Information about the object:
The sculptural depiction of the Baptism of Christ by St. John the Baptist is a part of the late Renaissance decoration of the Szolt-Wolfowicz tenement house, which stands on the Market Square in Lviv under the number 23. The tenement house was built in the 16th century and reconstructed in 1630. Its historical name is derived from the name of a family of Lviv patricians, the Szolt-Wolfowicz family, who came from Silesia. The founder of this family was Wolfgang Szolc (Wolfgangus Scholz), who lived in 1505-1572/3 and was a well-known Lviv merchant, juror, alderman and city councillor, who arrived in Lviv in 1525 under Sigismund I the Old.

The building is located on the western frontage of the square and occupies a corner property. The northern façade faces Cathedral Square. The sculptural group "Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist" is located in a corner niche on the second floor. Lviv art historian Vladimir Lyubchenko speculates that the decoration of the façade of Jan Szolc-Wolfowicz's house at 23 Market Square was done by Jan Zaręba, who was part of the circle of Herman van Hutte.

Completed works:

2022
The aim of the task was to conserve a fragment of the façade of the Szolc-Wolfowicz tenement house with the Baptism of Christ sculpture was to carry out extensive rescue, research and subsequent conservation work with elements of restoration on the sculpture 'Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist'.

In addition to the sculpture, the project included the façade of the building, which was built in 1570 and decorated with the original preserved sculptural decoration made of alabaster, marble and limestone. The sculpture, "Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist", of priceless historical and artistic value, required the work to be spread over three stages. This depended on a detailed examination of the object during the initial conservation work with arrangements made with a commission of experts. The project was of a rescue nature - the state of preservation of the object prior to the start of the project was described as very poor, even emergency.

2023
The aim of the task is to continue the conservation work with elements of restoration of the sculptural representation of ,,Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist" started in 2022. It is located on the corner of the former Szolts-Wolfowicz building, on the western frontage of the Lviv market square. During the first stage of the project, laboratory research, a 3D scan of the object and disassembly were carried out. The architectural setting of the composition on the façade was cleaned of build-ups and secondary colour layers, and attempts to remove the build-ups on the elements transported to the conservation studio began. The second stage of the project envisages the continuation of conservation work; continuation of the cleansing of the layering and secondary repaints, desalination, structural strengthening, stitching together of the disintegrated stone elements, injection of cracks, filling in of mould defects with a special mass, and reconstruction of the Szolc-Wolffowicz family coat of arms. After conservation, the sculptures will be protected and prepared for reinstallation on the façade.

Funding: Programme of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage "Protection of Cultural Heritage Abroad".

More about the project: https://polonika.pl

https://polonika.pl

• Związek Rodowy Dzieduszyckich herbu Sas, realizacja w roku 2022 i 2023.