Saint Joseph Naming Jesus

The polychrome depicts the circumcision of Christ. During this painful ritual, practiced on the 8th day after birth, the child was given a name. In the fresco, the ceremony is performed by three elders—a rabbi reading the Torah on a chair, another person holding the Child’s hands, and the third—the so-called mohel—performing the circumcision.

Saint Joseph observes the procedure, while Mary, in pain, turns her head away. A figure in a black cloak, leaning against a chair, also watches the scene. This is the second cryptoportrait of Michael Willmann. According to anecdote, this fresco represents the recurring issues between the abbot and the painter.

According to the story, it wasn’t enough for the artist’s employer to lock the painter in the church, so he appointed a special monk to watch over the disobedient artist. However, the monk often lectured Willmann. In revenge, the painter depicted the clergyman in the center of the scene, wearing glasses, instructing the Jewish priests on how to properly circumcise the Child.

Michael Willmann, known as the “Silesian Rembrandt,” created over 50 wall polychromies within three years, adorning the interior of the fraternity church.

The abundance of these depictions in one place makes the Krzeszów church the largest collection of frescoes in Northern Europe, and the seat of the Brotherhood of Saint Joseph is popularly called the “Silesian Sistine Chapel.”