The figure of the Good Thief in the latest work of Maciej Zychowicz and Adam Brincken
“Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43) – these words of Christ addressed to one of the thieves crucified with him became the subject of the latest project created by a Kraków-based team of artists led by the painter Adam Brincken and sculptor Maciej Zychowicz. In the autumn of 201...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Sacrum et Decorum |
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| Online Access: | https://sacrumetdecorum.pl/the-figure-of-the-good-thief-in-the-latest-work-of-maciej-zychowicz-and-adam-brincken/?lang=en |
| Summary: | “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke
23:43) – these words of Christ addressed to one of the
thieves crucified with him became the subject of the
latest project created by a Kraków-based team of artists
led by the painter Adam Brincken and sculptor Maciej
Zychowicz. In the autumn of 2017, they decorated the
chancel of St. Casimir’s Church in Bilcza near Kielce, depicting a conversation between the Crucified and
the Good Thief. The interior decoration consists of
a monumental sculptural group depicting Golgotha,
framed by a painted form resembling the shape of a single
stele, as well as an abstract stained-glass window
in a small window opening (made by Krystyna and
Bogusław Szczekan, Pracownia Artystyczna Witraży).
The article discusses an originally interpreted iconographic
scheme: two motifs, integrally connected with
the message of Christ – the forgiveness of sins and the
promise of salvation. The fully rendered parts of the
body of the Good Thief should be seen in the light
emanating from the Saviour and in the context of the
announcement of the resurrection of bodies. Contrary
to the chronology of the evangelical narrative, the image
of Christ must be read as the Crucified and at the
same time Risen One, because his body does not bear
traces of the shadow of death.
The formal aspect of the painting and sculptural
decoration was analyzed with regard to other such
representations of the Passion and types of the Good
Thief. The work by Brincken and Zychowicz has been
presented in the context of earlier sacred works of
this type. The Passover of Christ, defined as the unity
of the events of his Passion, death and resurrection,
closely related to the most important achievement of
Vatican II – liturgical renewal – had been the leading
theme in the works of the artists on several occasions.
However, neither of them had engaged with
the Saviour’s words addressed to the Good Thief. In
Bilcza they became the leading theme, in a way responding
to numerous contemporary reflections on
the subject of Divine Mercy. |
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| ISSN: | 1689-5010 2720-524X |