Single-Light Pricket Candlestick

This single-light candlestick is a striking example of 18th-century folk sacred art, in which a simple form is combined with the bright, picturesque painting characteristic of the provincial tradition of the period. The compositional solution of the piece features a distinct vertical format traditional for such objects. The candlestick consists of a profiled tripartite base resting on small, turned spherical feet, serving as a fundamental support for the piece. The shaft is structured through an alternation of turned pear-shaped swellings and ring-shaped collars, lending a calm, uniform rhythm to the silhouette. The candlestick terminates in a small wax-pan (bobeche). The fluid, almost botanical silhouette of the base, combined with the turned vertical elements, imparts a solemn, architectural character to the piece.
The candlestick is carved from wood and features complete polychrome painting, typical of provincial craftsmen for whom colouristic execution often played no less important a role than the plasticity of form. The primary tone of the painting is white, overlaid with crisp, bright red bands on the collars, along the divisions of the shaft, and along the edges of the tripartite base. The central decorative feature is a naive floral ornament in the form of stylised red blossoms with green leaves, delicately painted onto the white surfaces of the base and shaft.
In terms of artistic perception, the candlestick blends utilitarian purpose with a decorative function. Its vertical orientation symbolically directs the gaze upwards, whilst the floral motifs introduce a sense of living nature into the rigorous architectonics of the turned volumes. The white background and red accent details form a restrained yet expressive colour scheme. Unlike opulent examples of professional ecclesiastical silver or metalwork, this object speaks the language of naive, spontaneous folk art. The simplified proportions, laconic forms, and free, improvised manner of painting indicate the hand of a folk artisan who relied on their own innate sense of decorativeness and colour. It is this very spontaneity that constitutes the core artistic value of the work.

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery