduced entablature), ornamental (shell on the top, “kerchiefs” tied between other elements, volutes, short sections of transversely grooved ribbons) and vegetal (twisted acanthus leaves with a sharp styling).

History: An extremely richly decorated frame encloses a large painting belonging to the cycle placed on the walls of the nave dedicated to the two saint patrons of the church (and also the patrons of the countries they came from): Stanislaus, the bishop of Cracow and a martyr, and Wenceslaus, the Czech prince and also a martyr. A painting illustrating a scene from the life of St. Stanislaus. The entire series was created on the initiative of the Jesuits, but only this one painting and its frame were financed by the college in Świdnica.

Characteristics: The decision to make large paintings illustrating the lives of its patrons for the church in Świdnica was obvious due to the lively liturgical cult of the saints mentioned in this church. The Jesuits, unable to commission all the necessary works due to financial difficulties, funded only one, thus setting an example for other potential investors of further commissions. Probably to show that people or institutions will be properly appreciated, and the memory of their generosity will last thanks to visible signs, they foresaw the presence of coats of arms on the frames of the paintings in the program of works. While this was the motivation of the Jesuits – encouraging the founders through a kind of “advertisement” – it must be admitted that it had a positive effect, and the coats of arms are exceptionally impressive. It seems that the painting discussed here may have been made first just after 1710, after finishing work on another series of slightly smaller compositions for the walls of the central nave: oval paintings depicting mostly Jesuit saints. The large rectangular painting discussed here could have been a kind of illustrative pattern for those willing to spend money on further paintings and frames. The emblem on the shield in the middle of the cartouche shows the sign of the Society of Jesus, adopted by its founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola. Already used in the Middle Ages, it was not a literal coat of arms, it was a kind of manifestation of faith with the saving power of Christ. The monogram of the letters “IHS”, presented in an oval field, most often translated as an abbreviation of the words “Iesus Hominum Salvator” (“Jesus the Savior of People”), is supplemented with the representation of a cross and a burning heart with three nails reminding of the bloody Passion of Christ. Visible under this image are the letters “C. S.I.S.” which should be interpreted as an inscription identifying a specific founder shortened to the first letters: “Collegium Societatis Iesu Svidnicense”, i.e. “Collegium of the Society of Jesus from Świdnica”. Probably the last painting in the series was hung in the nave in 1725 or not much later, and the frames and coats of arms, which required a great deal of work, were probably completed in the previous years. This gives grounds for saying that the culmination of many years of Jesuits’ efforts to make great paintings fell on the time when Lauretius Moser was the Rector of the College (1720-1728). Coming from the Czech Republic, an excellent theologian but also a talented administrator, he made a quick and brilliant career in the Society of Jesus, justified, however, by his outstanding abilities. Just two years after taking his vows, he was appointed superior in Świdnica. It was considered a difficult institution, both because of the mission among the local Protestants, and because of the arduous and costly work of decorating the church. Moser was then a superior at the College in Głogów and there, in 1730, he died as a result of injuries sustained after a tragic accident. However, he could have had the satisfaction that in his time in Świdnica, the difficult action of foundation for the nave of large paintings dedicated to the patrons of the temple came to an end.