Stanisław Samostrzelnik [SEP] country of origin
Stanisław Samostrzelnik
Stanisław Samostrzelnik ("Stanisław z Krakowa, Stanisław z Mogiły", c. 1490–1541) was a Polish Renaissance painter, miniaturist, decorator and Cistercian monk from Kraków, Poland. He was the first Polish painter known by name who painted in the Renaissance style. There are many frescos by him in the churches of southern Poland. The most distinguished can be seen in the Cistercian monastery in Mogiła. He is also recognized for his portrait of Bishop Piotr Tomicki in the portrait gallery of the Church of St. Francis of
Assisi, Kraków.
Life.
Stanisław Samostrzelnik was a son of Piotr and Anna Samostrzelnik, who lived in the Kraków mansion of Cistercian Abbot of Koprzywnica. His father was probably a manufacturer of crossbows and bows, hence the name in old Polish ("samostrzelnik" from Latin "sagittator", a crossbow maker). Samostrzelnik, after passing the necessary examinations, entered the Cistercian Abbey in Mogiła near Kraków, which at that time was a separate town, and today is in the urban area of Kraków, Nowa