Stage IV (The coping under the balcony)

The fourth stage of the conservation works was carried out from August to October 2018. The works included the pictorial and sculptural decoration of the musical matroneum’s ceiling.

The theme of the pictorial decoration of the matroneum’s ceiling complements the theme presented on its coping. It is composed of “Angelic Orchestra”, whose main representation, in the central part of the ceiling is a pair of angels presented in the foreground and other angels and puttoes presented in the background. Each of the angels is playing an instrument, whereas puttoes serve a supplementary role. The type of instruments that angels had on their disposal was important for the works that were being carried out. Before the conservation, angels in the foreground were presented with a cellos and a lutes, and the angels in the background were presented with a western concert flutes, virginals, or they were just singing. The presentation of a harp against a cloud in the foreground was puzzling. Any of the figures did not use the instrument. The remaining representations are placed symmetrically to the central one. They are placed in irregularly shaped frames in the north-eastern and south-eastern corners of the ceiling. Each painting represents a pair: an angel and a putto, where the angel is placed in the centre and takes up the majority of the entire composition, and a putto, which serves a supplementary role. Each of them plays an instrument. In the painting on the north-eastern side, an angel plays a harp, and putto – a violin, whereas on the south-eastern side an angel uses a violin, and putto – a western concert flute. The remaining two representations are fillings of the architectural semi-circular extensions of the matroneum’s ceiling. The paintings have a semi-circular shape, and accordingly to the architectural shape of this part of the ceiling were arranged in semi-circular frames. There is a pair of puttoes playing instruments on each of the paintings, presented in front of the sky and cloud background. On the north-western side, the figures are using a pair of timpanis and a trumpet, whereas on the south-western side the puttoes play tubes.

As a result of the carried out work, it was possible to conduct a historical and conservatory analysis of presented instrument types, and partly layout of the figures. Based on research, observation and comparisons, the decision was made not to present the angel in the far background – it the one on the right side of the central painting, using a western concert flute. The layout and positioning of the figures have been corrected based partly on the available photographic documentation from 1944, and partly on remains of the primary paint layer. The western concert flute was replaced with a dulcian’s baroque wind instrument. It was also decided that the harp will not be presented on the painting. It turned out that in both cases the instruments were re-paintings. The rest of the paintings were corrected in terms of the positioning of the figures, based on the preserved relics and photographic documentation. Among the others, the changes included removing braiding present on the marching tubes used by puttoes presented in semi-circular painting on the southwestern part of matroneum’s ceiling.

Translated by Inga Schulz (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.