Warsaw Voice - Tylman's Identity

By M.M.
24 April 2003

An exhibition devoted to Tylman van Gameren, the Dutch architect associated with the Polish Baroque, is on display at Warsaw's Royal Castle as of May 21.

A native of the Netherlands, Tylman van Gameren spent most of his life in Poland, leaving behind buildings regarded as pearls of Polish Baroque architecture. The beautiful Krasiński Palace and the Church of the Holy Sacrament Order in Warsaw, the Primate's Palace in Nieborów and the Czartoryski Palace in Puławy were built according to his designs. The exhibition at the Royal Castle will be the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the artist whose accomplishments had a crucial influence on Polish art of the 17th century.
Van Gameren created in Poland his own rendition of classicist Baroque, drawing freely on Italian, French and Dutch trends. He introduced an original type of Polish palace, constructed on the basis of a rectangle with central and corner breaks, with a huge central hall, multi-room apartments on the sides and a grand staircase. The exhibition features his architectural drawings and models of selected buildings supplemented by portraits of the artist's Polish sponsors, as well as landscapes, maps and old prints.
In Polish encyclopedias, van Gameren is defined as a "Polish architect of Dutch descent." There is even an entirely Polish version of his name: Gamerski. Born in 1632 in Utrecht, his father a tailor, van Gameren studied humanities and then traveled around Germany and Italy; in Venice he earned a reputation as a highly valued painter of battle scenes. He arrived in Poland before 1664 at the invitation of Prince Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski, Grand Crown Marshall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of Two Nations.

Tylman served the Lubomirski family until the end of his life. His duties were more extensive than those of a simple family architect. In July 1666, during the gentry's rebellion against King Jan Kazimierz, van Gameren displayed his military talents, commanding the Lubomirskis' artillery during one battle. His first civilian architectural projects are dated around the end of the 1660s, although researchers suppose that he was occupied mainly with military architecture at that time.

In 1672, van Gameren was granted the title of royal architect at King Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki's court. Four years later, during King Jan III's coronation, the artist was appointed Golden Spur Knight, a title equivalent to nobility status. This allowed him to fully settle in Poland and marry a Pole, Anna from Komorów.

His employers included the monarchs: Michał Korybut, Jan III Sobieski and his wife Maria Kazimiera D'Arquien, known as Queen Marysieńka, as well as numerous representatives of the upper class. Beside his work for the Krasińskis, van Gameren produced designs for the reconstruction of palaces in Warsaw for the Gniński, Kotowski and Ossoliński families. He also designed magnates' palaces in Białystok and Stary Otwock and expanded the famous Renaissance castle in Baranów Sandomierski. His style is also mentioned in reference to sacral architecture like the Bernardine monks' church in Warsaw's Czerniaków district, St. Anne's Church in Cracow and the Royal Chapel in Gdańsk.

The organizers of the exhibition are Professor Stanisław Mossakowski of the Polish Academy of Sciences' Art Institute and Koen A. Ottenheym of the University of Utrecht. The project was implemented thanks to cooperation with the Royal Palace Foundation in Amsterdam, the Royal Castle in Warsaw and Warsaw University Library. The library's drawing section boasts the largest collection of drawings and designs by van Gameren, numbering nearly 1,000 pieces. The library also provided most of the exhibits gathered at the exhibition, which was first presented in the Netherlands at the Royal Palace and in Oude Kerk in Amsterdam. The Polish exhibition has additional works; it will also have its own catalogue.
Open through July 13.