Stanislaw Samostrzelnik
Encyclopedia
Stanisław Samostrzelnik (c. 1490–1541) was a Polish
Renaissance
painter and Cistercian monk
from Kraków
. He was the first Polish painter known by name who painted in the Renaissance style. There are many fresco
s by him in the churches of southern Poland
. Possibly his most well known work is that of the Portrait of Piotr Tomicki.
Stanisław Samostrzelnik is best known for his ornate miniature paintings in a genealogical book of the Szydłowiecki family. These can be seen in the Cistercian monastery in Mogiła. He is also recognized for his portrait of Bishop Tomicki in Saint Francis Church in Kraków
. He also painted religious scenes in a church in Mogiła, and decorated the ceiling of the adjoining library. Many of his miniature paintings can be found in the British Museum
, the Bodleian Library
(Bona Sforza
's Hours, 1528), and the Biblioteca Ambrosiana
in Milan
.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
painter and Cistercian monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
from Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
. He was the first Polish painter known by name who painted in the Renaissance style. There are many fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s by him in the churches of southern Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Possibly his most well known work is that of the Portrait of Piotr Tomicki.
Stanisław Samostrzelnik is best known for his ornate miniature paintings in a genealogical book of the Szydłowiecki family. These can be seen in the Cistercian monastery in Mogiła. He is also recognized for his portrait of Bishop Tomicki in Saint Francis Church in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
. He also painted religious scenes in a church in Mogiła, and decorated the ceiling of the adjoining library. Many of his miniature paintings can be found in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
(Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza was a member of the powerful Milanese House of Sforza. In 1518, she became the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and became the Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania.She was the third child of Gian Galeazzo Sforza and his wife...
's Hours, 1528), and the Biblioteca Ambrosiana
Biblioteca Ambrosiana
The Biblioteca Ambrosiana is a historic library in Milan, Italy, also housing the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, the Ambrosian art gallery. Named after Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan, it was founded by Cardinal Federico Borromeo , whose agents scoured Western Europe and even Greece and Syria for books...
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.