PRÓBA REKONSTRUKCJI PIERWOTNEGO WYGLĄDU TZW. RETABULUM Z WRÓBLEWA NA TLE WYBRANYCH STRUKTUR OŁTARZOWYCH W EUROPIE Z XV I POCZĄTKU XVI WIEKU

The article discusses assorted probable variants of the appearance of the so-called altar from Wróblewo, and outlines brief schemes of the structures and forms of European altars from the period. The so-called altar from Wróblewo, executed in about 1500, was in all likelihood intended for one of the churches in Gdańsk. The founder of the retable was a representative of the patrician Scheweke family (probably Johan Scheweke). In 1591, a second foundation encompassed already four painted wings of the altar structure. The middle part and the remaining elements were either destroyed or lost prior to this date. The wings were subsequently transferred to a private chapel of the Scheweke family in Wróblewo near Gdańsk, and remained there to the destruction of the chapel in approx. 1945. The preserved three wings are at present featured in the National Museum in Gdańsk. The extant fragments, i.e. the three wings as well as source data about the fourth wing make it possible to deduce information about links with the non-extant corpse, as well as the altar as a whole. This task is assisted by the preserved frame and an opportunity of recreating the sequence of the depicted events. The wing obverses, showing scenes from an apocryphainspired of the Virgin Mary, indicate the Marian character of the whole retable. The series starts with The Offering of Mary in the Temple, followed by The Miracle with the Rod. The central part of the altar would have contained consecutive depictions supplementing the story of the Holy Virgin Mary, closed by the last wings, i.e. The Slaughter of the Innocents and Respite While Fleeing to Egypt. Comparative analyses with the forms of other European altar structures make it feasible to determine the existence of a number of other presumable combinations of the retable’s appearance. The absence of information concerning other fragments of the retable and the technique of their execution, as well as the central part (carved or painted), also decidedly reduces the possibility of explaining the original appearance of the altar and multiplies assorted variants. Apparently, there is no doubt as regards the appearance of the altar with a closed middle part, which showed likenesses of saints standing against the backdrop of walls. The style of the execution of the wings, the original polychrome, and the selection of the topics, together with a comparative analysis involving other European retables from a similar period provide only a partial solution to the original appearance of the altar from Wróblewo, which reflected, e. g. Low Countries and German impact. Due to the absence of more numerous data, the selection of one of the solutions proposed in the article, or elsewhere, continues to remain an open issue.