The uniqueness of the Krakow collection of historical casts lies primarily in the significant role (compared to other university collections - e.g. the University of Warsaw or the University of Wrocław) they played in the context of the emergence and development of art history as an independent scientific discipline in Poland (especially at the Jagiellonian University, where in 1882. the first department of art history in Poland was established). It should be remembered that the methods of presenting and reproducing works of art in an integral way were related to the history of art history as a scientific field. Along with the development of research on art, we can observe a discussion on the problem of graphic representation, the influence of photography, the "mechanical" prosthesis of viewing, which was a slide show, and finally - in modern times - digital representation, which is the main theoretical problem.

Technology, craftsmanship and the popularity of plaster casting became the domain of the nineteenth century, from the middle of which the "professional" university art history developed. Gypsum casts were a constant medium of communing with art, together with graphic boards and textbooks on the general history of art. Collections of plaster casts - such as those in Krakow - made it possible to present a comprehensive picture of the development of the sculpture, often serving as a complement to the missing objects scattered all over Europe.

Therefore, after creating the position of a private lecturer in art history at the Jagiellonian University, Marian Sokołowski began intensive efforts to acquire objects for his teaching. The first objects were brought by Józef Łepkowski after 1866, but it was the dynamically developing department of art history that contributed to the creation of an extensive collection. Karol Lanckoroński became the main patron of the collection, a kind of personification of the European aristocracy - an art collector.

The Krakow collection, presented and used during classes, was exhibited in the Collegium Novum building, in the combined Cabinet of Archeology and Cabinet of Art History (after 1894). In the initial phase of development of the discipline, it occupied a prominent place as part of the wissenschaftliche apparatus, modeled in Krakow on the concept of Anton Springer and consisting of "successful copies", as Marian Sokołowski wrote, allowing for "explaining one specimen with another", which was the beginning of a formal approach to art research. Its later fate is a kind of signum temporis - with the change in the approach to the (formal) analysis of forms and with the development of archeology, the collection of "plaster" was dispersed, partially donated to the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts, and the remaining casts were forgotten and stored in temporary warehouses.

Organizational changes of the university, numerous changes in structures (and the seats of individual units) meant that the uniqueness of this collection is no longer legible.

The main challenge was to define the shape, basic and oldest framework of the collection, created mainly from the records of Karol Lanckoroński in the 1880s and 90s of the 19th century (and also partially exhibited at the exhibition in 1906).

After the archival query, it can be stated - based on the sources (inventories of the Cabinet of Art History and the Cabinet's book of expenses) - that Karol Lanckoroński certainly donated 115 objects in total, 56 of which are casts of ancient sculptures (Persian, Greco-Roman), three casts works of Far Eastern (Indian) art and 46 casts of modern (Renaissance) art. It should be emphasized that while the earlier ones were donated (or bought as a gift) for the Archaeological Cabinet, the main collection is the result of activities for the needs of the "art history apparatus".

It should be emphasized that this collection, apart from the casts of ancient art typical of the whole of Europe, did not include monuments of Polish art at all. Research on the collection of university gypsums leads to one surprising conclusion - it is impossible to speak in its context about shaping the canon of works related to Polish art in academic practice. In the inventories of the Cabinet of Art History, you can find only a few items concerning casts related to native monuments. In 1890, the parish committee of the Krakow St. Mary's Church donated nine capitals and a cast of the figure of the crucified Christ from the rood beam. Subsequent works are a gift from Stanisław Tomkowicz from 1895: “Gothic tomb plate allegedly by Władysław the prince of Kalisz from the Church of the Fathers. Franciszkanów in Krakow "and" also a plate with the figure of a monk (Marcin of Prague) with the date 1494 ", as well as a bust of King Casimir the Great donated by Marian Sokołowski. In 1897, the following casts were purchased for the collection from a research grant: "a medallion depicting Sigismund I", two keystones from the Krakow cathedral and a bas-relief from the tombstone of Bishop Tomicki from the cathedral church in Wawel.

As a result of inquiries and provenance and comparative studies carried out mainly in the collection of casts from the German-speaking area (at Instituts für Klassische Archäologie in Vienna, Museum für Abgüsse Klassischer Bildwerke of the Munich University, located in the building of the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in Munich, Gipslicformerei Museena in Berlin, Gipslicformerei but also at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London) it was possible in many cases to identify the producers of works from the Krakow collection. As it turns out, "our" Krakow casts were made in all major artistic centers in Europe (London, Berlin, Paris, Munich) - which makes us very aware of the broad European context of the functioning of Polish university heritage.

A special role for the Krakow collection is played primarily by the production of the Berlin foundry founded in 1819 by the King of Prussia, Frederick William III. From 1830, it was subordinated to the Königlisches Museum (Altes Museum), and finally, from 1891, it was under the management of the Staatliche Museen. The foundry's task was to spread awareness of art in the society by making plaster casts of works from the collections of Berlin and European museums. Judging by the surviving casts, the second most important factory was a plant founded by Domenico Brucciani, who moved from Italy to England in the first half of the 20th century. XIX. From around 1837, the foundry carried out orders for the Britsh Museum and the South Kensington Museum (now Victoria and Albert Museum) in London. Beginning in 1857, the company created molds and castings for commercial sale, including to the British Museum.

At this point, it is worth paying attention once again to the preserved archival photographs of the exposition of plaster casts from the end of the 1890s, showing the interiors of the rooms on the ground floor of Collegium Novum - which were arranged in the same way as at Western European universities, creating a cross-sectional lecture on the history of art - in the layout chronological. The collection of castings was, to some extent, a complementary supplement to the library items recommended for study - as evidenced by Stanisław Wyspiański's drawings, which are extrusions from Charles Yriarty book "Rimini. Un condottiere au XVe siècle", published in Paris in 1882. The works that the artist redrawn during his studies were also included in the collection of plaster casts.

Thus, the conservation of the objects allowed for a partial reconstruction of the historical Cabinet of Art History, and the works restored to their exhibition condition (previously stored in makeshift warehouses) are now on display as part of the permanent exhibition of the Jagiellonian University Museum and still - albeit to a greater extent than a few years ago - are decoration of the rooms (including teaching rooms) of the Institute of Art History of the Jagiellonian University.

Research project

Research on the history and conservation of plaster casts from the collections of the Art History Cabinet of the Jagiellonian University was carried out under the grant of the National Program for the Development of Humanities No. 0036/NPRH3/H11/82/2014 entitled Forgotten heritage: a collection of plaster casts of the Jagiellonian University. Reconstruction of the collection, development, catalog, conservation, carried out at the Institute of Art History of the Jagiellonian University in 2015-2019 under the supervision of professor Andrzej Betlej.

The aim of the project was to restore the coherence of the collection as far as possible and introduce it into the scientific circuit, and - what is particularly important - to stop the degradation of valuable objects by carrying out conservative conservation. Thanks to it, it was also possible to present the conservation issues of the collection to a wide group of specialists. It should be emphasized that thanks to the implementation of the project, these objects have become ready for presentation, for example at exhibitions; at the same time, they will become a framework for the planned and necessary gypsum library at Collegium Maius.

The result of the research project is the book: A. Betlej, A. Dworzak, P. Jamski, R. Książek-Czerwińska, M. Kunińska, J. Pollesch, Zapomniane dziedzictwo. Zbiór odlewów gipsowych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2019 and performed conservation of plaster casts included in the project.

Archival photos

Preserved archival photographs showing the exhibition of plaster casts from the collections of the Art History Cabinet of the Jagiellonian University from the end of the 1890s, showing the interiors of the rooms on the ground floor of Collegium Novum.

Archival photos published in book: A. Betlej, A. Dworzak, P. Jamski, R. Książek-Czerwińska, M. Kunińska, J. Pollesch, Zapomniane dziedzictwo. Zbiór odlewów gipsowych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2019.