"Wyspański a vision realised"
In 2007, a large stained glass project was completed at the S.G. Żeleński Stained Glass Studio in Krakow - stained glass windows designed by Stanisław Wyspiański, originally intended for the Wawel Cathedral, but never made, were completed.
The idea of ??Andrzej Wajda, who wanted to give life to his designs, was taken up by the artist Piotr Ostrowski, and over the course of several years, three stained glass windows were created, which were placed in the Wyspiański Pavilion, built especially for this purpose, at All Saints Square.
The idea of ??building a pavilion was proposed during the Krakow 2000 Festival in 1998 by Andrzej Wajda, who also proposed that three previously unrealized stained glass windows by Stanisław Wyspiański be incorporated into the front wall of the building.
During the creation of the stained glass windows, rich photographic documentation was also created, and on its basis an extensive album was published in 2021 entitled "Wyspański a vision realised" (available at the S.G.Żeleński Stained Glass Museum - ► link)
Below are selected photographs from the documentation created during the creation of the stained glass windows, as well as a view of the pavilion and the stained glass windows shown in high resolution - the stained glass images can be enlarged using the navigation buttons.
„In---“Interpreting Wyspiański’s dramas on stage or even in cinema is quite a different issue than that of transferring his fine
art projects onto glass. However, it must be remembered that Wyspiański, despite having an absolutely brilliant feel for this technique, was not a stained-glass expert. There always came a moment when he handed over his projects to be completed by others.
During Wyspiański’s life, only a handful of his ideas were realised. One of the most painful disappointments, arousing continuous grief and bitterness, was failure to complete
the stained-glass windows for Wawel Cathedral during the artist’s lifetime. The idea of completing them almost one hundred years after his death clearly revealed two completely different (yet very characteristic for Kraków) stances on the issue: one creative, and thus ready to accept challenges – although obviously very risky – as expressed by Andrzej Wajda, and the other conservative and secure, adopted by the opponents of the project.
Long after creation of the Wawel stained-glass windows,
I created In the making cycle at the Stained Glass Museum, where the intention was to create or re-create – in front of visitors’ eyes – masterpieces that are significant for Polish – or, more broadly, European – heritage. Two other undertakings have been completed without the involvement of Andrzej Wajda, aimed at transposing Wyspiański’s designs onto glass. The first was completion of one of Wyspiański’s most outstanding concepts: Apollo. The Copernicus System.
The next was Polonia, based on a hitherto unexecuted project
for Lviv cathedral.”
Piotr Ostrowski
“During these years, I looked carefully at the efforts of Piotr
Ostrowski and tried to help him in this difficult process whereby Wyspiański’s cardboard sketches were – step by step – transformed into stained-glass windows saturated with colour.”
Andrzej Wajda
All photos: Paweł Jaroszewski ©
