- Czapski Palace
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Czapski Palace 
Czapski Palace and copy of Verrocchio's equestrian statue of Bartolomeo ColleoniGeneral information Architectural style Rococo Town or city Warsaw Country Poland Construction started 1686 Completed 1705 Demolished 1939 Design and construction Architect Tylman Gamerski The Czapski Palace (Polish: Pałac Czapskich, IPA: [ˈpawat͡s ˈt͡ʂapskʲix]) is a substantial palace in the center of Warsaw, at 5 Krakowskie Przedmieście. It is considered one of the most distinguished examples of rococo architecture in Poland's capital.
The building, just across the street from the University of Warsaw, has been home to some famous people, including artist Zygmunt Vogel, composer Frederic Chopin, and poets Zygmunt Krasiński and Cyprian Norwid.
The palace now houses the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts.[1]
Contents
History
Façade Principale du Palais de Son Excellence Monseigneur le Comte Czapski Staroste, de Kniszyn à Warsowie, 1750s.[2]
"Czapski Palace" is the name oftenest applied to the edifice, but in reference to subsequent residents it is also sometimes called the Krasiński,[3] Sieniawski or Raczyński Palace. The building has also been owned by the Radziwiłłs, Radziejowskis, Zamoyskis and Czartoryskis.
Now the home of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, the Czapski Palace dates from the late 17th century. It was constructed in about 1686 to Tylman van Gameren's design for Michał Stefan Radziejowski, Archbishop of Gniezno and Cardinal Primate.[4] Between 1712 and 1721 it was reconstructed by Agostino Locci and Kacper Bażanka (alcoves and breaks were added) for the next owner, Great Crown Hetman Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski.[4] Its present rococo character dates from 1752–65, when the palace belonged to the Czapski family.[4] At that time, the Krakowskie Przedmieście entrance was decorated with eagles and allegorical figures of the Four Seasons.
Krasiński coat-of-arms over main entranceThe Czapski Palace changed owners at least ten times. It was the residence of Stanisław Małachowski, Marshal of the Sejm, who in 1791 co-authored the world's second, and Europe's first, codified written national constitution—the Constitution of May 3, 1791.[4] Małachowski and his wife Konstancja, née Czapska, in the mid-eighteenth century remodeled the palace into a French-style city palace. Added around the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were two classicist annexes designed by Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer.[4] Another famous resident of the palace (1808–26) was Zygmunt Vogel, an artist who specialized in watercolor and drawing and was a professor in the University of Warsaw Department of Fine Arts.[4]
Ballroom, neoclassical paneling, before 1939In the first half of the nineteenth century, the palace was acquired by Wincenty Krasiński. Zygmunt Krasiński, the Polish romantic poet, was born here in 1812. In 1827–30 Fryderyk Chopin lived here with his family in the building's south annex, on Krakowskie Przedmieście;[5] the Palace was the last home of Chopin before he went into exile. In 1837–39 it would be home to poet Cyprian Norwid, author of Chopin's Piano about Russians' 1863 defenestration of the instrument. In 1851–1852 the palace was rebuilt by Enrico Marconi.[4] During the period from 1909 to the outbreak of World War Two the building belonged to Edward Raczyński, President of the Republic of Poland in Exile during the years 1979-1986.[5]
The palace burned in 1939 after being shelled by German artillery, and priceless paintings and books are thought to have been destroyed.[4] It was reconstructed in 1948-59 to a design by Stanisław Brukalski. After restoration, the palace was incorporated into the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts.
Today
Main gate flanked by annexes, seen from Krakowskie Przedmieście. In south annex (left), on 3rd floor, is Chopin family's parlor.In the courtyard before the Palace stands a copy of Andrea del Verrocchio's equestrian statue of the Venetian condottiere Bartolomeo Colleoni.[1]
In the south annex to the Palace, facing directly onto Krakowskie Przedmieście, a large third-floor room, the Chopin Family Parlor (Salonik Chopinów), features period furniture and memorabilia of the composer.[1] The parlor's interior and decor, from the first half of the nineteenth century, have been reconstructed from sketches made in 1832 by Antoni Kolberg.[5] The parlor is open to the public.[5]
The Academy of Fine Arts museum that opened in 1985 holds 30,000 works from all fields of visual art: painting, sculpture, graphics, drawing, posters, architecture, artistic crafts, industrial design.[6] The museum is located in the Palace's attic. The collections are held in 200 square meters of storage rooms, while the exhibition rooms host meetings, lectures and temporary displays.[6]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c (English) "Czapski Palace - Fine Arts Academy". eGuide / Treasures of Warsaw on-line. http://um.warszawa.pl/v_syrenka/perelki/index_en.php?mi_id=111&dz_id=12. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ (Polish) "Pałac Czapskich". www.ewarszawa.com. http://www.ewarszawa.com/foto/przewodnik.php?id=58&id2=179&foto=0. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ There is another palace in Warsaw that is called "Krasiński Palace." There are also two palaces in Warsaw that are called "Radziwiłł Palace."
- ^ a b c d e f g h (Polish) "Pałac Czapskich". www.warszawa1939.pl. http://www.warszawa1939.pl/index.php?r1=krakowskie_5&r3=0. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ a b c d (English) "Warsaw: Czapski/Krasiński Palace". en.chopin.nifc.pl. http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/places/poland/id/616. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ a b (Polish) "Muzeum Akademii Sztuk Pięknych". info.galerie.art.pl. http://info.galerie.art.pl/galerie/m_asp.html. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
External links
Media related to Czapski Palace at Wikimedia Commons- (Polish) Pałac Czapskich
Coordinates: 52°14′22″N 21°0′57″E / 52.23944°N 21.01583°E
Categories:- Buildings and structures completed in 1705
- Rococo architecture in Warsaw
- Palaces in Warsaw
- Museums in Warsaw
- Universities and colleges in Warsaw
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