One of the most interesting murals that have recently been discovered in secular residential buildings is the 16th-century décor of the Guest Room no. 101 on the first floor of Hotel Copernicus. Its discovery in 1998 was a great sensation, and the painting immediately became the subject of analyses of art historians.

What came to light was partially preserved decoration that nevertheless was in good condition. It included green ornamental wooden “panelling” with plant motifs, and above it depictions of four Church Fathers (St. Jerome, St. Gregory the Great, St. Ambrose and St. Augustine)., either enthroned or seated at writing desks, dressed in parti-coloured robes, holding the insignia of their office and books.

All is skillfully painted: space and form are rendered faithfully, the colouring is harmonious, softly modelled parts (e.g. complexion) combine with competently used graphical elements of outlines, face types are diversified. Wall inscriptions are excerpts from hymns to Church Fathers, who were held in high veneration by higher clergy across Europe. It has been established that the author employed by the donor was a member of Krakow painters’ guild. The decoration could have been created between 1510–1520, which was the period of transition between Polish Gothic and renaissance, with its triumphant humanism.