Description:

Master Sculpture of St. Christophorus
Danube school, around 1520
Sandstone with remains of the original polychrome finish
Height 75 cm

The polychrome sandstone sculpture depicts St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers and one of the 14 emergency helpers, carrying the Christ child on his shoulders. According to a 13th century legend, he serves Christ and carries people on his back across the river. One night, as he carries a child on his shoulders across the river, the load becomes heavier and heavier, as if the world rested on his shoulders. The water rises, he sinks into it and is baptized by the child as a result. Afterwards Christophorus recognizes Christ as his Lord. He tells him to stick his pole into the ground on the other shore, from which a blossoming tree finally grows. The representation of Christophorus enjoyed such popularity in the Middle Ages that numerous frescoes and sculptural works were created, which were to be contemplated already in the morning, since one - according to popular belief - would thereby be spared from a sudden death.
Christophorus is depicted at the moment when he crosses the raging river with the child on his shoulders. His long red cloak is gathered up, and his left foot is placed forward in a lunge. Around the pair of figures are dynamically stacked rocks with elements of vegetation, as well as a small house. The giant saint holds his long stick with both hands, but does not look ahead, but up to the child, who has probably raised his hands in a speech gesture and is probably speaking to Christophorus. Despite the traces of weathering typical to sandstone, the polychromy and the figures are relatively well preserved. The deeply furrowed and distinctively carved cup folds on the man's hip, as well as the long Gothic curls of the figures, indicate the late Gothic as the period of creation in the first quarter of the 16th century (around 1520). The drapery is comparable to the oeuvre of the Bavarian sculptor Hans Leinberger.Thus, the work would be attributed to the so-called Danube School in the Danube region, which show stylistic features of the transition between late Gothic and Renaissance. This is supported above all by the particularly pronounced perception of nature; the depiction of the landscape is given its own space by the special shaping of the soft hill formations, jagged rocks and elaborate treetops in which the group of figures is inscribed. Similar to a figura serpentinata, the expressive and dynamically heightened landscape structure blends into the upward rotation of the saint, emphasizing the symbolic content of the scene. In addition, nature could also be seen as a sign of the influence of modern thinking of the Reformation era

Provenance: Heinrich Hofstätter Collection, Vienna

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November 15, 2021 5:00 PM CET
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