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Archangel Michael

Johann (Jan) Pfister

Basic information

ID: С-I-903
Author: Johann (Jan) Pfister
Name: Archangel Michael
Date of creation: c. 1640
Technique: carving polychromy gilding
Material: wood levkas
Dimensions: 106 x 77 x 26 cm (height x width x depth)

Additionally

Type: sculpture
Genre: religious
Plot: Archangel Michael
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 (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 sculptural image represents a full-length wooden sculpture of Saint Michael the Archangel, serving as a vivid specimen of Western European sacred plastic art from the first half of the 17th century. The saint is presented in the guise of a heavenly warrior during his victory over the forces of evil. The posture of the Archangel is distinguished by an expressive dynamism: the figure is unfurled in space, the torso leans forward, and the right leg, bent at the knee, rests upon the overturned, defeated dragon. A spatial diagonal, which significantly enhances the expressiveness of the artwork, is created by the spread right wing. The continuation of this dynamic composition is manifest in the gestures of the hands: the right is lowered downwards (where a spear, directed into the dragon's maw, was evidently once held), whilst the left is raised aloft.
Michael is clad in a Renaissance-Baroque anatomical cuirass that imitates an idealised male torso. Visible upon the armour are decorative leather strips – pteryges – characteristic of Pfister's distinctive style, which served as an element of antique protective harness. Secured at the waist, they form a kind of skirt designed to protect the thighs. Upon the saint's head is a tall helmet adorned with decorative embellishments.
Particular attention is drawn to the modelling of the Archangel's face, which features refined European traits, voluminous curls emerging from beneath the helmet, and the focused, downward gaze of a victor. The colour scheme is dominated by a noble combination of gold and silver hues.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Archangel Michael

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