Location
Slovenia, Rdeči breg na Pohorju
Succursal Church of St Ignatius of Loyola (Podružnična cerkev sv. Ignacija)
Parish of Lovrenc na Pohorju
Original location:
Slovenia, Ormož
Franciscan Church (Frančiškanska cerkev)
Artwork
The High Altar of the Succursal Church of St Ignatius of Loyola in Rdeči Breg
Type
High altar
Dimensions
Height: 680 cm, width: 520 cm, depth: 64 cm
Inscriptions
- IHS (in the cartouche on the altar)
- Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (on the altar`s painting)
Critical History
The high altar of the Succursal Church of St Ignatius of Loyola in Rdeči breg was attributed to Joseph Straub by Sergej Vrišer.1 The altar was made for the Franciscan church in Ormož and was transferred to Rdeči breg after 1786, when the church and the monastery were closed.
The coat of arms of the Franciscan order can still be seen at the top of the altar. The altar represents the major exception in the oeuvre of Joseph Straub: the architecture of the altar is without columns, yet enclosed with decorative lines/elements. Especially in the upper part, the architecture is very decorative. In the central niche, there is a painting of low quality with a depiction of St Ignatius of Loyola. On the altar, there are fourteen cartouches with depictions of saints, and one with an inscription (Ins. 1). Between, there are sculptures of putti; they show several characteristics of Joseph Straub`s personal style: curly hair, big open eyes, chubby cheeks and round chin. Furthermore, the cartouches are framed with rocaille ornamentation that is significant for Joseph Straub`s altars – especially because of the detail of “sponge” texture.
Construction / Execution
The altar is made of wood. The ornaments, the sculptures' drapery and angel wings imitate gold. There are fifteen panel paintings placed on the altar. The images are painted on carved ornaments in carved frames that are gilded on the edges.
Components
- Carpentry
- Carpentry
- Technique(s): sawing, wood carving
- Material(s): softwood
- 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): calcium carbonate, gold leaf, red bole, size
- Polychromy
- First repolychromy
- Technique(s): oil
- Material(s): lime, natural resin
Comment
The altar has one repolychromy. The architecture imitate marble in blue and brown shades. The sculptures imitate white marble or ivory. The architecture was recoated with natural resin varnish which has darkened with age. The polished white on the skin parts of the sculptures was painted with lime. Some parts of the gilding on the paintings were overpainted with bronze. The construction of the altar is in good condition. The limewood is infected by wood-boring insects. The ground is cracking and crumbling off.
Images
- The high altar of the Succursal Church of St Ignatius of Loyola in Rdeči breg (Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, photo by Valentin Benedik, 2018)
- The upper part of the high altar in Rdeči breg (Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, photo by Valentin Benedik, 2018)
- The sculpture of putto (Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, photo by Valentin Benedik, 2018)
- A cartouche framed with rocaille ornamentation (Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, photo by Valentin Benedik, 2018)
- The sculpture of a putto (Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, photo by Valentin Benedik, 2018)
- A cartouche framed with rocaille ornamentation (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 High Altar of the Succursal Church of St Ignatius of Loyola in Rdeči Breg, in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 24/10/2025) URL
