Saints Faith, Hope and Charity
unknown
Basic information
- ID
- С-I-999
- Author
- unknown
- Name
- Saints Faith, Hope and Charity
- Date of creation
- 18th c.
- Country
- Ukraine
- Technique
- carving polychrome
- Material
- wood
- Dimensions (height x width x depth, cm)
- 54 x 46.5 x 13
Additionally
- Type
- sculpture
- Genre
- religious
- Plot
- Saint
- Provenance
- Krushelnytsia village, Stryi district, Lviv region
Information about author
Object description
Faith, Hope and Charity are the three Christian virtues Saint Sophia named her children; she brought them up in devoutness and love for God. Faith was twelve years old, Hope was ten, and Charity was nine when they were subjected to terrible tortures for their Christian faith. A cauldron of boiling tar and oil was one of the tortures for young martyr girls. Three children's polychrome figures below the waist are depicted in a cauldron; their hands are prayerfully folded on their chests, which indicates their unquestioning faith. Only loincloths wrapped around the thighs cover the naked bodies of young girls. The master tries to convey the anatomy of children's figures, outlining in smooth lines, lowered shoulders, rounded bellies, and small hands. On their heads are incised strands of dark hair fixed on the back of their heads. Faith, Hope and Charity are not given any individual portrait features. The master depicted each with plump cheeks, a small snub nose, and a wide, tightly closed mouth. The proud glances of the girls are directed upwards. There is readiness for self-sacrifice in their glances. Faith, Hope and Charity were a part of the sculptural composition, which traditionally also included the figure of their mother, Saint Sophia. The work is characterised by softness of forms, emotional balance, and slow dynamism.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery
