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Saint Gregory

Maciej Polejowski

Basic information

ID: С-I-1036
Author: Maciej Polejowski
Name: Saint Gregory
Date of creation: 1758–1763
Technique: carving
Material: wood levkas polychrome
Dimensions: 194 x 107 x 54 cm (height x width x depth)

Additionally

Type: sculpture
Genre: religious

Information about author

Author: Maciej Polejowski
Author in the original: Maciej Polejowski
Artist's lifetime: after 1734–1806
Biography: Maciej Polejowski (after 1734–1806) was a sculptor and an architect of Lviv; he is associated with the third period of Lviv Baroque sculpture, which lasted from 1770 till the end of the 18th century. Maciej Polejowski was one of the most talented followers of Johann Georg Pinsel, under whom he studied in Buchach. Stylistically, Maciej Polejowski's sculptural works refer to the Rococo style with some tending to Classicism. As the sculptor executed several orders simultaneously, he was assisted by a team of skilled workers. In 1764, like some Lviv sculptors, Maciej Polejowski was granted the right to wear a sword. It symbolically gave him the same status as the gentry of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and exempted him from the jurisdiction of city guilds. In 1766, Maciej Polejowski performed sculptural works in the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Lviv; in 1768, he worked in the Monastery of the Basilian Monastic Order; in 1778, Polejowski carved a new part of the iconostasis in the form of an altar for the Church of St. Nicholas in Krekhiv; and in 1781, he signed an agreement to make 6 side altars in the Pochaiv Monastery of the Basilian Monastic Order. Maciej Polejowski was well-known in Galicia.

Object description

The sculpture of St. Gregory is represented in the form of the S-shaped silhouette. The arms of the person are outstretched and the head is tilted to the left. The master carved the facial features in detail, namely the large cheekbones, a small visible chin, bulging almond-shaped eyes with a downward gaze and skillfully sculpted eyelashes on the edge of the upper eyelid, as well as puffy lips with a larger lower lip. On the head of the saint man, there is a three-tiered papal tiara. The strands of curly hair are seen from under the headgear. Gregory's clothing is carved in the forms of folds. The sculpture is characterized by expressive contour, dynamic shape, as well as deep detailing of the object. Maciej Polejowski's works are expressive and spectacular. In his sculptures, he used the Rococo motifs. The sculpture comes from the Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary located in the village of Navariia.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Saint Gregory

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