Artworks Catalogue

Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, lower part of the pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, putto with Sacred Heart on the lower part of the pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, putto with crucifix, on the right side of the pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, Putto with book on the canopy of the pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)h
Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, The Glory of Mose on the canopy of the pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)h

Location

Austria, Styria, Ehrenhausen

Parish and Pilgrimage Church Our Lady of Sorrows (Pfarr- und Wallfahrtskirche Schmerzhafte Mutter Maria)

Ehrenhausen

Artwork

The pulpit of the Parish Church Our Lady of Sorrows in Ehrenhausen

Type

Pulpit

Inscriptions

  1. "NON QUAE RO, QUAE VESTRA SUNT, SED VOS 2. Cor: C: 12. V. 14." (on the book on the canopy)
  2. "I II III / IV V VI VIII IX X" (Tablets of Law beside Mose)

Critical History

The ground stone of the new parish church of Ehrenhausen was layed in April 1751 under the patronage of the noble family Eggenberg-Leslie and in 1753 the building must have been finished for the greater part.1 The payments in 1752 and 1753 well documented in the parish archives confirm this state of the construction progress.2 So far, no evidence has been found in the archives to identify the architect. Numerous attributions based on stylistic similarities were suggested by different researchers, for example Joseph Hueber, Johann Georg Stengg, both from Graz, or Johann Fuchs and Josef Hoffer from Maribor.3 The consecration of the parish and pilgrimage church Our Lady of Sorrows was held on July 5, 1754, which date is also confirmed by the chronogramme on the pedestal of the Pietà on the façade above the main entrance.4 The high altar, the pulpit and two side altars were attributed to Philipp Jakob Straub due to stilistic reasons by Andorfer in 1938; Schweigert attributes the side altars to Veit Königer, but agrees with the assumed authorship of Philipp Jakob Straub regarding the style of the high altar, the pulpit and the decoration of the church façade; he dates the pulpit between 1752/53 and around 1755.5 New research in the parish archives, now in the archive of the diocese Graz-Seckau, could not confirm any payment to Philipp Jakob, only to his younger brother Joseph Straub from Maribor, probably for the decoration of the façade.6 The polychromy and gilding are documented for the year 1770.7 The figural decoration of the pulpit shows strong resemblance to the pulpit his brother Johann Baptist Straub made for the Schwarzspanierkirche in Vienna 1730-1734, now in Laxenburg, especially the composition of Moses on the canopy or the angel holding the drapery beside the door.

Construction / Execution

The pulpit is fixed to the wall on the left side, between the niche with the large side altar and the small altar on the triumphal arch. It can be accessed by a door from the sacristy. The polychrome figures are partly gilded and set upon the wooden, veneered carcass, which is also decorated with gilded rocaille ornaments. One angel-putto holding a crucifix is mounted directly to the wall on the right side of the rear panel, the glory with the symbol of the Holy Trinity is fixed above the canopy of the pulpit in the cornice above the Corinthian capital.

Components

Carpentry
Completed: ca. 1753 – ca. 1754
Patron(s): Maria Charlotte of Eggenberg , noble; Maria Theresia Josepha of Eggenberg, noble; Cajetan Count Leslie , noble
Technique(s): sawing
Material(s): wood
Sculpture
Author: Philipp Jakob Straub (Wiesensteig 1706 – Graz 1774)
Completed: ca. 1753 – ca. 1754
Patron(s): Maria Charlotte of Eggenberg , noble; Maria Theresia Josepha of Eggenberg, noble; Cajetan Count Leslie , noble
Technique(s): wood carving
Material(s): wood
Polychromy
Author: Franz Rahmer
Completed: ca. 1770
Technique(s): water gilding
Material(s): gold leaf
Polychromy
First Re-Gilding
Author: Bauer
Completed: ca. 1863 – ca. 1864
Patron(s): multiple, parishioners

Comment

The re-gilding of altars and figures of the church took place in 1863/64 under parish priest Franz Kleinoschegg A donation of 2100 fl. by Maria Hammer, a farmer's wife, made the restauration works possible.8

Images

  1. Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
  2. Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, lower part of the pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
  3. Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, putto with Sacred Heart on the lower part of the pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
  4. Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, putto with crucifix, on the right side of the pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
  5. Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, Putto with book on the canopy of the pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)h
  6. Ehrenhausen, Our Lady of Sorrows, The Glory of Mose on the canopy of the pulpit (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)h

Catalogue entry prepared by Julia Strobl

Recommended citation: Julia Strobl, The pulpit of the Parish Church Our Lady of Sorrows in Ehrenhausen , in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 14/11/2025) URL

Sources and Bibliography

  1. Archive of the Diocese Graz-Seckau, Graz, Parish Ehrenhausen, Kirchen-Raittung (account books of the parish Ehrenhausen), 1750-1772
  2. Styrian Provincial Archive, Steirisches Landesarchiv, Graz, StLA, A. Ehrenhausen, Herrschaft und Markt K. 16, H. 54 (old: L.A. Ehrenhausen Sch. 10 H 45)
  3. Eduard Andorfer, Straub Philipp Jakob, in: Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler, 32, Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker (ed.), Leipzig, 1938, 168
  4. Günther Brucher, Die Entwicklung der barocken Kirchenfassaden in der Steiermark (2. Teil), in: Kunsthistorisches Jahrbuch der Universität Graz, 6, 1971, 85–88
  5. Horst Schweigert, Philipp Jakob Straub 1706 – 1774. Ein Grazer Barockbildhauer. Eine Broschüre zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung im Grazer Stadtmuseum, Graz, 1992
  6. Metoda Kemperl, Josef Hoffer: Ein neuer Name unter den steirischen Architekten des 18. Jahrhunderts, in: Österreichische Zeitschrift für Kunst und Denkmalpflege LVI, 2002, H2-3, 2002, 261-271
  7. Horst Schweigert, Ehrenhausen, Diözese Graz-Seckau, Bezirk Leibnitz, Steiermark (Christliche Kunststätten Österreichs, 294), Salzburg, 1996
  8. Horst Schweigert, 259. Philipp Jakob Straub (1706–1774) zugeschrieben. Engel mit dem Essigschwamm, in: Geschichte der bildenden Kunst in Österreich, 4. Barock, Hellmut Lorenz, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien (ed.), Munich, London, New York, Prestel Verlag, 1999, 542
  9. Matej Klemenčič, Die Bildhauer Straub in der österreichischen und slowenischen Steiermark, in: Bayern und Slowenien im Zeitalter des Barock. Architektur. Skulptur. Malerei. Zweites slowenisch-bayerisches kunstgeschichtliches Kolloquium, Janez Höfler, Frank Büttner (ed.), Regensburg, Schnell & Steiner, 2006, 105–113
  10. Peter Stauder, Ehrenhausen. Altes. Neues. Interessantes (Festschrift zum 750-Jahr-Jubiläum), Marktgemeinde Ehrenhausen (ed.), Ehrenhausen, 2010
  11. Dubravka Botica, V. 2. 2. Ehrenhausen, crkva Žalosne Majke Božje, in: Barokne četverolisne crkve u sjeverozapadnoj Hrvatskoj. Prilog istraživanju tipologije sakralne arhitekture 18. stoljeća, Zagreb, Školska Knjiga, 2015, 180-181

Notes

1 StLA, A. Ehrenhausen, Herrschaft und Markt K.16, H. 54, History of the parish church of Ehrenhausen 1748­–1860: "Vermög im Archiv vorgefundener pro memoria ist dem 17ten April 752 der erste Grundstein zur Kirche gelegt worden [...] Der Bau der Kirche wurde dan den 5ten Juny 754 vollendet." Horst Schweigert, 1992, 7, 10

2 Archive of the Diocese Graz-Seckau, Parish Ehrenhausen, account books 1750, 1752-1758, 1769, 1770 (Research by Valentina Pavlič and Julia Strobl).

3 Günther Brucher, 1971, 85–88; Horst Schweigert, 1999, 542; Hellmut Lorenz, 1999, 291-292; Metoda Kemperl, 2002, 262; Matej Klemenčič, 2006, 110; Peter Stauder, 2010, 50-51; Dubravka Botica, 2015, 180-181.

4 Horst Schweigert, 1996, 3–5.

5 Eduard Andorfer, 1938; Horst Schweigert, 1992, 8, 10; 1996, 8.

6 Archive of the Diocese Graz-Seckau, Parish Ehrenhausen, Kirchen Raittung (account book 1758): "Inhalt No.3 Hrn. Joseph Straub bildhauer Meister zu Mahrburg 70 fl." The amount was probably granted for works executed before the premature death of Joseph in 1756.

7 StLA, A. Ehrenhausen, Herrschaft und Markt K.16, H. 54, church account 1770, fol 4r: "Herr Franz Rahmer vergoldern in Graz über[...] zu fassung eines seiten Altärl acordirter masse dazubezahlt 20 fl. / Item dem Hern Ramer an denen 160 accordirten quanto zur fassung der kanzl a conto bezahlt 60 fl."

8 Peter Stauder, 2010, 336–337

The TrArS project is dedicated to the study and presentation of artworks created by members of the Straub family in 18th century Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. This website is being updated regularly and reflects the current state of the ongoing research.

Project Management Office

Ksenija Škarić, project manager
Croatian Conservation Institute

Creative Europe