Wooden monuments
Illusion painted with a brush
After crossing the church’s threshold a rich polychromy of the interior is revealed in front of the faithful’s eyes. An anonymous artist cleverly mixed together figural and ornametal motifs as well as elements imitating architectural fragments: plinths, cornices and columns. This way he alluded to the decor of Baroque churches where certain pictoral tricks were used very often. By using them, qualified and talented artists were able to paint realistic windows, niches and even three-dimentinal sculptures.
It’s true that in Wędlewice one can detect certain naivety of style, however, it is worth to remeber that the interior of a church is not easily painted. An artist who used scaffolding climbed as high as the vault which he had to prime first (cover with mixture of adhesive and chalk). Next he put diverse ornamental motifs, architectural elements and even patron saints by he use of a blueprint. Then he completed the pictures by hand with a very detailed contour. In many places the decoration is meticously developed. For painting, distempers were used whose binding element was probably… egg yolk. Due to this, it was possible to obtain luscious colours.
- St. Anna is teaching Mary
- an ox (a symbol of St. Luke)
- a man (a symbol of St. Matthew)
- a lion (a symbol of St. Mark)
- an eagle (a symbol of St. John)
- St. Francis
- St. Teresa
- Hearts in flames: St. Mary’s (pierced with the sword of sorrow) and Jesus’ (pierced with the lance)
- St. Florian
- Christ Pantocrator (the ruler and the judge of the Universe) is sitting on a throne among cherubs, holding a cross in His right hand, and in His left – the Bible with Α and Ω symbols: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end”. (Revelation 22, 13-14)
- St. Anthony
- Virgin Mary in the company of angles
- St. Stanislaus Kostka
Painted illusion
On the walls of the church of Holy Trinity in Węglewice a richness of colors and shapes of polychromy from 1933 catches the eye. Figural, ornamental motifs were mixed with elements of architecture: pedestals, cornices and columns. Illusionist painting technique was used here, where a flat surface resembles a three-dimensional one. It is especially noticeable in the side altars, where all typical elements were painted. On a flat board, “protruding” cornices, capitals, columns, figures of angels and paintings on canvas in the crowning were painted. Only places for main paintings, that is of Mother of God of Częstochowa and St. Joseph with Child were left.
In the north altar there is a miraculous painting of Lord’s Transfiguration covered by the image of Black Madonna. For over 160 year now, on each August 6, the Lord’s Transfiguration day, a foot pilgrimage from Wieruszowo arrives here. According to tradition, it is a thanksgiving for the salvation from the cholera outbreak which stroke the area in the middle of the 19th century.
Nowadays, the faithful take their prayers to God before the miraculous image:
“O Jesus from the Węglewice painting,
Transform our daily hardships, heal the hearts and consciences…”
Holy Trinity
A symbolic image of the dedication of the church in Węglewice to Holy Trinity can be spotted in the main altar. It is one of its kind and mulch-layered. In the center there is a crucifix with crucified Chrsit, on the sides of whom statues of Our Lady of Sorrows and St. John the Evangelist – create so called the Group of Passion. They are usually put of the rood beam, under the ceiling of the church, where the chancery and the nave join. Additionally in the altar’s crowning there is an image of God the Father and the dove. This kind of image shows the idea of salvation where reaching God the Father happens through crucified Christ. The image is completed with columns painted on the chancery walls, which broaden the perspective of the painting’s reception, and of the roof the towers’ domes can be seen which reflect the brick church – the house of God.
Indulgences
19 marca (św. Józefa), 6 lipca (Przemienienia Pańskiego)