Once in
Warsaw, taking the name of Tylman Gamerski,[1] he soon became a rising star at court. For his first ten years there, he served as an artillery officer, designing
fortifications. From 1670 on, he won fame as a court architect of palaces such as the
Pałac Czartoryskich, gardens, country houses, monasteries and churches in and around
Warsaw, designing (among others) churches of the Holy Ghost,
St. Casimir, and St. Boniface. His designs are known as pearls of the
Polish baroque and show Italian and
Dutch influences.[5] One of the leading examples of his achievements is the
Church of St. Anne (
Polish: Kolegiata św. Anny) in
the historic centre of
Kraków, modelled on
Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome.[6] In 1676 the artist was appointed
Golden Spur Knight, which allowed him to become a member of the Commonwealth society and marry Anna Komorowska.[4] In 1685 he was formally acknowledge by the
Sejm as a
Polish nobleman.[3]
Most of his sketches, drafts and detailed plans have been preserved and show exceptional artistic quality, though 200 of them were lost in
World War II. A unique on the European scale archive of Tylman van Gameren's work, at the
University of Warsaw Library, include over 800 original design drawings of ecclesiastical buildings (including the Sisters of the Holy Sacrament Church and the Bernardine Church in
Czerniaków district), epitaphs, tombstones, palaces (i.e.
Krasiński Palace), villas, manor houses, public service buildings and fortifications.[7]
Tylman Gamerski died in Warsaw in 1706 and was buried in the Dominican Church on
Cracow Foretown Street (unfortunately the church was pulled down in 1818 to build the
Staszic Palace).[2]
^
abcdThe Warsaw Voice (24 April 2003).
"Tylman's Identity". Tylman van Gameren exhibition at Warsaw's Royal Castle. Warsaw Voice.pl. Retrieved November 30, 2012. (in English)
^(in English)"Tylman of Gameren". www.culture.pl. 2003-07-03. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
Ottenheym, K. A., & Goossens, E. J. H. P. (2002). "De Nederlandse jaren van Tilman van Gameren. Bronnen van inspiratie en scholing". In: E. J. Goossens & K. A. Ottenheym (eds.), Tilman van Gameren. Een Nederlandse architect aan het hof in Polen (pp. 24–39). Amsterdam: Stichting Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam.