Bohemia
Before 1700
Carved lime wood
Height 135 cm
This monumental sculpture of museum quality depicts Saint Wenceslas, King of Bohemia from the Přemyslid dynasty and the Luxembourg dynasty. The patron saint of Bohemia and national saint, Wenceslaus or Wenceslas of Bohemia (Stará Boleslav c. 908 - 929/935 ibid.), still receives great veneration as a martyr, as he worked for the Christianisation of Bohemia and founded St Vitus' Church in Prague. Numerous later kings of Bohemia bore the same name.
Saint Wenceslas wears a multi-layered robe consisting of differently textured textiles over a belted, armour-like garment. The cloak with a splendid lining is completed by a short fur overcoat. In a turning motion, the man with a long full beard is facing the viewer. On his head is a crown decorated with floral motifs; in his hands he holds imperial insignia. Although the depiction of the crown is somewhat divergent and suggests artistic liberties, this is probably the so-called Wenceslas Crown, the royal crown and symbol of the lands of the Bohemian Crown. Together with the royal orb, the sceptre, and the royal mantle, it is one of the insignia of the Bohemian Monarchy. Could the luxurious fur robe shown here be this very royal mantle?
In its entirety, the king's figure exudes a majestic aura that is particularly revealed in the details: in the dynamically curled hair and beard that frame a determined face, and in the powerful grip with which he presents the crown jewels as his attributes.
Stylistically, the figure can be dated to the period before 1700 and was made in Bohemia. Typical are the turned bodies with projecting or asymmetrically angled arms. The moving drapery at the elbows and in the upturned, inverted bowl fold is reminiscent of works of later Baroque masters such as Matthias Bernhard Braun (Sautens 1684 - 1738 Prague), who was one of the most important representatives of the Bohemian Baroque. For example, the figure’s conception is reminiscent of that of St. Ivo Hélory of Kermartin, from a group of figures made in sandstone for the Charles Bridge in 1711, and of that of St. John of Nepomuk, which Braun created around 1721 (National Gallery Prague, VP 10377). Therefore, this masterful figure can be considered a precursor for the Bohemian Baroque style in the first quarter of the 18th century.
Bibliography:
Tomáš Hladík, Mannerist and Baroque Sculpture in Bohemia and Moravia 1550-1800, Prague 2021.
National Gallery Prague (ed.), Baroque in Bohemia, Prague 2015.
