Published: 2025-09-09

Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century depictions of eternal sleep on the example of Płock Bishop Andrzej Noskowski’s mausoleum in Pułtusk and Kryski family tombs in Drobin

Paulina Biernacka
Echa Przeszłości
Section: ARTICLES
https://doi.org/10.31648/ep.11726

Abstract

Erected in 1553–1554, Bishop Andrzej Noskowski’s mausoleum in Pułtusk is a unique work of art depicting the founder’s concept of sleep, in which the figure of a deceased man rises from sleep and awaits resurrection. The interior of the chapel is a triumph of genuine faith, but a number of decorative elements create a smooth transition between the spiritual and the secular world. In turn, the tombs of the Kryski family paint a completely different picture of eternal sleep. This article discusses two different concepts of eternal sleep – that envisaged by the Płock clergyman, which is full of faith, hope and political symbols, and that foretold by the ambitious Kryski family in Mazovia at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. The author attempts to interpret selected elements of the polychromed surfaces in Bishop Noskowski’s mausoleum based on the clergyman’s worldview and political events of the time.

Keywords:

Płock bishop, Noskowski, Pułtusk, Drobin, tomb, Kryski family, Mazovia

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Citation rules

Biernacka, P. (2025). Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century depictions of eternal sleep on the example of Płock Bishop Andrzej Noskowski’s mausoleum in Pułtusk and Kryski family tombs in Drobin. Echa Przeszłości, (XXVI/1), 11–24. https://doi.org/10.31648/ep.11726

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