Figure of a Female Saint
unknown
Basic information
- ID
- С-I-918
- Author
- unknown
- Name
- Figure of a Female Saint
- Date of creation
- 17th c.
- Technique
- carving polychromy gilding
- Material
- wood
- Dimensions
- 119 x 38 x 19 cm (height x width x depth)
Additionally
- Type
- sculpture
- Genre
- religious
- Plot
- Saint
- Provenance
- Zhydachiv town, Lviv region, Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Information about author
Object description
The sculpture presents a frontal figure of a female saint with a slight contrapposto shift of the hip and a gentle tilt of the head towards her left shoulder. This imparts a certain inner dynamism to the static pose of the figure, aligning it with Late Gothic works while showing the gradual infiltration of Renaissance-Baroque principles of volume rendering.
In her right hand, the saint holds an elongated object, which was evidently her attribute; her left arm is bent at the elbow and directed towards the viewer with an open palm, a gesture that in iconographic tradition typically accompanies depictions of female martyrs or intercessor saints. The elongated, oval, softly modelled face is framed by thick strands of wavy chestnut hair that embrace the neck in rhythmic curves. The high forehead, clear arches of the eyebrows, expressive almond-shaped eyes, and small, tightly closed lips are treated in a generalised manner, conveying a palpable lyrical contemplation characteristic of Baroque sacred plastic art. Her gaze, directed straight ahead, lends a spiritual focus to the image.
The saint is dressed in a long tunic belted at the waist. Over it, a cloak fastened at the chest wraps around the shoulders and cascades slowly downwards, creating an impression of monumentality. The saint's garments are defined by heavy, deep lines of vertical drapery, which form a distinct, Gothic rhythm of angular, crumpled folds in the lower section. The plasticity of the fabric is conveyed through the contrast of convex ridges and deep shadow recesses, giving the attire a particular grandeur and decorative expressiveness.
The sculpture is entirely gilded, with only the face and hands finished in polychrome with warm flesh tones, creating a striking contrast between the matte carnation and the gleaming gold of the robes.
In her right hand, the saint holds an elongated object, which was evidently her attribute; her left arm is bent at the elbow and directed towards the viewer with an open palm, a gesture that in iconographic tradition typically accompanies depictions of female martyrs or intercessor saints. The elongated, oval, softly modelled face is framed by thick strands of wavy chestnut hair that embrace the neck in rhythmic curves. The high forehead, clear arches of the eyebrows, expressive almond-shaped eyes, and small, tightly closed lips are treated in a generalised manner, conveying a palpable lyrical contemplation characteristic of Baroque sacred plastic art. Her gaze, directed straight ahead, lends a spiritual focus to the image.
The saint is dressed in a long tunic belted at the waist. Over it, a cloak fastened at the chest wraps around the shoulders and cascades slowly downwards, creating an impression of monumentality. The saint's garments are defined by heavy, deep lines of vertical drapery, which form a distinct, Gothic rhythm of angular, crumpled folds in the lower section. The plasticity of the fabric is conveyed through the contrast of convex ridges and deep shadow recesses, giving the attire a particular grandeur and decorative expressiveness.
The sculpture is entirely gilded, with only the face and hands finished in polychrome with warm flesh tones, creating a striking contrast between the matte carnation and the gleaming gold of the robes.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery
