The interior of the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Vilnius

Illustration from unidentified Warsaw newspaper.

The real beauty of St Peter and St Paul’s Church, which is considered to be a pearl of Baroque, unfolds in the interior. Pietro Perti from Milan and Giovanni Galli from Rome, masters of Italian Baroque, decorated it with stucco sculptures in the 1670s and 1680s. They made around 2,000 figures and decorations, to cover the walls, vaults, cornices, the dome and pedentives. The sculptures were appreciated in the second half of the 19th century, and Michal Kluczewski’s woodcut was intended as an illustration for an article in a Warsaw magazine about the church, its artistic value and its patrons. The church, the nave and the decoration are portrayed with photographic precision, sunlight falls on the floor through the windows in the drum of the dome, and praying figures add some interest to the interior.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė

Illustration from unidentified Warsaw newspaper.

The real beauty of St Peter and St Paul’s Church, which is considered to be a pearl of Baroque, unfolds in the interior. Pietro Perti from Milan and Giovanni Galli from Rome, masters of Italian Baroque, decorated it with stucco sculptures in the 1670s and 1680s. They made around 2,000 figures and decorations, to cover the walls, vaults, cornices, the dome and pedentives. The sculptures were appreciated in the second half of the 19th century, and Michal Kluczewski’s woodcut was intended as an illustration for an article in a Warsaw magazine about the church, its artistic value and its patrons. The church, the nave and the decoration are portrayed with photographic precision, sunlight falls on the floor through the windows in the drum of the dome, and praying figures add some interest to the interior.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė