Location
Slovenia, Puščava
Succursal Church of the Mary Help of Christians (Podružnična cerkev sv. Marije Pomočnice)
Parish Lovrenc na Pohorju
Artwork
The Sculpture of God the Father, Putti, Angel Heads and Ornaments on the High Altar of the Succursal Church of the Mary Help of Christians in Puščava
Type
Sculptural group
Dimensions
Height: 340 cm, width: 270 cm, depth: 150 cm
Critical History
The erection of the high altar of the Succursal Church of the Mary Help of Christians in Puščava dates in the last quarter of the 17th Century, in the time of Philip Rottenhäusler, abbot of Sankt Paul im Lavanttal.1 The sculpture of God the Father, putti, angel heads and ornaments in the lower part of the altar were added later – around 1750. Sergej Vrišer attributed these sculptures to Joseph Straub.2
Vrišer himself pointed out that the sculpture of God the Father with the globe is of high quality and shows several similarities with Joseph Straub`s works from Studenci and Ptuj.3 The same is true for the sculptures of chubby putti with curly hair and for the wreath of roses on the sides – which are similar to his works as well.
Construction / Execution
The sculptures and ornaments are made of wood. The sculpture´s drapery, angel wings and ornaments are imitating gold, the clouds and the sculpture of the Holy Spirit are imitating silver.
Components
- Sculpture
- Sculpture
- Author: Joseph Straub (Wiesensteig 1712 – Maribor 1756)
- Technique(s): wood carving
- Material(s): limewood
- Polychromy
- Polychromy
- Technique(s): oil, water gilding
- Material(s): bole, gold leaf, oil, silver leaf
Comment
The wooden support of the sculptures and ornaments is in good condition. There is one thin layer of overpainting. A few clouds and the Holy Spirit were resilvered.
Images
- The high altar of the Succursal Church of the Mary Help of Christians in Puščava (Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, photo by Valentin Benedik, 2018)
- The sculpture of God the Father, putti, angel heads and ornaments on the high altar of the Succursal Church of the Mary Help of Christians in Puščava (Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, photo by Valentin Benedik, 2018)
- The detail of the sculptural group (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 God the Father, Putti, Angel Heads and Ornaments on the High Altar of the Succursal Church of the Mary Help of Christians in Puščava, in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 19/11/2025) URL
