Jan Henryk Rosen, 'Defence of Częstochowa (Prior Kordecki defends Częstochowa in 1655)', 1933, private papal chapel, Castel Gandolfo (Italy), photo Joanna Wolańska
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, Modified: yes, License terms and conditions

Photo showing Wall paintings by Jan Henrik Rosen in the private papal chapel in Castel Gandolfo

Jan Henryk Rosen, 'Miracle on the Vistula (Priest Skorupka in the defence of Warsaw in 1920)', 1933, private papal chapel, Castel Gandolfo (Italy), photo Joanna Wolańska
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions

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ID: POL-002538-P/189567

Wall paintings by Jan Henrik Rosen in the private papal chapel in Castel Gandolfo

Castel Gandolfo | Italy

ID: POL-002538-P/189567

Wall paintings by Jan Henrik Rosen in the private papal chapel in Castel Gandolfo

Castel Gandolfo | Italy

Wall paintings by Jan Henryk Rosen in the private papal chapel in the former summer residence of the popes at Castel Gandolfo (Italy): "Defence of Częstochowa (Prior Kordecki defends Częstochowa in 1655)" and "Miracle on the Vistula (Priest Skorupka in the defence of Warsaw in 1920)"; dimensions: 370 × 240 cm (each), executed in 1933.

The two monumental wall paintings were commissioned by Pope Pius XI, who himself chose the subjects and corrected the designs presented by the painter (Rosen described his meetings and discussions with Pius XI concerning the iconography of the planned paintings and the changes made at the pope's request extensively in - probably planned for publication, but - as far as is known - never published notes written down after the war in the United States and preserved in typescript in his legacy in the USA; Pasierb also mentions the artist's meetings and discussions with the pope). Pius XI (Achille Ratti) was Apostolic Nuncio to Poland in the years 1919-1921; he was famous for being the only foreign diplomat not to leave Warsaw during the Polish-Soviet War, in August 1920 (as Stanisław Wilk writes, his staying in Warsaw was accidental, as he was planning to leave the capital with other diplomats). The paintings in question were intended to remind us of this period of the Pope's activity. The paintings are located opposite each other on the side walls of the chapel, whose altar contains a copy of the painting of Our Lady of Czestochowa. Above the entrance door to the chapel, there are also painted maps of Poland: on the 'Miracle' side, a reproduction of a Polish staff map showing the battlefield of Warsaw (197 × 140 cm), and on the opposite side, a map of Poland, 'maintained in the old artistic convention'. Information has been preserved about Rosen's leave of absence from the Lviv Polytechnic (where he was employed at the time) from 1 May to 15 June 1933 due to work on the paintings at Castel Gandolfo (it is otherwise known that it took him much longer to complete this commission).

"Miracle on the Vistula" is, we may assume, a fairly independent composition by Rosen (although, perhaps, it refers to an analogous composition by Jerzy Kossak from 1930), while "Obrona Częstochowa" refers - especially in terms of its iconography - to a painting by January Suchodolski with the same title (1846, oil on canvas, 124 × 164 cm, National Museum in Krakow, inv. no. MNK II-a-8; a replica from 1854 in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw). It is difficult to imagine that Rosen's composition could have been created without knowledge of Suchodolski's painting, a work very popular at the time and widely reproduced.

As a curiosity, it should be mentioned that at least two repetitions of the arrangement known from the chapel in Castel Gandolfo are known (i.e. decorations of sacred interiors in the form of the two compositions in question placed opposite each other, similarly to the one in the Papal Chapel): in the chancel of the church in Toustem in Podolia (the relatively well-preserved 'Obrona Czestochowa ' ; 'Cud nad Wisłą ' - only residually) from ca. 1935-1939, and in the historical Vilnius region (now within the borders of Belarus), in the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Soly (before 20 September 1934; painted over in 2023), as part of a larger group of paintings in the chancel. Rosen himself reproduced the figure of Fr Skorupka on a frieze painted to decorate the Polish section at the International Exhibition of the Catholic Press in the Vatican (1936), now kept in the House of the Archbishops of Warsaw .

"The Pope's original" idea of juxtaposing the two scenes in the chapel was, as it turns out, not only not coincidental, but probably already existed in the literature. As Jarosław Komorowski writes, Maria Bogusławska's book, published in 1920 by the Society for National Education, entitled 'The Legacy of Kordecki. "Dziedzictwo Kordeckiego: ks. Ignacy Skorupka" already in the title connects the main characters of both events. Due to the lack of exact dates of the two productions, referred to here as repetitions of the ensemble at Castel Gandolfo, it is difficult to state unequivocally the direction of influence, but it seems that priority should be given to the Papal Chapel, which may have served as a model for the paintings at Toustem. In addition, the decoration of the chapel at Castel Gandolfo and Rosen's participation in it were widely reported by national and foreign press agencies, followed by the daily and periodical press. In order to publicise the event, Rosen was juxtaposed - with the exaggeration characteristic of press coverage, of course - with Michelangelo (and the chapel at Castel Gandolfo with the Sistine Chapel), raising the fact that the Polish painter was the first artist since Buonarroti to decorate an entire chapel for the Pope.

The drafts of the composition (1932), executed (with minor changes, according to the remarks expressed by Pius XI) in the chapel at Castel Gandolfo, are kept in the Archcathedral Basilica of the Holy Family in Częstochowa.

The role of Giuseppe (Josef) Toeplitz, co-founder and one of the directors of the Italian Banca Commerciale Italiana (BCI), the institution which at the time provided financial services to the Vatican, in entrusting the commission to Rosen is not fully explained, but there is no doubt that the painter received the commission precisely thanks to Toeplitz, who was also to contribute to (or cover in full) the costs of decorating the chapel. A year before the paintings were executed at Castel Gandolfo, in 1932, Rosen painted a picture of St Odilon on the Toeplitz family tomb in the cemetery at Sant'Ambrogio di Varese, where Giuseppe Toeplitz had his residence.

The involvement of Antoni Michalak (1902-1975) in this commission is also not entirely clear. Rosen met him in Warsaw (oral information from Jerzy Wyczesany, based on material from Antoni Michalak's archives) in the autumn of 1932 and may have offered the young artist a collaboration. In 1933, Michalak designed and made, together with Rosen, the cardboards for the two scenes intended to decorate the papal chapel. As Jerzy Wyczesany writes: "These cartoons, which were not accepted by the Pope, were recomposed and realised by Rosen, but without Michalak's participation".

While, in the opinion of the Pope and in so-called public opinion, Rosen's paintings were a success, they met with devastating criticism from the Polish artistic community. Nowadays, they are prized among "polonics" abroad: "In the 20th century, in the field of monumental painting, Jan Henryk Rosen (1891-1982) has a special place in Polish art. His works are scattered in several countries: in Vienna, he decorated the polychrome chapel of John III Sobieski at the St. Joseph Church on the historic Kahlenberg Hill (1930). This intimate work depicts scenes related to the Battle of Vienna in 1683 in a simplified stylisation, using bold colours and blunt symbols. It is neither avant-garde painting nor historicism, but one of the more outstanding mural realisations of the 'golden mean' trend, which came to prominence in many European countries in the 1920s and 1930s. In Italy, the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo contains Rosen's patriotic-religious scenes with Polish themes: "Obrona Czestochowa" and "Miracle on the Vistula" (1934). In the United States, where he settled in 1937, his paintings in the Anglican Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and the mosaic in Saint Louis Cathedral, considered the largest in the world, stand out among his many works."

Related persons:

Jan Henryk Rosen

Time of construction:

1933

Creator:

Jan Henryk Rosen (malarz; Polska, Niemcy, Francja, USA)(preview)

Bibliography:

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