Preliminary communication
A Contribution to the Study of Public Stone Sculpture in 18th-Century Varaždin – Sculptures of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Joseph in Façade Niches of the House in Gundulićeva Street 4
Jelena Spevec
; Gradski muzej, Varaždin
Abstract
The façade niches of the house in Gundulićeva (formerly Dućanska) Street n. 4, situated between the windows, accommodate two carved polychrome stone sculptures: the sculpture of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception between the fi rst and the second, and the sculpture of St Joseph between the fourth and the fi fth window. The ground fl oor of the 17th-century house once accommodated the pharmacy K zlatnom Angjelu, in 18th century managed by Franz Franjo Antun Siegel and Ignatius Illing, members of the Confraternity of St Mary in Varaždin, founded in 1732 under the auspices of the Varaždin Jesuits. An altar and candelabras for the Confraternity’s
chapel were realized by the Varaždin-based sculptor Ivan Adam Rosemberger. Formal and stylistic features of both stone sculptures suggest the possibility of their attribution to Ivan Adam Rosemberger. The sculptures from Gundulićeva Street 4 show affi nities with the only work of Ivan Adam Rosemberger confi rmed by archival sources, the sculpture of St John of Nepomuk from City Museum Varaždin, but also with other sculptural works ascribed to the said author: common physiognomy, facial features and drapery treatment. In the absence of archival documents, the idea of the acquaintance and collaboration of Rosemberger, Illing or Sigel remains only a hypothesis. Although contracts or other archival data which would prove Rosemberger’s authorship of the façade sculptures in Gundulićeva Street 4 have not been found, the comparison with the sculptures ascribed to Rosemberger allows the possibility of including the stone sculptures of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception and St Joseph in his sculptural oeuvre and opens the possibilities for further research.
Keywords
Varaždin; stone sculpture; 18th century; Ivan Adam Rosemberger; Ivan Pittner
Hrčak ID:
188732
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2011.
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