Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
ChapterI
STORIESOFORIGIN
1.Whatisacheiropoietos?
TheenduringpopularityoftheimageofOurLadyofCzęstochowaamongPolish
people,aswellasvariousmiraculousabilitiescommonlyattributedbythedevo-
teestotheimage,aremirroredinasignificantnumberoflegends,storiesand
talesabouttheimageanditshistory.InthisintroductoryChapter,Iwillfocus
onthelegendsoforiginconnectedwiththeimageofOurLadyofCzęstochowa.
Commonknowledgeaboutthehistoryoftheimagerevealsveryinterestingand
complexlinksbetweenvariouslevelsofculture:historicalandpresent,religious
andscientific,Christianandnational.
Inordertosynthesizethisdiversediscourse,andtounderstandthecontextof
theoldestthemeswithintheJasnaGóralegend,itisworthreferringtothevery
beginningsoffiguralpresentationswithinthepurviewofChristianculture.Itis
alsoimportanttorealizethatChristianartarosewithintwodiametricallydifferent
attitudestowardsfiguralart.AsEwaKurylukpointsout:
DissentingfromJudaisminalateHellenisticworldsaturatedwithimages,Christianity
isinitiallyreluctanttoembraceicons.ButtheexistenceofJesus,averaiconofdivinity
createdinMary’sflesh,callsforrepresentation.1
Thesecomplicatedanddynamicrelationsbetweenthedifferentcultmodelswere
inscribedinthebeginningsofChristianart.Theywerepresentinthedisputes
andargumentsbetweentheadherentsofthecultconnectedwithholyimagesand
ardentopponentsofanykindoffiguralrepresentation.2Thematterofthe"true
imageofChrist”wasanintegralpartofthediscussionsandthesearchesofearly
Christianity.Itwasjustthesequestsfora"true”and"realimage”oftheSavior,
1
E.Kuryluk,VeronicaandHerCloth.History,Symbolism,andStructureofa"True”
Image(CambridgeMA,Oxford,1991),p.8.
2
Seee.g.R.Knapiński,‘OjcowieKościołaoznaczeniuobrazówwprzekaziewiary’,
RocznikiHumanistyczneKUL.HistoriaSztuki47–4(1999),pp.5–22.
