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Angel's Head

Johann (Jan) Pfister

Angel's Head ico mark
Basic information
ID
С-I-2077
Author
Johann (Jan) Pfister
Name
Angel's Head
Date of creation
17th c.
Country
Ukraine
Technique
carving polychrome gilding
Material
wood
Dimensions (height x width x depth, cm)
26.5 x 16 x 6
Additionally
Type
sculpture 3D
Genre
religious
Plot
Angel
Information about author
Author
Johann (Jan) Pfister
Artist's lifetime
1573–1640/1642
Biography
Johann (Jan) Pfister was a German sculptor, born in 1573 in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland) in the family of the painter and sculptor George Pfister. He studied under masters from the Netherlands and Germany, namely Hans Fleiser, Friedrich Gross, and Gerhard Hendrick. Jan Pfister is considered to be the most outstanding sculptor at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries who worked in Ukraine and Poland. In his works, the sculptor used marble and alabaster rather than wood. He performed the best works in Lviv, Berezhany, and Tarnow. In 1615, at the request of Adam Hieronim Sieniawski, the sculptor began working in Berezhany on the tombstones of the noble Sieniawski family, namely Adam Hieronim and his three sons – Alexander, Mikolaj, and Prokop. Besides, Jan Pfister taught at a carving school in the town. Working as a court sculptor of the Sieniawski family, he carved the altar compositions in the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary in the village of Bishche in the Ternopil region that also belonged to the family. In the 1630s, he worked on the decoration of the altar. Jan Pfister proved to be a professional sculptor who took the first steps in art under the influence of German and Dutch Mannerism.
Object description
The angel's head was a decorative element of the temple interior. Similar images of cherubs, often used as symbols of heavenly protection, purity, and spiritual power, were frequently employed in the Baroque period to adorn altar compositions in churches. They personify the spiritual presence in a holy place. The angel's head is slightly tilted to the right. The neck, surrounded by drapery, tapers downward, formed by smooth lines of soft folds. A high, open forehead, a snub nose with flared nostrils, plump, bulging cheeks, a well-defined beard, and dominant red lips characterise the image. The angel's eyes are large, set within clear lines of weighted eyelids that are slightly raised upward. The elongated oval face is framed by lush golden hair with carefully crafted, rhythmically arranged curls. His expression is peaceful. The skilfully plasticised head of the angel is characterised by a high level of professional skill. The work is an important example of sacred art; such sculptures had both aesthetic and spiritual functions, helping to create an atmosphere of majesty and holiness in the temple interior. The work with the inventory number С-І-2078, 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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