Messianic and martyrological themes of Christ’s Tombs in Poznań churches in the years 1982–1985: a contribution to the research on Holy Week decorations

Abstract

Developing since the Partitions, Polish messianism always strengthened in the periods when the Polish state and the existence of the Polish nation were threatened. In the first half of the 1980s, this tradition, intensified after the proclamation of Martial Law, found its expression in the Easter compositions of Christ’s Tomb. These arrangements constituted an independent, typically Polish phenomenon, joining the liturgical tradition with the national martyrology. The traditional motifs of Holy Week decorations were thus enriched with objects and symbols related to the contemporary social and political situation. In large cities, the compositions were also built by professional artists from the circles of Independent Culture. In this article, to exemplify this phenomenon, Christ’s Tombs from Poznań churches in the years 1982–1985 are presented. By subjecting those compositions to artistic critique, it is hypothesized that the analysed works nevertheless escape the application of the traditional art-historian’s tools, and that they constitute a unique phenomenon that must also be analysed from other research perspectives. The custom of building Christ’s Tombs is also discussed in the context of European religious art inspired by Paschal themes in the second half of the 20th century.