Karolina Targosz

Madame de Sévignéand King John III Sobieski –the masters of 17th century French and Polish epistolography

Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marchionesse de Sévigné (1626–1696) and John Sobieski (1629–1696) lived during almost the same period of time. The marchioness was three years older, they died in the same year. Lady de Sévigné became a famous epistologra- pher already during her life and shortly after she died. Sobieski’s letters got published only in the 19th c. and their literary value was underlined for the first time by a renown translator of French literature, Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, who compared the king’s letters with those of madame de Sévigné.

What the marchioness’s and the king’s letters have in common is that these were all private letters to their closest and beloved ones -marchioness’s to her daughter, lady de Grignan and Sobieski’s to his wife, Maria Kazimiera d’Arquien. Due to the distance and longing, a uniquely inspiring epistolography was created. There are of course a lot of differences between their letters, however a number of common threads may be noticed. Many times did lady de Sévigné and Sobieski express a strong belief that their feelings towards the addressees are rare and extremely strong. Similarly, they considered them to possess exceptional traits, not only physical beauty but also outstanding spiritual and mental qualities.

In their letters they often articulated their concern about health issues, emphasising that their own physical state depends very much on the condition of their beloved ones. In- spired by Molier’s comedies they knew very well from books and theatres, they would also refer critically to doctors’ opinions.

The marchioness was also delighted with her daughter’s knowledge of medical issues and her interest in the philosophy of Descartes, describing it as “cartesienne” and call- ing the philosopher her spiritual father. Although Sobieski’s letters do not contain any philosophical reflection, he is known to be familiar with Cartesianism and to have kept the works of Descartes in his library.

What is characteristic for both collections of letters and also unique for this period, is a close and warm relation with children’s world – marchioness’s grandchildren and So- bieski’s children. The grandmother and father used to take a lot of interest in their health, cared about their illnesses, gave advice on intellectual development.

In the marchioness’s and the king’s letters some pre-romantic elements are also present which are visible in their attitude towards the nature – e.g. Lady de Sévigné mentioning her night walks under the moonlight and Sobieski contemplating the sunset.

W latach 2011–2016 ukazało się sporo publikacji poświęconych Janowi Heweliuszowi. Z okazji czterechsetnej rocznicy jego urodzin, obchodzonych w 2011 r., zostały opublikowane cztery książki zbierające pokłosie konferencji i prelekcji,  z dużym udziałem autorów zagranicznych, przedstawiających  różne aspekty działalności i osiągnięć gdańskiego astronoma.  W 2014 r. zainicjowano edycję korespondencji Heweliusza tomem Prolegomenów. Artykuł omawia krytycznie wspomniane publikacje, wskazując ich zalety i braki.  Wstępne studium tomu Prolegomena Chantal Grell ukazało  się także w tłumaczeniu na język polski jako osobna książka.  Autorka, dokładniej niż jej poprzednicy, przedstawiła lata studiów Heweliusza i sieć jego korespondentów, zbytni nacisk kładąc jednak na polemiki z uczonymi francuskimi i angielskimi.  Jej końcowa konkluzja, kwalifikująca Heweliusza jako amatora odizolowanego od głównych prądów w nauce XVII w., jest sprzeczna z wymową jego korespondencji, która będzie publikowana przez następne lata. 

A number of publications devoted to Jan Heweliusz have been published between 2011 and 2016. On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his birthday celebrated in 2011, four books have been published gathering the conferences and lectures, with a great deal of foreign authors presenting various aspects of the Gdańsk astronomer’s activities and achievements. In 2014, the publishing of Hevelius’s correspondence was initiated with the volume Prologomena.
This article critically discusses the mentioned publications, pointing out their advantages and shortcomings.
The preliminary study of the volume by Chantal Grell was also published in a Polish translation as a separate book. The author has indeed – more precisely than her predecessors – presented the years of Hevelius’s studies and the network of his correspondents, however overly emphasized his polemics with the French and English scholars. Her final conclusion, qualifying Hevelius as an amateur isolated from the leading currents of the seventeenth century, is contradictory to the evidence of his correspondence, which will be published over the next years.

On the trail of the first women painters in old Poland

The article presents the Polonica in the works of Italian women painters, and the accounts about the activity of women painters in Poland. An amateur woman painter from the upper classes was Maria Eleonora, Princess of Anhalt-Dessau (1671–1756), wife of Jerzy Radziwiłł. The professional women painters in the first half of the 18th century were Wilelm Włoch’s wife and daughter, who contributed into the creation of his frescos and altar paintings in the Church of Norbertine Sisters in Imbramowice. The daughter single-handedly painted two altar paintings preserved in the Church of Bernardine Sisters in Kraków.