The Coffin Portrait and Celebration of Death in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Modern Period

The coffin portrait developed in the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth in 17^th and 18^th century. These realistic images of deceased persons were put on coffins during funeral ceremonies. The tradition to make such pictures was conceived and observed almost exclusively among the nobles and constituted a part of lifestyle and ideology of this social stratus, known under the name sarmatism. The funerals of noblemen in the later modern period turned into shows of luxury which lasted for days. The churches were decorated with castri doloris, designed especially for this occasion, and the funeral itself was adorned with symbolic acts played by hired actors. An important part of this decorum was provided by the portrait put on the narrow end of the coffin, overlooking the crowd gathered to mourn the deceased. The oldest preserved object in question, oval in shape, was made for King Stephen I Báthory (died 1586). It was deposited on his tin sarcophagus and buried in the monarchs’ crypt at the Wawel castle in Cracow. The second link in the evolution of the coffin portrait is constituted by the image of Adam Sędziwój Czarnkowski (died 1627) from the church in Czarnków. It has a rectangular form with the upper edge formed by an arch. The typical, polygonal form (mostly irregular hexagons) emerged shortly before mid-17^th century.