Biblical Typologies as Means of Visual Exegesis: The Case of Aleksander Tarasewicz

Abstract

In the 1680s Aleksander Tarasewicz produced a  cycle of prints illustrating the Thesaurus sacratissimae vitae passionis pretiosissimi sanguinis D. n. Iesu Christi, a prayer book compiled by the Augustine monk Fulgenty Dryjacki. The book was published by the Vilnius Academy publishing house, which was managed by the Jesuits; this publishing house was one of the most important centres of graphic art in the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania. Tarasewicz’s engravings stand out due to their complex iconographic programme and their composition, which refer to illustrations in prayer books that were popular in Western Europe at the time. The most interesting iconographic element are typological scenes from the Bible, which Tarasewicz included in most of the illustrations. Their analysis reveals which prints he used as his models, thus documenting Western aspirations in the art of 17th-century Vilnius.