St. Stanislaus resurrects knight Peter

Description: A picture painted on a canvas in the form of a vertically positioned rectangle. The composition depicts St. Stanislaus, the bishop of Cracow, performing his most important and famous miracle: the resurrection of the knight Peter (Peterowin) in the presence of King Boleslaw the Bold. A multi-figure scene with a crowd of figures and a complex composition. The whole takes place as the lives of the saint say in the cemetery in front of the church in Peterawin on the Vistula, presented in a completely fantastic way, although consistent with the style features of late Baroque architecture. The architectural motifs that make up the vision of this church occupy successive plans on the left (from the viewer) side of the painting going towards its axis. The multi-figure representation occupies the entire foreground, the slightly narrower, right (from the viewer) part of the field is filled with clouds and the figures of the king’s soldiers as if emerging from them, as well as supernatural motifs and figures. The left part of the painting (from the viewer) is filled with the retinue of St. Stanislaus gathered in front of the entrance to the church. The façade of this temple, presented in perspective, is located behind the back of this group: here you can see a grey-blue, monumentally conceived wall enriched with columns (one can be seen), and a semicircular portal embedded in this wall. In the group of figures mentioned above, St. Stanislaus is located closest to the viewer, turned in 3/4 towards the axis of the painting, and is shown in full form, standing in contrapposto (with the right leg bent at the knee and the foot extended forward; the saint’s yellow-brown shoe is partly visible, protruding under the garment). The head is slightly raised; the face of an elderly man is framed by gray stubble with a short beard; the hair of a similar color frames the forehead, temples, and back of the bishop’s head. The eyes of the saint raised towards the dove of the Holy Spirit are depicted in the right (viewer’s side) upper corner of the painting; face as if immersed in a kind of ecstasy. The saint has both hands diagonally down and forward, he makes delicate gestures with his hands – as if he was passing on the received power – focused on the part of the representation that is visible on the opposite side of the painting. Stanislaus dressed in a bishop’s outfit: a white alb, an amice of the same color, a blue cope with golden ornaments on the top and a dark pink one on the bottom, fastened on the chest; a cross hanging on the clasp. A stole also emerges from under the cope. On the saint’s head, there is a miter in colors similar to those of the kapa, with a jewel on the axis. Behind the figure of the bishop, a group forming his assistant is visible. The most visible three figures are at the front of the group: two deacons (one standing behind the saint) with young faces and dark blond hair, dressed in white albs and red dalmatics, and a grey-haired old man with a long beard, with hands folded in prayer, dressed in secular timeless robes in yellow and blue (the old man is depicted right next to the left – from the viewer – edge of the picture). The deacon, visible in full form, to the left (heraldically) of the bishop, depicted in a rather lively pose expressing surprise at the sight of Peterowin emerging from the grave, holds a crosier in his hands. Behind this group of three, you can see five heads of figures at the back of the group behind St. Stanislaus – those that are visible in their entirety have individualized and quite detailed features. Going further towards the axis of the painting, you can see the figure of King Boleslaw the Bold standing in front of the viewer, shown slightly more in the depth of the composition than the people mentioned above. The position of the monarch’s body is masked by robes, and the legs are arranged in a slight contrapposto with the right foot forward and the knee bent on the same side. The ruler raises his right hand to his face, covering his nose and thus protecting himself from the smell rising from Peterowin’s grave; in his left, outstretched hand, he holds a brown and gold scepter diagonally. The ruler’s head is directed slightly to the right (heraldically) side (as if he was turning away from the grave) and slightly tilted downwards. A king with the face of a mature man, with blond hair visible above the ears, on the sides of the face. He is dressed in a white undergarment of a varied cut and a brown and gold coat, fastened on the left baroque, profusely folded. On Bolesław’s head, there is a closed, camera-covered crown with four arches and a cross on top. In the background of the described figures, there are two more (behind the church – may be part of it?) monumental buildings placed in perspective along a diagonal line: first, a light-brick central building is visible, and behind it, a fragment of another building, greyish-grey, on a rectangular plan, with tall, semi-circular finished windows. The right (from the viewer’s) part of the painting, which takes up a little less space, contains several motifs stacked one above the other. At the bottom, in the corner, there is a stage that is the ideological and narrative center of the performance. In the smooth gray ground on which the saint, his attendant, and the king stand, there is a rectangular hole in the state leading the entrance to the tomb of the knight Peter. An angel hovering above this opening (laying horizontally, with a youthful face, blond hair, wearing a white undergarment and wrapped in flowing green drapery) lifts the edge of the massive straight slab covering the tomb, which is now set at an angle of 45 degrees to the ground. Through the thus created exit from the grave, open to the right (heraldically) side, emerges the corpse of Peterowina, brown, with bared teeth, covered with a white shroud, raising a hand with long nails towards the saint and the king. The space above the angel and along the right edge of the picture is filled with clouds: white, yellow, gray, and pink (in shades). From these clouds, in the middle of the picture, three figures appear towards its axis, belonging to the king’s assistance. In the foreground is a man, shown from the left profile, dressed in red robes and gray-blue armor, and an ornate hat, addressing the king, his fingers raised in an indefinable gesture. Behind him, a little further, the heads of two helmeted soldiers holding pikes. Against the background of clouds covering the dark blue sky, filling the right (from the viewer’s) corner of the painting, you can see a white and gray dove of the Holy Spirit, flying down and heading diagonally to the right (heraldic) side. From it comes an expanding ray of light falling directly on the head of St. Stanislaus, the perpetrator of the miracle of resurrection.

History: The painting belongs to the series placed on the walls of the nave dedicated to two saint patrons of the church (and at the same time 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. There is no basis for a more precise dating of the painting and the frame, therefore a fairly wide margin of time between 1710 and 1720 must be indicated.

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. Two of these paintings, not counting the foundation of the Jesuits (Saint Stanislaus casting a curse on King Boleslaw the Bold), were financed by well-known and influential clergymen, probably with the participation of the institutions they headed. The founder of the painting discussed here was the abbot of the famous Cistercian monastery in Krzeszów in Silesia – Dominicus Geyer (1662-1726), the 42nd abbot in Krzeszów, successfully performing his function in the monastery for 30 years. However, the presence of the equally treated coat of arms of the Krzeszów convent itself allowed the eminent researcher of the history of Świdnica, Sobiesłw Nowotny, to interpret – slightly differently than previously done – the letter abbreviations appearing on the additional cartouche below the coats of arms: “D. A. & C. G.” This researcher assumed that apart from the abbot himself, the entire monastery in Krzeszów joined in the creation of the painting. The quoted historian quite rightly sees in these letters abbreviations of words: “Dominicus Abbas & Conventus Grissoviensis” (“Dominik abbot and convent in Krzeszów”). Yet another context of the gift is very well explained by the information that the abbot of Krzeszów was very friendly with the Świdnica Jesuits, his sacrifices for the convent and his care for the student congregation are known. To these expressions of interest and sympathy, the abbot added the foundation of a large painting – one of the most important in the entire cycle – for the Jesuit temple. Undoubtedly, the choice of the artist was on the side of the guardians of the church in Świdnica. But also Knechtl’s specific, very expressive style was perfect for such dramatic and macabre themes as St. Stanislaus resurrects Peterowina.