Rezydencje rodu Mniszchów w czasach saskich. Historia i treści ideowe architektury

Abstract

RESIDENCES OF THE MNISZECH FAMILY IN THE SAXON ERA. HISTORY AND IDEOLOGICAL CONTENT OF THE ARCHITECTURE. Residences played an important role in manifestation of political ambitions, social and financial status of magnate families. The dissertation aims at analysing the seats of the Mniszech family at the Saxon times. In the last decade, we have witnessed intensification of research on interdependence of political ambitions, the form and ideological meaning of ordered works of art, thanks to which studies presenting the abovementioned phenomena have been produced on the example of, among others, the Radziwiłł and Jabłonowski families. The work devoted to the Mniszechs is a part of the trend, becoming a voice in the discourse of art historians, enriching the current state of knowledge. Analyses cover seats with various spatial systems and architectural types. They are studied in times, when they belonged to representatives of two generations: Joseph (decesased1747), Jan Karol (deceased 1759) and Jerzy August (deceased 1778). Their lives were the culmination of the political power of Mniszech family, conditioned by the situation prevailing in the country at the Wettin times. Intellectual horizons of that magnates also deserve a detailed discussion. They are revealed in preserved correspondence, accounts of foreign diplomatic missions, visiting the court of Augustus II and his successor and in relation to art. Research on architecture created on the initiative of the Mniszechs makes it possible to address issues related to lives and activity of engineers and architects, both poorly recognized and completely absent in Polish scientific literature.