Location
Slovenia, Maribor
Regional Museum Maribor
Original location:
Slovenia, Selnica ob Dravi
Parish church of St Margaret the Antioch (?)
Artwork
The sculpture of angel in Regional Museum Maribor
Type
Sculpture
Dimensions
Height: 86 cm, width: 51 cm, depth: 32 cm
Critical History
Regional Museum Maribor bought this sculpture from a private owner in 2003, based on expert opinion by Sergej Vrišer, who attributed the sculpture to Joseph Straub. Regarding the location of the seller, Vrišer suggested that the sculpture might originate from the high altar of the parish church of St Margaret of Antioch in Selnica ob Dravi.1
Construction / Execution
The sculpture of putto is made of wood. It is painted naturalistic, the drapery and the wings are imitating gold.
Components
- Sculpture
- Sculpture
- Author: Joseph Straub (Wiesensteig 1712 – Maribor 1756)
- Technique(s): wood carving
- Material(s): limewood
- Polychromy
- Repolychromy
- Technique(s): tempera, water gilding
- Material(s): Bologna chalk, gold leaf, protein, red bole, size
Comment
The sculpture was in very bad condition when the last owner acquired the sculpture in 1970s. The sculpture was restored by Anton Blatnik, who also carved its missing wings.
The sculpture has no original polychromy left. It is completely repolychromed.
Conservation-restoration
- Restoration of the sculpture
Strategy: removing dirt, removing varnish
Approach to the presentation of losses
Reintegration of lacunae – mimetic: total
Reconstruction of losses: total
Materials: acetone, Bologna chalk, citric acid, demineralized water, epoxy filler, gold leaf, gold powder, Lascaux® Medium for Consolidation, Paraloid B-72, red bole, sodium hydroxide, sturgeon glue, toluene
Treatment Description
After removing the dirt and varnish from the surface, the wood and polychromy were localy impregnated with consolidant. Some retouching was done to minimize the uneven effect of varied damage. (The sculpture was restored in 2017 by the Restoration centre in Ljubljana (Institute for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Slovenia) as part of the regular working programme financed by the Ministry Of Culture of Slovenia.)
Images
- The sculpture of angel in Regional Museum Maribor (Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, photo by Valentin Benedik, 2018)
Catalogue entry prepared by Valentina Pavlič and Saša Dolinšek
Recommended citation: Valentina Pavlič and Saša Dolinšek, The sculpture of angel in Regional Museum Maribor, in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 03/02/2026) URL
