The book is the aftermath of source, iconographic and historical research funded by the POLONIKA Institute. It sheds new light on the extraordinary work of art that is the tombstone of John Casimir's heart in the former Benedictine church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris. This publication by Dr Paweł Migasiewicz discusses the history of this work, which is one of the most important artistic Polish monuments in Europe, erected abroad in the 1770s.

The work, presenting a full-figure figure of the abdicating Jan Kazimierz - the last monarch of the Polish Vasa dynasty - was created by eminent French royal artists who ensured the high level of the project and its execution. The author of the publication, being an accomplished researcher of modern art, has covered the whole spectrum of issues concerning the Polish royal monument - a peculiar symbol of the centuries-old political relations between France and the Republic of Poland - with extraordinary flair. Thanks to reliable studies of various manuscript sources, the researcher was able to outline an exceptionally broad historical and artistic context, clarify the ideological significance of the monument and shed more light on its history than before.

You can read more about the tombstone of King John Casimir's heart in Paris in our series "Polonics of the Week".

Information on the research of this monument can also be found on our website.

Author: Paweł Migasiewicz

Editing: Piotr Herbich

Translation: Artur Foryt (French); Justyna Gołąbek-Asikainen (English)

Year of publication: 2019

Number of pages: 168

Binding: softbound

ISBN: 978-83-66172-16-6