" He closed his eyes John III. Our hero and benefactor " *.

The news of King Jan III Sobieski's death reached Rome quickly, but the official announcement of the monarch's passing was brought personally to Pope Innocent XII by Bishop Jan Kazimierz Bokum, in November 1696. The fame and authority of the Polish king, whose figure was particularly celebrated after the 1683 Vienna Victory, meant that the news of his departure reverberated strongly throughout Christian Europe. It was in Rome, however, that the celebrations took on their most solemn character. The cardinal protector of the Republic, Carlo Barberini (1630-1704), took intensive measures to duly honour and commemorate the Polish monarch, at the same time manifesting his attachment to the royal family and the nation he patronised. The first commemorative ceremonies were organised on the initiative of Cardinal Barberini in the Capella Paolina of the Quirinal Palace (5 December 1696). A Mass was celebrated here for the soul of the deceased.

Relatione della Pompa Funebre

Five days later, the most important celebrations took place, organised in the Polish church of St Stanislaus the Martyr Bishop. Three accounts have survived describing the celebrations of 10 December, two in Italian and one in Latin. There is also iconographic evidence - an engraving by Pietro and Francesco Santi Bartoli based on a drawing by Sebastiano Cipriani, the designer of the 'apparatus funebris'. The engraving reproduces the interior of the church and its decoration prepared especially for the solemn execrations. According to Cipriani's conception, the small church was transformed into a real theatre. In the middle of the interior was placed a monumental catafalque on a high, rectangular pedestal decorated with a winged skull and two cartouches with the Sobieski family coat of arms - Janina. Above it was placed an urn against a background of crossed panoplies. The upper part of the catafalque, reminiscent of an obelisk covered with fabric, was crowned with royal insignia resting on cushions. It was flanked by palm and laurel branches. The entire church was lit by numerous candles on tall candlesticks. From under the vaulting, sheets of fabric were draped over the parapet, and the aisles to the side chapels were similarly obscured. The most interesting part of the decoration, however, were six oval medallions on which important episodes from the life of the deceased king were painted. They were located above the entrances to the side chapels (four), one crowned the space above the main altar and the last one on the opposite wall, above the exit from the temple. All were framed in decorative painted frames with an illusionistic design reminiscent of a carved frame. Below each painting were explanatory inscriptions in Latin.

A priceless memento of the Roman enforcements of King John III

Accounts held in the Barberini Archives in Rome show that Carlo Barberini spared no expense in preparing a dignified setting for the funeral mass sine corpore. He began preparations even before the secretary arrived in Rome with the official news of the Polish king's death. Among the works commissioned in advance were the large-format paintings seen in Cipriani's engraving.

The print immortalises five of the six medallions, the last having been placed where the scene is captured. The medallions were painted 'en grisaille', using the tempera technique on canvas. Their author was Philipp Jakob Wörndle (1652-1722), an artist of Austrian origin working in Rome. In the accounts, his name is noted in a capitalised form - Giacomo Wernele.

Four medallions have survived to the present day and are held in the collection of the 'Galleria d'Arte Antica - Collezione Barberini'. These are the canvases that decorated the space of the nave. Given the ephemeral nature of such decorations, their preservation to this day can be seen as a rarity. The medallion placed above the altar, as well as the one intended for the opposite wall of the church, have disappeared or are stored in an unknown location today.

Painted chronicle of the life of John III

The iconography of the paintings adorning the exequies was developed by Cardinal Carlo Barberini.

The painting above the altar illustrated the nuptials of John III to Maria Kazimiera in the chapel of the Royal Castle in Warsaw on 5 July 1665. We can only judge the appearance of the medallion from Cipriani's engraving, although even here it is partly obscured by the crown crowning the catafalque. The accompanying inscription explained that the blessing of the couple was given by the Nuncio of the Holy See in the Republic, Monsignor Antonio Pignatelli, who ascended the papal throne as Pope Innocent XII in 1696.

The next four medallions decorating the nave showed scenes in chronological order. The first is the victory of John III and the troops he commanded at the Battle of Chocim against the Turks in 1673. In the foreground of the painting, the king is shown riding a mounted horse against the backdrop of the battlefield. Above the king, a winged famer approaches to place the crown on his head.

The second medallion recalls King John III's obedience to Pope Innocent XI through the royal ambassador, Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł. The painting features two temporally divergent scenes documenting this important diplomatic event; the act of obedience, with the Pope seated on a throne under a canopy and the Polish ambassador kneeling before him. In the background we see the ceremonial entry of the embassy into the Eternal City.

The third canvas commemorated the victory of John III and the anti-Turkish coalition troops he commanded at Vienna in 1683. In the scene, John III is shown in the heat of battle, on horseback, with the battlefield in the background. In his left hand he holds the captured banner, which was later given as a trophy to the Vatican. Above the scene, a winged famer with a trumpet and palm branches announces victory.

The fourth scene documents the foundations of two new congregations in the Republic undertaken by the royal couple, as well as their temples. These are the monastery of the Capuchin Fathers and the Benedictine Sisters of the Holy Sacrament in Warsaw.

The last medallion was placed on the wall of the church facing the façade and showed John III as a warrior. The portrait was decorated with a festoon and supported by a winged skeleton. Like the other medallions, the composition was also painted en grisaille. The iconography of the representation was complemented by an inscription, the text of which we know thanks to a print describing the ceremony. It was a eulogy (text of praise) addressed to the deceased.

*Quote taken from a letter by Andrzej Chryzostom Załuski, a witness to the death of John III, to Cardinal Michał Stefan Radziejowski.