Irena Rolska

Professor Irena Rolska is a distinguished academic at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), where she serves in the Department of Medieval and Modern Art History within the Faculty of Humanities. With the academic title "dr. hab. prof. KUL," she has established herself as a leading scholar in Polish art history, particularly focusing on religious art, church architecture, and cultural patronage during the Renaissance and Baroque periods in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Professor Rolska's research interests center on medieval and modern art history, with special emphasis on church architecture, religious foundations, iconography, and the artistic patronage of Polish magnate families. Her work explores the intricate relationship between political power, religious devotion, and artistic expression in Eastern European contexts, particularly examining how noble families like the Firlejs, Zbaraskis, and Radziwiłłs shaped the cultural landscape through their commissions and foundations.

Her extensive publication record reveals consistent scholarly engagement with the artistic heritage of Poland, particularly focusing on religious buildings, sacred objects, and ceremonial practices. The trends in her recent work show increasing attention to the material culture of religious institutions, the symbolic meaning of liturgical objects, and the transnational influences on Polish art, particularly from Italian and Spanish traditions during the Counter-Reformation period.

• Nagroda indywidualna II stopnia (Second degree individual award) 2016

As an academic advisor, Professor Rolska has supervised numerous doctoral and master's theses covering diverse aspects of Polish art history, from medieval manuscripts to 18th-century residential architecture. Her students' work reflects her broad scholarly interests, with many focusing on specific religious buildings, artistic foundations of noble families, and iconographic studies. She has also served as editor-in-chief for the "Roczniki Humanistyczne" journal and has organized multiple national conferences on art history topics.