"Protestancki Willmann". O obrazach Michaela Willmanna dla protestanckich fundatorów

English Title: "Protestant" Willmann. On paintings by Michael Willmann for Protestant commissioners

In: Harasimowicz, Jan (Hrsg.): Sztuka i dialog wyznań w XVI i XVII wieku [Materiały Sesji Stowarzyszenia Historyków Sztuki, Wrocław, listopad 1999]. Warschau 2000, pp. 339-349

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Translation of abstract (English)

Michael Willmann is commonly seen as a painter of the Silesian Catholic Church of the post-Trent Council revival. This dominating paradigm of reception of the work of the artist caused that the paintings which Willmann executed for Protestant commissioners became almost forgotten. Although these works were not numerous, they were prestigious commissions: the painting "The Last Supper" and "The Name Yhwh" for the church of St. Elisabeth – the Protestant Cathedral of Wroclaw, "Solomon’s Judgement" and "The Judgement of Cambyzes" for the Council Room of the Wroclaw town hall, the seat of the Protestant town authorities, or works executed for the Brandenburg Elector Frederick Wilhelm like "Apotheosis of the Great Elector" from 1682. Willmann considered himself an artist not limited by his confession, working equally for Protestant and Catholic clients. This is testified by a biography of the Lubiaz artist which was published in the Latin edition of "Teutsche Academie..." by Joachim von Sandrart in 1683. What then caused, that in the eyes of descendants Willmann became a "Catholic painter"? The published by Sandrart biography of Willmann as a "secular painter of the Great Elector" was during of 18th century corrected by the Cistercian monks of Lubiaz. The romantic concept of artist-genius resulted in the popular reception of the religious subjects of his paintings as the expression of his own personality. Based on Hegel’s philosophy mystical concepts of the characteristic feature of the culture of Silesia caused that Willmann in the field of Silesian painting of the Baroque became the representative of those attributes noticed in the mystical poetry of Angelus Silesius or in sculptures considered the so called Silesian Baroque manner. Finally in 1945 all paintings made by Willmann for the Wroclaw Protestants were lost.