Tapiserie króla Stanisława Augusta Poniatowskiego
Tapestries of King Stanisław August Poniatowski

Summary/Abstract: This article poses two research questions: What do we know about the tapestries in the collection of the last king of Poland? Has anything from this collection survived?Unfortunately, there are many gaps in the knowledge of the last Polish king's tapestry that are difficult to fill, due to gaps in source material and few surviving objects. In conclusion, it must be said that, unlike his royal predecessors, Stanisław August, despite several initiatives, most of which did not live to be realised, showed very little interest in tapestries. His decisions were also shaky in this regard. Several factors can be mentioned that seem to have contributed to this state of affairs. Firstly, tapestries were still very expensive, the king and the Commonwealth constantly faced financial problems. Secondly, despite some pressure from Madame Geoffrin, Poniatowski sensed that tapestries, as a desirable element of the interior design of royal residences for centuries, were gradually falling out of fashion, being displaced by the “à la grecque” style, to which wall upholstery made of lightweight and cheaper silk damask was more suited. Three objects relating to the subject in question have survived:— a design of tapestry for the King's Bedroom, Paris, 1766, Warsaw – Royal Castle, Victor Louis;— tapestry, portrait of King Jan III Sobieski, Poland, 1860s (?), National Museum in Warsaw, workshop of François Glaize;— tapestry, fireplace screen with the coat of arms of King Stanisław August Poniatowski, Slonim, 1788, National Museum in Warsaw, workshop of Johan Carl Kletsch.

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