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Angel's Head

Johann (Jan) Pfister

Basic information
ID
С-I-2076
Author
Johann (Jan) Pfister
Name
Angel's Head
Date of creation
17th c.
Country
Ukraine
Technique
carving polychromy gilding
Material
wood
Dimensions
39.8 x 17.5 x 4 cm (height x width x depth)
Additionally
Type
sculpture 3D
Genre
religious
Information about author
Author
Johann (Jan) Pfister
Artist's lifetime
1573–1640/1642
Biography
Johann (Jan) Pfister (Jan Hanusz-Snycerz) – a sculptor of German origin, was born in 1573 in the city of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) into the family of the painter and sculptor Georg Pfister. He studied under master craftsmen from the Netherlands and Germany (Hans Fleiser, Friedrich Gross, Gerhardt Hendrik). Pfister is considered the most outstanding sculptor of the turn of the 16th–17th centuries who worked in the territories of present-day Ukraine and Poland. He worked predominantly in marble and alabaster, and less frequently in wood. He executed his finest works in Lviv, Berezhany, and Tarnów.
Starting from 1615, commissioned by Adam Hieronim Sieniawski, he began working in Berezhany on the tomb monuments of the noble Sieniawski family: Adam Hieronim and his three sons – Aleksander, Mikołaj, and Prokop. He led a woodcarving school in the town. Working as the court sculptor to the Sieniawskis, he carved altar compositions in the church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Bishche in the Ternopil region, which also belonged to the family. The master worked on the decoration of the altar during the 1630s. Pfister proved himself a highly professional artist who took his first creative steps under the influence of German-Netherlandish Mannerism.
Object description
The angel's head is executed in low relief in wood, polychrome, with an accent of gilding. The work was obviously part of a relief composition, possibly a cherub. The work is characterized by its soft, delicate features and the master's professional expertise. The smooth line of the oval face tapers downward, emphasizing the sharp, protruding chin. An expressive face, characterized by a high forehead, clear arcs of dark eyebrows, a straight nose with flared nostrils, almond-shaped eyes outlined by thick eyelids, and dominant red lips, is skilfully modelled. The facial expression is friendly, with melancholic notes emphasized by the upward gaze. A barely noticeable blush on the bulging cheeks brings the image to life. The voluminous, wavy strands of golden hair with a high bang in the centre add lightness to the work. Such sculptures played a crucial role in the visual culture of sacred temples and their ornate decoration. The work with the inventory number С-І-2075, which also comes from the village of Volytsia, is similar in its manner of execution and interpretation of the image.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

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