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Saint Catherine

Johann (Jan) Pfister

Basic information

ID: С-I-897
Author: Johann (Jan) Pfister
Name: Saint Catherine
Date of creation: 1630s
Country: Ukraine
Technique: carving
Material: wood
Dimensions (height x width x depth, cm): 161 x 56 x 32

Additionally

Type: sculpture
Genre: religious
Plot: Saint Catherine
Provenance: Bishche village, Ternopil region, Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Information about author

Author: Johann (Jan) Pfister
Artist's lifetime: 1573–1640/1642
Biography: Johann (Jan) Pfister was a German sculptor, born in 1573 in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland) in the family of the painter and sculptor George Pfister. He studied under masters from the Netherlands and Germany, namely Hans Fleiser, Friedrich Gross, and Gerhard Hendrick. Jan Pfister is considered to be the most outstanding sculptor at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries who worked in Ukraine and Poland. In his works, the sculptor used marble and alabaster rather than wood. He performed the best works in Lviv, Berezhany, and Tarnow. In 1615, at the request of Adam Hieronim Sieniawski, the sculptor began working in Berezhany on the tombstones of the noble Sieniawski family, namely Adam Hieronim and his three sons – Alexander, Mikolaj, and Prokop. Besides, Jan Pfister taught at a carving school in the town. Working as a court sculptor of the Sieniawski family, he carved the altar compositions in the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary in the village of Bishche in the Ternopil region that also belonged to the family. In the 1630s, he worked on the decoration of the altar. Jan Pfister proved to be a professional sculptor who took the first steps in art under the influence of German and Dutch Mannerism.

Object description

The sculpture of Saint Catherine, made in the Mannerist style, comes from the altar composition of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the village of Bishche, Ternopil region. Catherine was a great martyr famous for her beauty and intelligence. She was respected in both the Eastern and Western traditions. The saintly woman is depicted at full length; the viewer can feel sophistication, femininity, and aristocracy in a slightly elongated figure. The canonical figure of Saint Catherine is shown in the image of a young woman with long flowing hair, which falls in soft waves on smoothly defined shoulders. The saint is dressed in imperial clothes; on her chest is a massive piece of jewellery imitating precious stones, and her head is topped with a small crown. The saintly woman presses a book to her chest with her left hand, symbolising her education. The woman's face, characterised by portrait features of Adam Hieronim Sieniawski's wife, attracts attention – an elongated face oval, almond-shaped eyes, a small nose, and thin lips. The sculpture is distinguished by skilful execution.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Saint Catherine

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