Mnemosynon dla królewicza Władysława Zygmunta Wazy. Rycina Matthaeusa Greutera z 1605 r
Mnemosynon for Royal Prince Ladislaus Sigismund Vasa. A 1605 Engraving by Matthaeus Greuter

Summary/Abstract: The articles attempts to read the contents of the engraving dedicated to Royal Prince Ladislaus Sigismund Vasa (by Matthaeus Greuter, Rome 1605). Relevant literature has tended to see the work, unique in Poland, as an allegory in honour of the royal prince or as a foreshadowing of his “life in the world of the Muses and great fame”. Greuter depicted the final works above the armorial portière tapestry, embroidered for Royal Prince Ladislaus Sigismund. It is being made by the three Graces surrounded by the Muses and other female mythological figures [Fame, Fortune, Mnemosyne (?) and some of the liberal arts]. The Graces, the authors of the tapestry and the patrons of science and arts, play the principal role here. The print is one of the works commemorating the royal prince’s early public appearances, starting in the year 1605, when he turned 10 years old. The work may also be an illustration of a literary text, which has not been identified to date. Analysis of the contents of the engraving helps to define more precisely the function of the work, which is prompted by the border on the portière tapestry: EVPHROSINE THALIA AGLAIA MNEMOSINAE FAMAE MVSIS IMMORTALITATI VLADISLAV[M] SVVM COM[M]ENDANT (Euphrosyne, Thalia and Aglaia entrust their Ladislaus to the Muses to make him immortal in famed memory). Mnemosyne is evidently playing a critical role. The reflections offered in the article legitimise an assumption that the print is a mnemosynon, a kind of panegyric marking Royal Prince Ladislaus Sigismund Vasa’s 10th birthday

• Details
• Contents