Cykl malarski Franciszka Smuglewicza na Świętym Krzyżu

Abstract

The article presents the themes of the seven paintings by Franciszek Smuglewicz, done for the Holy Trinity Monastery at Swiety Krzyi (probably painted inside the church itself) in the early 1900s, and works related to their conservation. The paintings illustrate the history of the remnants of the Holy Rood, e.g. The Finding of the Holy Rood and The Legend of St. Emeric, and the founders of the Benedictine order: Death of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica in Conversation with her Brother; St. Benedict. Shortly after completing the above, Franciszek Smuglewicz died, but his works - as a result of the dissolution of the Swiety Krzyi monastery as well as bad atmospheric conditions inside the building - were subject to gradual destruction. Artists and art conservators who undertook the renovation of these paintings did not always carry out their duties properly, which consequently contributed to their further destruction. It was not until the early 1950s and the letter from the Rev. Jan Genej (superior of the monastery in the years 1953-1962) to the Ministry of Culture and Arts in Warsaw, asking for assistance in the form of a subsidy for the Smuglewicz painting conservation, that history finally turned the page. The letter did attract subsidies, and in January 1955 the State Art Conservation Services in Warsaw admitted the pictures for conservation. In June 1955, the restored paintings returned home. In later years, systematically the pictures were subject to subsequent restorations. From 1992 until today no works have been carried out on the Franciszek Smuglewicz paintings. Their present state is good and requires no conservatory intervention.