October 16, 2026, 11.00

Under the blue vault of the Libraria, the former library of Collegium Maius, we will embark on a journey through the centuries and the various ways the sky has been depicted – from medieval visions of the cosmos and star maps to contemporary artistic interpretations of the universe. We’ll examine how science, religion and spirituality intertwined in art, as well as how artists sought to capture the invisible and the incomprehensible.

The Libraria, the former library of Collegium Maius, is adorned with a distinctive vaulted ceiling depicting the sky. The blue was intended to remind professors that the pursuit of knowledge is the path to eternal life. The current mural is a later arrangement, created as part of the postwar reconstruction of the building led by Karol Estreicher. Beneath the blue vault of the Libraria, we will discuss how artists throughout the centuries have looked upward and attempted to capture what is invisible, distant, and incomprehensible.

From Copernicus’s sky and medieval star charts to art inspired by space exploration—artists have always gazed at the stars. The museum collections housed at Collegium Maius will serve as a starting point for a story about how a fascination with the universe has brought together science, religion, and art. We will explore, among other things, the mystical visions of Hildegard of Bingen, star maps by Albrecht Dürer, and experience the meeting of earth and sky through the works of James Turrell.

Practical Information:

• The event will be held in a hybrid format: in person at the Jagiellonian University Museum (Collegium Maius) and online via Zoom.
• Attendance at the lectures is free.
• Lecture duration: approx. 60 min.
• To receive the link to participate in the online session, please send a registration request to the following email address: warsztaty@mck.krakow.pl.
• For more information, please email warsztaty@mck.krakow.pl or call 12 42 42 860.

Host: 

Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk, PhD – art historian, curator. She studied art history at the Jagiellonian University, Universität Wien and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Graduate of the interdisciplinary studies programme Environment-Technologie-Society (Jagiellonian University). Author of scientific articles on art and architecture of the 20th century and publications in exhibition catalogs and magazines. Co-editor of an anthology of texts obraz/ciało and the publication “Composing space. Avant-garde sculptures”. Co-author and curator of the artistic and scientific program “Exercising Modernity” (Pilecki-Institut Berlin). As part of her doctoral thesis at the Institute of Art History of the Jagiellonian University she is conducting research on the concept of space in the work of Katarzyna Kobro.

This walk is part of the “Mature for Art” series of events – see the schedule for upcoming events.

We warmly invite you to join us!