Location
Slovenia, Malečnik
Parish Church of St Peter (Župnijska cerkev sv. Petra)
Artwork
Side Altar of St John of Nepomuk in the Parish Church of St Peter in Malečnik
Type
Side altar
Dimensions
Height: 320 cm, width: 190 cm, depth: 60 cm
Inscriptions
- Sv. Janez Nep. prosi za nas! (in the cartouche on the altar)
Critical History
In the Parish Church of St Peter in Malečnik there are six side altars placed in the side chapels, facing the entrance. Sergej Vrišer attributed two of them (the altars of St Francis Xavier and St Anthony of Padua) to Joseph Straub and all the others to Philipp Jakob Straub.1 Vrišer also wrote that according to the chronicle, the polychromy was done by Dominik Cocconi in 1746.2
The side altar of St John of Nepomuk is placed in the second chapel on the right side of the church. The author of the painting with the depiction of St John of Nepomuk is unknown. Today, there is only a sculpture of the Archangel Michael on the altar – probably not in its original place. It shows great quality – the elegant posture, gentile face and drapery. There must have been two sculptures on the sides of the painting, beside the columns (like on the other altars).
Construction / Execution
The side altar is made of wood and is placed on the stone altar table. The architecture imitates marble. The sculptures and ornaments imitate gold.
Components
- Carpentry
- Carpentry
- Technique(s): sawing, wood carving
- Material(s): softwood
- Sculpture
- Sculpture
- Author: Philipp Jakob Straub (Wiesensteig 1706 – Graz 1774)
- Completed: 1746
- Technique(s): wood carving
- Material(s): limewood
- Polychromy
- Polychromy
- Author: Dominicus Cagoni
- Completed: 1746 –
- Technique(s): oil, water gilding
- Material(s): bole, calcium carbonate, gold leaf, natural resin, silver leaf, size
- Polychromy
- First repolychromy
- Technique(s): oil
- Material(s): oil
- Polychromy
- Second repolychromy
- Technique(s): oil, oil gilding
- Material(s): metal leaf, oil
- Painting
- Painting of St John of Nepomuk
- Technique(s): oil on canvas
Comment
The altar has two repolychromies. The original polychromy of the architecture imitates marble in brown-red and grey-blue shades. It is well preserved under the oil painting repolychromies. The construction of the altar is in stable condition. The lime wood of the sculptures and ornaments is infested by wood-boring insects. The ground is lifting, cracking and there are some paint losses. Some gilded parts are covered with metal leaves.
Images
- The side altar of St John of Nepomuk in the Parish Church of St Peter in Malečnik (Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, photo by Valentin Benedik, 2018)
- The upper part of the side altar of St John of Nepomuk in Malečnik (Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, photo by Valentin Benedik, 2018)
- The upper part of the side altar of St John of Nepomuk in Malečnik (Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, photo by Valentin Benedik, 2018)
- The sculpture of the Archangel Michael (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, Side Altar of St John of Nepomuk in the Parish Church of St Peter in Malečnik, in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 23/10/2025) URL
