Identification of the statues of rulers in the interior of St. Casimir's chapel in Vilnius Cathedral

St. Casimir's chapel in the Archcathedral of Vilnius is the most significant work of the early Baroque in Lithuania. There have been quite a number of studies concerning the artistic and architectural issues of the chapel, the decoration of its interior and treasures contained there. The researchers did take notice of the eight wooden silvered statues of the Lithuanian rulers situated inside St. Casimir's chapel, yet no detailed analysis of the figures has appeared so far. All of the researchers of St. Casimir's chapel agree that the statues depict the representatives of the Jagiellon dynasty, yet the opinions on what are their names differ. For a deeper understanding of the artistic programme of the interior of St. Casimir's chapel one has to find a way to identify the figures of rulers as only then it is possible to determine the criterions of the selection of the characters of dukes and kings, what was the original composition of the statues in the interior of the chapel and how successful were artists in their artistic practice. Only a profound analysis of the costumes, Royal insignia and other specific attributes can clarify the identity of the statues with the individuals of the Jagiellon dynasty. Yet it is most important to take account of the portrait expression of the depicted rulers, as even if the statues were produced after imaginational portraits they were nevertheless related to the iconographic tradition of representation of particular monarchs. The results of research allow to identify the statues situated inside St. Casimir's chapel and furthermore to correct mistakes of previous researches and to reconstruct the original composition of the statues within the chapel