Plastyka epoki baroku w Kurlandii i jej powiązania z Litwą i Polską

ENThe beginnings of the Baroque in Courland can be observed after 1629. The 1680s witnessed a breakthrough in the development of art. A decline in the standard of sculpture in the 1660-1670 period was followed by its renaissance and artists began to follow new patterns. The years from 1680 up to the next breakthrough in the 1740s could be described as an era of High Baroque in the decorative arts in Courland. Commissions for church realizations were accompanied by numerous requests made by the local gentry. Due to wartime losses the progress of the plastic arts should be estimated chiefly upon the basis of church interiors, since secular sculptures have either been totally destroyed or remain scattered. The growth of the arts usually took place in the milieu of the craftsmen. The majority were itinerant artists but we also encounter local traditions, sometimes involving several generations. An analysis of numerous relics of sacral art makes it possible to trace some of the local workshops. The most difficult task is to determine the evolution of figūrai plastic arts since they frequently remained schematic, rigid and constituted the weakest link of the work pursued by artisans. In certain cases we observe realizations of the figura serpentinata type. During the 1660s ornaments underwent distinct transformations. The conch was replaced by the universally applied plant ornament, accompanied by the newly emergent acanthus and acanthus-pod motif. Figūrai plastic arts became increasingly ponderous and no longer revealed a striving towards elegant curved lines (the interior of the church in Nurmhusen, 1687).The history of sculpture in Courland includes a large number of noteworthy works produced by several local workshops. Those which testify to the mutual influence of Courland, Poland and Lithuania appear to be most interesting. The best examined are wooden sculptures executed in the Ventspils workshop, established in the local shipyard. Three generations of craftsmen worked here from the middle of the seventeenth century up to 1737, the year of the death of the last sculptor. Typical products of the workshop include sculptures in the St. Catherine church in Kuldiga (1660), the St. Anne church in Liepaja (1697), the church in Ugahlen (1697-1701), Landsen (1701), Lestene (1704-1707), and Kandava (1736). The birthplace of the first master of this workshop - Nikolas Sefrens (Soefrens) the Elder - has not been established. Presumably, he came from the Netherlands, and was succeeded by his younger son Nikolas (b. 1662); the older son, Johannes (b. 1660) is known in Poland as Sefrens from Elbląg. A crucial role in the growth of the plastic arts in Courland was played by ties with Riga - a large economic and cultural centre in Latvia. This was the source of the most valuable works of art e.g. figures of the bandits from the original Calvary in the church in Kandava (Kandau), executed by an unknown master from Riga (1690).Another group of monuments includes ten objects in Latvia and Lithuania. They undoubtedly come from the same workshop, which was located between Jekabplis (Jakobstadt) and Ilukste (Iluxt, Illukszta). We do not know the names of the sculptors nor the exact dates of their activity. The output of this workshop reveals a domination of ornamental motifs; it also created an original figūrai typology (the Lutheran church in Subate, ca 1720; the church in Vecpils, ca 1700). Some of the works from this workshop are found also in Lithuania (the church in Stelmuiza).Not all the elements of the decoration of church interiors in the Duchy of Courland were made locally. They were also imported from Gdańsk or Kłajpeda (Memel) (figures in the church in Rutzau made by master Eckert Froelich in 1710). The sculptures of Courland were influenced by Jesuit artists (the churches in Subate, Iluskte, and Skaistkane, end of the seventeenth century). The organ in Skaistkalne (Schonberg) must have affected decorative sculpture in Courland since we come across its copy in the Protestant church in Kuldiga (Goldingen). The entire decoration of the church in Skaistkalne is regarded in the history of Latvian art as a variant of the "Jesuit style". Finally, it must be said that High Baroque art in the Duchy of Courland developed in accordance with general tendencies of the era which prevailed in Central and Northern Europe.