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Figure of an Angel

Franciszek Oledzki

Basic information

ID: С-I-1104
Author: Franciszek Oledzki
Name: Figure of an Angel
Date of creation: 1780s
Country: Ukraine
Technique: carving
Material: wood
Dimensions (height x width x depth, cm): 100 x 70 x 48

Additionally

Type: sculpture
Genre: religious
Plot: Angel
Provenance: Berestechko town, Horokhiv district, Volyn region, Church of the Holy Trinity of the Trinitarians

Information about author

Author: Franciszek Oledzki
Artist's lifetime: c. 1745–1792
Country: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, now Ukraine
Biography: Franciszek Oledzki was a Lviv sculptor of the second half of the eighteenth century. There are not enough documented works about the artist. His creative activity dates between 1760 and 1792. The author worked with various materials: limestone, marble, stucco, wood (linden was the primary material) and mostly carved round sculptures. Since the 1770s, Oledzki worked in Lviv: he performed stained glass works in the Latin Cathedral (from June 14, 1773 to November 4, 1779, he worked on four altars, a throne for the bishop, and various ornaments); in the Dormition Church, the artist made an iconostasis; in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, he carved an altar with figures of saints. In addition to Lviv, Franciszek Oledzki worked in Berestechko, Buchach, and Lopatyn. In 1774, he signed an agreement with the superior of the Dominican monastery in Pidkamin to perform sculptural works. A characteristic feature of the sculptor's work is the figures' expressive poses and dynamic gestures – his angels seem to be flying in the sky. The professionalism of the master is felt in the filigree facial features, movements of the depicted figures, and peculiar curls of their hair.

Object description

The work shows a full-length figure of an angel with tiny wings behind his back. The sculptural image is represented in an expressive pose with his arms outstretched and his head tilted towards the left shoulder. The naked, anatomically carved body is covered only by a drapery modelled with deeply cut folds with ribbed protrusions. The sculptor detailed the tense muscular curves of the legs, arms, and the sunken chest with a convex rounded belly. The high forehead of the angel smoothly turns into a straight nose. He has large, expressive eyes covered with clearly defined arcs of eyelids. A subtle smile is frozen on his lips, creating a dreamy image. The angel's head is enveloped in unruly curls of hair that seem to be fluttering in the wind, adding to the emotional excitement of the work.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Figure of an Angel

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