This exhibition sheds light on one of the most celebrated of all Europe's sculptors, Wit Stwosz (Veit Stoss in German, c.1440-1533). Art historians often succeed in making a lively subject dull, and whilst this exhibition is no dud, it's well worth buying the combined ticket which allows you to see Stoss's masterpiece in situ at St. Mary's Church. There you'll be greeted by one of the wonders of the late Gothic era, in this case, a towering altar-piece that took its author almost a dozen years to build. Get there for midday and you'll witness the panels being opened with King Arthur style musical accompaniment.
Veit Stoss himself might have stepped straight from the pages of Grimm. And as it was, he nearly came to a decidedly grisly end after being found guilty of trying to defraud one of his fellow Nurembergers. The artist was only saved from death by an art-loving bishop, and his punishment was then commuted to a customary branding on both cheeks - charming fellows our medieval ancestors.
Stoss fared much better in Cracow, where he lived for some twenty years. The artist spent so much cash on the altar-piece of St. Mary's that he ended up getting through the equivalent of an entire city budget for one year. But presumably Cracow's merchants were happy with the result, as Stoss was granted the rare honour of the freedom of the city. He should have stayed in Cracow, but for unexplained reasons he disappeared and returned to his native Nuremberg where he quickly got himself into trouble.
This exhibition at the Wyspianski museum is beautifully arranged and if you have a soft-spot for sculpture it's a must. If you're not sculpture crazy, drop into St. Mary's Church on the Market Square and you might be pleasantly surprised. Wawel cathedral also boasts a haunting marble tomb by Stoss that was made for King Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk. It's just as beautiful as the wooden altar-piece. When the tomb was opened in the 1970's tragedy struck and almost half of the archaeologists involved died within days. However, theories about the 'curse of the Jagiellon King' were soon quelled by the discovery of poisonous mushroom spores.
Back at the exhibition, besides a handful of works by Stoss himself, there are others by unknown artists from this region of Poland. Perhaps the most beautiful of all is also the smallest, a little wooden sculpture of the crucifixion which hangs in the second room on the right. The show-stealers may be in St. Mary's and Wawel Cathedral, but the calibre of the exhibition is as high as usual for this recently re-opened museum. In the other words, wonderful.
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