Location
Austria, Styria, Paldau
Parish church St Veit (Pfarrkirche Hl Veit)
Feldbach
Original location:
Austria, Styria, Graz
Carmelite Church (Karmeliterkirche)
Artwork
The high altar of the former Carmelite Church Graz in the parish church in Paldau
Type
High altar
Dimensions
Height: 407 cm, width: 225 cm, depth: 98 cm
Critical History
The parish church of Paldau was first documentary mentioned in 1400.1 The altar in the east apse has been transferred from the former Carmelite Church in Graz to Paldau in 1974/75.2 It shows a Russian icon in a rich rococo frame, flanked by the statues of two angels. They appear very dynamic due to the twisted bodies and the pronounced position of the support/free leg. The arms are raised and the fingers are partly outspread; the wings are far-loaded, what is typical for the artist’s oeuvre.3 Very striking is the revealing clothing: The left angel’s leg is exposed up to the hip, the clothing barely held by one single strap over the shoulder. The right one is of a more virtuous appearance, even though the right shoulder can be seen as well as the left leg up to the thigh.
Construction / Execution
The backside of the sculptures has been roughly worked and is not coloured. They are fixed to the altar with a metal rod that is connected with a metal ring in their back.
Components
- Carpentry
- Completed: 1750 – 1775
- Technique(s): sawing
- Material(s): wood
- Sculpture
- Author: Philipp Jakob Straub (Wiesensteig 1706 – Graz 1774)
- Completed: 1750 – 1775
- Technique(s): wood carving
- Material(s): wood
- Polychromy
- Completed: 1750 – 1775
- Material(s): gold leaf, red bole, silver leaf
Comment
The dimensions of the sculptures are: H 124 cm, W 90 cm, D 46 cm (left angel), H 125 cm, W 80 cm, D 44 cm (right angel).
Images
- The high altar of the parish church in Paldau (photo by Christina Pichler, 2018)
- Angel (left), parish church, Paldau (photo by Christina Pichler, 2018)
- Angel (left), Detail, parish church, Paldau (photo by Christina Pichler, 2018)
- Angel (right), parish church, Paldau (photo by Christina Pichler, 2018)
- Angel (right), Detail, parish church, Paldau (photo by Christina Pichler, 2018)
Catalogue entry prepared by Christina Pichler and Dagmar Probst
Recommended citation: Christina Pichler and Dagmar Probst, The high altar of the former Carmelite Church Graz in the parish church in Paldau, in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 26/01/2026) URL
