This rather lovely little sculpture on Jezuicka Street is Łukasz, one of the goats dotted around Lublin as part of the Lubelskie Koziołki trail. Installed on 16 December 2023 opposite the Old Theatre, he has a theatrical mask to suit his surroundings.
I took the photograph partly for my friend Łukasz, who comes from this area of Poland, although the sculpture has a different namesake. I wouldn’t want him getting ideas about being commemorated in bronze just yet. Although perhaps one day.
The name honours Łukasz Rodakiewicz, the architect responsible for the Old Theatre, built in 1822. According to the story celebrated by the sculpture, he built it to fulfil his wife Marianna’s wish to have a theatre of her own. The inscription beside the goat, “Z miłości do Ciebie…“, means “Out of love for you…” Quite a substantial romantic gesture, with rather more ongoing maintenance than a bunch of flowers though.
The trail uses these small sculptures to introduce people and stories associated with different parts of the city. I rather like the approach, giving people a reason to stop and learn something without requiring them to commit to a museum visit. Here, a goat beside the pavement provides a link to the theatre opposite and the people behind it. It also gives me another category of things to photograph, which is clearly what my already restrained photographic habits needed……