After his abdication as a King of Poland in 1669, John Casimir Vasa left for France to settle in Paris in Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés as its abbot. He took with him a large portion of the preserved Vasa collections, which was later sold in Paris on an auction in 1673 after his death. Inventory of the sell lists over thousand items:
(Extract) 55. A Christ carved in Saint Lucia wood, in an ebony box (Mr. Robert, griffier, 37.10 pounds). 56. Three Polish style chests with two wooden and another covered with black leather, as it is (Mr. Corade the Younger, 7 pounds). 57. A small bending seat covered with red velvet and a green velvet convenience chair, with a basin and two crystal chamber pots (Mr. Argilly, 9 pounds). 58. An altar frontal and two crédances in green velvet, trimmed with embroidery. 77. A large mirror of Venetian glass, trimmed at its edge, blackened and varnished, with its frame, gold and silver and silk (Madame Garnier, 131.10 pounds). 78. Dead Christ with Virgin made in wax, large as nature enshrined in a blackened wooden case with a large Venetian glass in front (Mr. Torque, 550 pounds). 79. A terracotta Virgin holding the infant Jesus, with two small crowns of enameled gold in a walnut box (Duke of Creguy, 20 pounds). 95. St. Peter painted on wood, original by Rubens, with its border of black wood (Mr. Corade, 40 pounds). 96. Virgin, infant Jesus and St. Elizabeth, painted on wood, with its black frame (Mr. Torque, 28 pounds). 97. St. Joseph holding the Child, with God the Father, the glory of little angels, original by Claude (?) Callot, in gold frame (Mr. Buy, 25 pounds). 98. Virgin in oval, holding a bouquet of lilies, a small Christ holding a rose, black frame with silver ornaments (Mr. de Buy, 104 pounds). 99. Head of the Virgin in oval with two hands, black frame with silver elements (Mr. Lenosquy, 25 pounds). 100. A rose with a bud and a golden sun, with a motto in golden frame (Mr. du Moulins, 55 sols). 101. Two small paintings of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier, with ebony frames (Mr. Cavaro, 6 pounds). 102. Effigy of Our Lord in a velvet case (Mr. Meusnier, 4.10 pounds). 103. Virgin with St. Elizabeth and St. Joseph, copy after Nicolas Poussin, in a white frame (Mr. Morin, 33.10 pounds). 104. Christ's head with its golden frame (Mr. de Buy, 92 pounds). 105. Descent from the Cross of Our Lord, painted on wood, without frame (Mr. Vacherot, 9.10 pounds). 106. Christ's head with its golden border (Mr. Boislabbé, 6.5 pounds). 107. St. Ignatius in an interior, who heals possessed in black frame (Mr. de Recourt, 9.10 pounds). 108. St. Anne who teaches the Virgin to read, with little angels above, a crystal glass with gold frame (Mr. Mamice, 25 pounds). 109. St. Dorothy in a gilded oval. 175. Two maces, one in ivory and other one lined with ivory (Mr. Lévesque, 8 pounds). 176. A rhinoceros horn, adorned with gilded silver, with a small cup of same material with a foot trimmed with silver (Mr. Le Blond, merchant-silversmith, 86.10 pounds for the horn, Ms. Garnier, 24 pounds for the cup). 177. A large Turkey carpet, as is (Reverend Father Barré, 30 pounds). 178. A large resting chair, trimmed and covered with brocade. 217. A pair of gauntlets with two Turkish helmets. 218. A large clock that marks the hours at night, with an ebony pedestal, with silver index and gilded brass elements, three little cupids and a silver eagle (Mr. Dupin, 500 pounds). 219. A counterweight pendulum clock in a blackened wooden frame (Phillibert Paturel, 56 pounds). 220. A counterweight pendulum clock in with a small silver dial and a small decoration at the top (Mr. Macon, 56 pounds). 221. A clock striking the hours, half hours and quarter hours, in a walnut case topped with brass (Madame de Turin, 80 pounds). 222. A pendulum clock that marks the minutes, with a large pedestal box (Reverend Father Barre, 240 pounds). 223. A spring clock, striking the hours and minutes, with an ebony pedestal, a large cross of white brass at the top and a crystal skull at the foot of the crucifix (Mr. Barbier, merchant-silversmith, 304 pounds). 224. A watch clock striking the hours, half-hours, quarters and repeats, marking the minutes, with a silver dial and a frame of gilded copper, adorned with embossed silver plate and foliage (Mr. Dupin, 230 pounds). 225. A pendulum clock, as it is (Mr. Galus, 220 pounds). 226. A clock that marks hours, half hours, the fourth months and moons and moon signs, all movements of steel instead of string, with an ebony and blackened wood pedestal, adorned with several figures in gilded brass and an eagle on top of the dial, with the coat of arms of the late Queen of Poland (Marie Louise Gonzaga), enamel on copper (Mr. Dupin, 160 pounds). 227. An alarm clock striking hours, half hours and quarters, which marks the month’s quarters, the holidays, the year, pendulum decorated with several silver foliage, gilded brass pedestal and such wood with a fortune above (Mr. Le Riche, 311 pounds). 228. A brass clock striking hours, half hours and quarters, with alarm (80 pounds). 232. A clock striking hours, half hours and quarters, moon signs, days of the week, the twelve signs of the seven planets, parts inside with chains, on ebony pedestal, the case adorned with ornaments made in gilded brass with an eagle above (Madame Pachau, 205 pounds). 233. A counterweight pendulum clock in a case of blackened wood, with brass plaques around which are engraved in gilded panoplies, copper whitened dial (Mr. Hardevillers, 46 pounds). 234. A clock on an ebony pedestal, which marks the hours with two globes both sides of the dial, one silver the other gold brass, with two small compasses at the bottom and a large compass made in gilded copper above and sphere made of gilded brass behind. 357. A small painting with a lemon on a plate and a silver overturned vase, in ebony frame (Mr. Clorasse, 6.10 pounds). 358. St. Joseph with infant Jesus, trimmed frame (Mr. Corade, 6.5 pounds). 359. A miniature on vellum, with ebony frame, representing the Crucifixion of Our Lord, with several figures, original by Hreusebon (Mr. Dupin, 71 pounds). 360. A painting of a woman with small children, frame adorned with ebony, original by Mactence (Mr. Corade, 21 pounds). 361. A vertical painting with a garland of fruits and an oval in the middle, vaubours figures and landscapes and fruits of obreville, original by above-named Masters (Jan Brueghel?), in a gilded frame (Mr. Bodin, 415 pounds). 362. A painting with a perspective of the Church in Gdańsk, without frame (Mr. Corade, 40 pounds). 363. A painting with Our Lord on the cross between two thieves, copy after Rubens, painted on copper, in black frame. 389. A head of Christ painted on copper, in ebony frame (Abbot de la Tour, 11 pounds). 390. A perspective of a temple with festivities, painted on wood, in a frame of blackened wood with gilded slats (Mr. Quesnel, 40 pounds). 391. A monk's head, in a black frame (Mr. de Buy, 35 sols). 392. A half-figure of weeping Heraclitus (Mr. Mauriceau, 38.10 pounds). 393. The portrait of a monk holding a cross in his hands, painted on canvas (Mr. Corade, 110 sols). 394. A half- figure of laughing Democritus, original by Hendrik Goltzius (with 392). 395. The Conversion of Mary Magdalene with a cross, a skull, painted on canvas, without frame (Mr. Corade the Younger, 10.10 pounds). 396. Judith with the Head of Holofernes, painted on canvas, no frame. 439. A large vertical painting with St. Joachim and St. Anne who teaches the Virgin to read, with angels, painted on canvas (Mr. Duchemin, 41 pounds). 440. A picture painted on canvas, which shows a naked woman, without frame (Mr. Bruny, 16.10 pounds). 441. A Satyr who eats from a pot with a peasant, a story from Metamorphosis (Mr. De Buy, 35.10 pounds). 457. A painting of medium size, with the Virgin's Genealogy, copy after Raphael, black frame (Mr. Bonhomme, 36 pounds). 458. A painting which shows a Virgin in Glory, with adoring King at the bottom and Saint John, original, in black frame (Mr. Torque, 21 pounds). 459. A small canopy of crimson velvet, trimmed with gold and silk, tailless (Mr. Ollivier, upholsterer, 151.10 pounds). 480. Twelve broken (folded ?) ebony chairs, trimmed at their edges with upholstery of red velvet embroidered with gold and trimmed with fringe, gold and silk, accompanied with twelve cushions, also of red velvet embroidered with gold on one side only (Madame Garnier, 250 pounds). 481. Two large parade chairs covered with velvet crimson, which wooden feets, arms and other ornaments are made of Polish silver, sewn with pearls in other places. The said two armchairs are upholstered with velvet embroidered cushions with small gold glands (Madame Garnier, 1703 pounds). 630. A cane mottled with gold and silver with a screwing ivory handle and lower parts in silver (Mr. François, 56 sols). 631. A Cossack style baton made in a wood from India, with a lion’s head at the end and a silver hoop (Abbot de la Mothe, 6 pounds). 632. A baton of the late King of Poland made in a wood from Brazil, set with gold at both ends (Mr. Rondet, 27.10 pounds). 646. An ebony cabinet with two doors with drawers, with an inkwell and compact with two small lids and two rings of Polish silver (Mr. Dupin, 120 pounds). 647. Another cabinet, similar to above one, with silver settings (Mr. Dupin, 38 pounds). 648. An ebony checkerboard with black and white checkers, and a game of chess. 649. Eight high-warp tapestries representing the Life of Solomon, and four other high-warp tapestries representing Saul and Solomon, 54 French ell width altogether by 3.5 French ell high, the twelve pieces constitute two hangings (Mr. Maré, 1413 pounds for seven pieces, the said Mr. Maré, 1002 pounds for five pieces). 650. A walnut cabinet of on a twisted column, topped with several drawers and small plates of gilded copper serving as an ornament; a table and two similar wooden pedestals (Mr. Gallois, 120 pounds). 651. Fifteen pieces of tapestry of red velvet and gold brocade, 36 French ell width altogether by 2.3 French ell high, and twelve pieces of crimson red velvet, embroidered with gold and topped with a fringe of gold and silk, sloping from the said tapestry containing 36 French ell (Mr. Huvin, upholsterer, 2251 pounds). 655. A large gilded carriage for six, upholstered with Venetian velvet in palmettes on aurora background and blue flowers, with glasses and set on a chassis (sold by Mr. Torque). 656. A small carriage, upholstered with Venetian velvet in palmettes on aurora background and black flowers, with three glasses and set on a chassis (sold by Mr. Torque). 657. A large mourning carriage draped in black in and out, without glasses and set on a chassis (sold by Mr. Torque). 721. Four large plates, eight small, round basin, a jug with a cover, a saltcellar and dozen plates. Made of sounding pewter (Mr. Bourgeois, 43.02 pounds). 722. A large basin with figures in relief, accompanied with a vase, made of gilded German silver, on which is represented the horse Pegasus and the figure of Mercury, 62 marks and seven ounces of weight (Mr. Gerard, merchant-silversmith). 726. A ring with a purple ruby carved on eight sides with six faceted diamonds (Mr. De Buy, 1200 pounds). 727. Another ring with a long purple sapphire with six faceted diamonds (Mr. Macon, goldsmith, 600.10 pounds). 728. Ten pieces of Brussels’ tapestry representing the story of deeds of Ulysses (by Jacob Geubels), including parts sewn with gold, containing 56 French ell width by 3.5 French ell high (Mr. Dupin for Mr. Paul, agent of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine, 12,000 pounds). 729. Four other pieces of Brussels’ tapestry representing the Deeds of Hercules and Triumph of Bacchus, sewn with gold containing 22 French ell width by 4 French ell high (Mrs. Bruneau, stored in the furniture repository of His Majesty close to the Louvre, 16001 pounds). Inventory made in Nevers 1. A tapestry of 40 strips of Venetian brocade, with slopes and fringe in various colors (Mr. de Buy, 400 pounds). 2. Thirteen ell of tapestry of 7 pieces, 2.5 French ell high, from Venetian brocade (not sold and left in Nevers). 3. A bed of wood with a red satin mattress; a bed and pillow filled with feather and covered with red taffeta, a pavilion with lining of brocade “Porte de Paris”; a green silk cover, with 3 bags of leather (Madame Filogue, 220 pounds). LL XII. Four portraits of four Princes of Neuburg (Mr. Corade, 12 pounds). CX LL. Amazon painted on canvas (Mr. de Buy, 110 sols). LL VI. A portrait of a Maltese Commander (Zygmunt Karol Radziwiłł?), painted on canvas (Mr. de Buy, 6 pounds). LI LL. A painting on canvas depicting St. Casimir, in a trimmed frame (Mr. Bodin, 51 pounds). CX S. Another painting also painted on canvas, depicting St. Casimir (Mr. Corade, 110 sols). LX LL. Portable chair, covered in black cloth (Mr. Bourguignon, 60 pounds). XXX S. A portrait of a Polish Prince (Mr. Corade, 30 sols).
Virgin and Child with flowers by Anonymous after Carlo Dolci, after 1642, National Gallery in London, was listed under number 98 of the King's belongings.
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The first wooden manor on the site was constructed for Dukes of Masovia in the 15th century. It then belonged, from 1516, to Anna Radziwill, Regent Duchess of Mazovia and to Queen Bona Sforza after 1546 for whom an Italian-style Renaissance garden was created. The new lavish wooden manor in mannerist style was built in 1570s for Anna Jagiellon. It was here that the premiere of blank-verse tragedy "The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys" by Jan Kochanowski took place on January 12, 1578.
"The palace is all wood, according to local custom, but beautiful [...] we went up to the highest part of the palace with a beautiful view, where we had a sumptuous breakfast in a large room" (palazzo, che è tutto di legno alla foggia di qua ma bello [...] ascendemmo alla parte più alta del palazzo a una bella vista, dove travammo in una gran sala una sontuosa collazione), wrote in a letter dated May 2, 1586 Giovanni Andrea Caligari (1527-1613), papal nuncio to Poland. In 1596 Giovanni Paolo Mucante, secretary to the papal legate Cardinal Enrico Gaetani, described the exquisite Italian Renaissance-style interiors and furnishings of the residence. The villa, although designed in modo Italiano by Italian architects, perhaps Bernardo Morando or Santi Gucci, was built by the royal carpenter Matys Wąsik. Sigismund III Vasa resided in the manor during the summer. Between 1602 and 1603, according to the Royal accounting books, the old manor was renovated and a new wooden house was built nearby. In 1606 the plan of the manor and garden was prepared for the king by Alessandro Albertini. When in 1619 the king purchased the allotments belonging to Augustinian friars the construction of a new brick palace become possible. The spot for a Royal summer palace was chosen approximately 120 meters north from the original manor. According to the cornerstone found in 1972 in the foundations of the eastern wing the construction started on September 16, 1624. The structure was designed by Matteo Castelli and Constantino Tencalla and accomplished after king's death by his son Ladislaus IV Vasa. In 1655 during the so-called Deluge of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (invasion of allied forces of Sweden from north, Brandenburg from west, Transilvania from south and Muscovy from East), the castle was devastated and remained practically uninhabited till 1668 when it was given to Teodor Denhoff. It is a rectangular building with four octagonal towers at the corners, arcaded courtyard and a loggia with a view on Vistula River. Largely destroyed several times, it was reconstructed in 1975. Near the palace there was also a wooden church. In 1593, at the request of elected Queen Anna Jagiellon, the then bishop of Poznań, Łukasz Kościelecki, transferred the former church in Solec with all its funds to the newly built church in Jazdów. In 1603, Wawrzyniec Goślicki, bishop of Poznań, visited the church and described it as follows: "The church in Jazdów is newly built of wood and well covered with boards. It is dedicated to Saint Anne and Saint Margaret, and contains three altars" (Kościół w Jazdowie jest z nowa z drzewa postawiony i dobrze deskami pokryty. Jest pod wezwaniem świętej Anny i świętej Małgorzaty, zawiera w sobie trzy ołtarze). It is possible that the painting of Saint Anne and the Infant Virgin Mary by Leandro Bassano kept in the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm (inventory number NM 132) comes from this church. During the Deluge (1655-1660), the queen's wooden palace as well as the new royal castle in Ujazdów (built after 1624) were ransacked and burned. The marble lions attributed to the Italian sculptor in front of Drottningholm Palace near Stockholm most likely come from Ujazdów. Later, the only partially rebuilt estate was purchased by the Lubomirski family, who probably renovated or built the new church in Ujazdów. It possibly stood near where the Chopin monument stands today. It survived until 1818, when it was demolished, due to its age, and the parish and surviving furnishings were transferred to the new church of Saint Alexander. The Raising of Lazarus, magnificently painted around 1643, signed by Carel Fabritius (Car. Fabr), student of Rembrandt (National Museum in Warsaw, M.Ob.563), as well as the marble statue of the Dead Christ by Giusto Le Court (Josse de Corte), Flemish sculptor, mainly active in Venice after 1655 (St. Alexander's Church in Warsaw), most probably comes from the church in Ujazdów after renovation carried out by the Lubomirski family.
Plan of the manor and garden in Ujazdów near Warsaw in 1606 by Alessandro Albertini, scale from. 1: 800, hand drawn multicolored document, 42 × 56 cm (16.5 × 22 in), signed: Il sito della villa di Jasdovia; Alessandro Albertini, 1606, Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw, Zb. Kart. 570-1.
Cornerstone of the Ujazdów Castle, sandstone, 57 × 57 × 10 cm (22.4 × 22.4 × 3.9 in), inscription in Latin: REGIAE AMOENITATI / SACRA / COELO SOLO LVCO LACV COLLE VALLE / LAETA / PALATIA AESTIVA / FELICIB[us]. FVNDAMENTIS AVSPICATVRV[m.] SAXVM / ANNO D[omi]NI MDCXXIV SEPTEMBR[e] / SIGISMVNDO III POLONIAE XXXVII / CO[n]STANCIA ANNO REGE / POSITVM / ANNO D[omi]NI 1624 DIE 7[septem]BRIS (Devoted Royal delight (...) summer palace), Museum of the Castle and Military Hospital at Ujazdów.
Plan of Warsaw (Varsavia Masoviae caput et Regia) by Israel Hoppe, ca. 1641, State Archives in Gdańsk, 492/654.
In 1622 Constance of Austria, Queen consort of Poland, sent a gift to sons of her younger sister Duchess of Tuscany. The sons of Maria Maddalena of Austria were presented with a set of colourful costumes - żupan dress, delia coat and other necessary utensils of a Polish noble, including pernach mace and zygmuntówka sabre, among others. Their new exotic attires were captured in a series of portraits by Justus Sustermans, at least one of which was sent to Warsaw in gratitude to Queen of Poland.
The portrait in the collection of Flint Institute of Arts (inventory no. 1965.15) depicting Maria Maddalena of Austria with her son Ferdinand in Polish costume is an exact copy of a painting preserved in the Uffizi in Florance (inventory no. 1890, 2246). It was by most accounts in the possession of the Polish Vasas and was transferred by John II Casimir Vasa to France after his abdication in 1668.
Portrait of Maria Maddalena of Austria, Duchess of Tuscany with her son Ferdinando in Polish costume by Justus Sustermans, 1622, Flint Institute of Arts.
Portrait of Leopoldo de' Medici in Polish costume with a pernach mace by Justus Sustermans, 1622, Uffizi Gallery.
Equestrian portrait of Ferdinando de' Medici in Polish costume with a sabre by Justus Sustermans, ca. 1622, Konopiště Castle.
Portrait of dwarf in Polish costume holding a pernach mace and a dog by Anonymous from Florence, 1620s, Uffizi Gallery. Its possible that the dwarf or his costume was a gift from Constance of Austria to her sister Duchess of Tuscany. Identification by Marcin Latka (Artinpl).
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In the beginning of the 17th century the medieval abode of the Dukes of Masovia was largely extended to house the parliament of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, offices and court of the Vasas. The Italian architects Giovanni Trevano, Giacomo Rodondo, Paolo de la Corte and Mateo Castello constructed a Mannerist-early Baroque five-sided palace between 1598-1619. In 1621-1627, with the threat of Ottoman invasion, the palace was fortified with a curtain wall from the Vistula according to Italian concept of palazzo in fortezza (meaning in Italian, "a palace in a fortress"). Between 1634 and 1637 a large hall was constructed in upper parts of the southern wing to house opera hall of King Ladislaus IV and in 1637 the staircase tower was largely remodelled (Ladislaus' Tower). In 1643 the Prince-Cardinal Charles Ferdinand Vasa's Palace was erected on the northern bastion of the Castle's curtain wall and in 1644 a new gate (Saint John's Gate) and the Sigismund Column were erected by royal architect Constantino Tencalla in Baroque style.
During the so-called Deluge of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (invasion of allied forces of Sweden from north, Brandenburg from west, Transilvania from south and Muscovy from East), the castle was devastated in three occupations by foreign forces between 1655-1656 (the last was Transilvanian occupation). All valuables, including marble pavements, chimneys and window sills were shipped to Sweden, while the interiors were turned into stables and a hospital. Exterior and interior
(1) Detail of the Plan of Warsaw in 1656 by Nicolas Pérelle after Erik Dahlbergh, printed in 1696. The fortifications of the Royal Castle in Warsaw were built in the years 1596-1627 giving the structure the more modern appearance according to principles of the Old Italian School (circle of Antonio da Sangallo). They consisted of a 162-metre-long curtain wall flanked by bastions on either side. Two shorter walls connected the bastions with the Castle. The wall rose at least 6.70 metres above the ground level. The fortifications were made of granite rocks, and due to the instability of the terrain, oak piles were also driven into the ground, the basic material for the surface construction was limestone surmounted with bricks. The remnants of the fortifications were absorbed by subsequent buildings in the 18th-century.
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(2) Sigismund III Vasa on catafalque by Christian Melich, 1633, Wawel Royal Castle.
(3-4) The Ladislaus Tower of the Castle, 1637. Tiles from the excavations in the Royal Castle's garden, 1630s: (5) Tile with eagles from a stove, (6) Stove tile with a lion or a griffon, (7) Dutch tile with a soldier. Portraits
(1-2) Portrait of Sigismund III Vasa and Constance of Austria by Philipp Holbein II or workshop, ca. 1625, Royal Castle in Warsaw.
(3) Portrait of Philip III of Spain by Andrés López Polanco, ca. 1617, Skokloster Castle, possibly from the collection of Sigismund III Vasa. In 1615 Queen Constance of Austria, Sigismund's second wife, ordered the Commonwealth's ambassador in Spain to ask for the portraits of the members of the Spanish Royal family. Her elder sister Margaret of Austria, was a wife of King Philip III of Spain. Since the new Holy Roman Emperor, Matthias, resided more frequently in Vienna then in Prague from 1612, the portraits of Spanish Habsburgs would be sent to Vienna after this date, consequently it is more probable that the Philip III's portrait was captured by Swedish forces in Warsaw and not in Prague. (4-5) Portraits of two sisters, daughters of Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria: Empress Maria Anna of Spain by Frans Luycx, ca. 1638 and Anne of Austria, Queen of France by Charles Beaubrun, ca. 1645. Both portraits were given to the Visitationist Monastery in Warsaw by John II Casimir Vasa in September 1668 and by most accounts adorned Castle walls. (6) Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga (1630-1686) by Frans Luycx, ca. 1651, Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. A portrait of a relative to Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga and a wife of Emperor Ferdinand III, cousin of John II Casimir Vasa was sent to Warsaw and was captured by Swedes in 1655 (from the collection of Gripsholm Castle).
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