Museum Book of the Week

In Poland, there is no decoration of comparable scale or significance that has been preserved in its original form and in the place for which it was intended. The context is of utmost importance in the paintings of Jerzy Eleuter Siemiginowski – removing The Four Seasons plafonds from the ceilings of the royal apartments in Wilanów Palace and displaying them on a museum or gallery wall would disrupt their meaning and diminish their artistic essence. Even the best photographs can only offer a mere substitute. To fully understand and appreciate them, one must admire them in the original Baroque palace.

When Jerzy Eleuter received the commission from King John III to paint plafonds depicting allegories of the four seasons, he was not yet 30 years old. He had recently returned from a five-year stay in Rome, where he studied ancient works, the masterpieces of the Renaissance and early Baroque, as well as contemporary artistic trends in the Eternal City. There, he learned to paint with erudition and a deep respect for the context of the artwork. He also won a competition organized by the prestigious Academy of Saint Luke. After receiving the Papal Order of the Golden Spur, he changed his surname to Eleuter, meaning "free" (previously, he signed his works as Szymonowicz).

King John III—a patron of the arts and sciences—set a demanding task before him. The plafonds—grand ceiling paintings—were to be placed in the apartments of the monarch and his wife, Maria Kazimiera, and were intended to convey complex allegories of the four seasons, rich in symbolic references. Autumn was placed in the Queen’s Antechamber, where courtiers and guests waited for an audience. Spring adorned the Queen’s Bedroom, which also served as an audience hall where Maria Kazimiera received guests while seated on her bed. In the King’s apartments, Winter and Summer decorated his Antechamber and Bedroom, respectively.

In Jerzy Eleuter’s harmonious compositions, we admire the precision of his drawing, his sense of color, and his ingenuity in intertwining various motifs and themes into a coherent whole. Before visiting the royal apartments in Wilanów Palace, it is worth reading Konrad Pyzel’s fascinating and vivid account of the artist and his work. This book explores the man, the artist, the paintings, and their historical contexts – Antique, Roman, and Wilanów – and their enduring legacy. Those who read will not be lost!

The book is available in the museum bookstore and online, in both Polish and English.