''Apollo (System Copernicus)'' is a

stained glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

, designed by

Stanisław Wyspiański Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter and poet, as well as interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created a series of symbolic, national dramas withi ...

for the Medical Society in Krakow, from 1904.

Location and history

The stained glass is located in the Medical Society house in Krakow, which was built for Dr.

Julian Nowak Julian Ignacy Nowak (; 10 March 1865 – 7 November 1946) was a Polish microbiologist and politician who served as 9th Prime Minister of Poland in 1922. Nowak studied medicine at the Jagiellonian University in 1886–1893 and was a professor th ...

in 1904. This is only one of the many art elements of the building designed by Wyspiański; he also designed stair railings, wall paintings and flooring, as well as furniture and chandeliers. The Wyspiański stained glass windows in the House of Medicine are the only stained glass windows by the artist housed in a secular building. The stained glass is based on a pastel by Wyspiański with the same title; the pastel drawing is located in the collection of the National Museum in Krakow, which received it in 1946 as a gift from Dr. Nowak. This stained glass is one of the most reproduced works by Wyspiański, and has been printed in magazines, albums and postage stamps.

Description

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

, god of the Sun, is represented tied up and attached to a

lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a ...

, which is crushing him with its weight. Such an approach to the subject has been interpreted among other things, as a reference to

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulat ...

stopping the Sun. Around Apollo, the painting shows other objects of the

Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Earth, Luna, and Venus.

References

{{authority control 1904 in art Stained glass windows Works by Stanisław Wyspiański Nicolaus Copernicus Apollo in art

Location and history

Description

See also

References