Entombment

Tadeusz Kowalski (1939-2011) came from the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 1958, he settled down in Szczecin. Professionally, he worked in the food industry. In 1986, he received a pension, and since then, he started to sculpt. In 1994, he started the cycle ‘Bible Read with a Chisel’, which eventually consisted of more than 130 works. While reading the Bible, he would create compositions in his imagination, make sketches on paper, and then sculpt. All works in the series ‘Bible Read with a Chisel’ are reliefs made with a great sense of space, giving the impression of three-dimensionality. ‘Laying in the Tomb’ is one of the reliefs from the Passion and Death of Christ cycle. Tadeusz Kowalski devoted 21 works to this subject. In comparison with his other works, it has a calm and tranquil narration. The author has used a lot of smooth surfaces, suggesting a lack of movement. Looking at this composition, one can get the impression that we are looking at the moment when everything has stopped for a moment. The frightened women stand motionless, the pain-stricken faces of the apostles are motionless, and the lifeless body of Christ taken down from the cross is lifeless. The expressive, although static relief by Tadeusz Kowalski reveals the most important thing - the great passion for creation, to which he devoted seventeen years of his life.

Iwona Karwowska