The history of the sculpture dates back to 1500s. 'It is the work of Jacob Beinhart. For the next five centuries, the sculpture stood by the main portal of the church. It survived the tragic wartime and Festung Breslau,' said Piotr Oszczanowski, director of the National Museum in Wroclaw. After the capitulation of the city, on 17 May 1945, there was a mysterious explosion that destroyed three walls of the tower. The façade and the main portal were also damaged. The sculpture then split into two parts, each of which was stored elsewhere. 'For the longest time we didn't know what the piece of stone representing the torso was,' says Fr. Piotr Mikołajczak, vicar of the Polish Catholic parish church of St. Mary Magdalene. 'It was deposited in one of the side chapels of the cathedral,' he adds. The Madonna's head was considered lost for many years. It was "found" by Romuald Kaczmarek, art historian, an employee of the University of Wroclaw in the Archdiocese Museum in Poznań. It ended up there in 1989, as the legacy of the deceased Poznan art historian and collector, Prof. Eugeniusz Iwanoyka. 'Difficult negotiations in Poznan regarding return of the head reached a turning point, when I assured the Metropolitan Archbishop of Poznan that we will put the Madonna together,' recalls Piotr Oszczanowski.
(archival photograph from the collection of the Polish Catholic Parish of St. Mary Magdalene in Wroclaw)
After 70 years, the work was put together, and in a few months the original will be on display at the National Museum. At the same time, the city funded a copy of the sculpture, which will be placed on St. Mary Magdalene's. It just needs a postument, on which it will be placed. The Madonna is to appear in the temple after Easter.
'The event is important not only in terms of art conservation, but also as a symbol. The watchword of the European Capital of Culture, 'Spaces for beauty,' takes on special significance with this event. We hand over unique beauty to the public,' added director Oszczanowski.
The conservation process was both very demanding and creative. Completely destroyed were, for example, the Child and the layout of hands. The restoration work was carried out by Piotr Wanat and the author of the sculpting work was Tomasz Rodziński.
After the release of the original sculpture of the Madonna, and Child, the National Museum will exhibit it for five years, and later it will be available in the Archdiocese Museum in Poznan.
