Plaster Casts of Ancient Sculptures in the Collections of King Stanislaus Augustus
Katarzyna Mikocka-Rachubowa
katarzyna.mikocka@wp.plInstitute of Art, Polish Academy of Science (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7293-7490
Abstract
The article concerns a collection of plaster casts of ancient sculptures, bought by King Stanislaus Augustus in Italy with the thought of the academy of fine arts which he planned to establish in Warsaw. In addition, the king bought in Italy copies on ancient sculptures in marble, which he planned to house in a gallery to be designed in the Orangery building in the Łazienki Park. After the king’s death, his collection of plaster casts of ancient sculptures, considered to have been one of the most complete to be in Europe, was purchased by the government of the Duchy of Warsaw. Transported from the Royal Castle to the University of Warsaw campus, it gave the beginning to the university collection of plaster casts. From 1821 to 1940 the collection was housed in the Column Hall of the university’s museum building and various additions were purchased for it over the years. It was largely destroyed during the Second World War; in 1969 its remnants were placed in the Old Orangery in the Łazienki Park.
Keywords:
18th-century sculpture, plaster casts of ancient sculptures, Stanislaus Augustus, sculpture gallery of Stanislaus Augustus, university collection of plaster castsReferences
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Authors
Katarzyna Mikocka-Rachubowakatarzyna.mikocka@wp.pl
Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Science Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7293-7490
Prof. Katarzyna Mikocka-Rachubowa PhD (habil.) is an art historian, a Professor at the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses on the history of sculpture from the 16th to the 19th century, mainly on Italian sculpture, as well as the art and artistic culture of the second half of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. She is the author of almost five hundred works: books, studies and articles published in Poland and in Italy, as well as many biographic articles on sculptors and their biographical notes in dictionaries of artists.
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