St. Peter

Title The figure of St. Peter. From a series of nine figures depicting the patrons of Świdnica
The Author Georg Leonhard Weber
Date of creation 1709-1710
Dimensions height 238 cm
Material / Technique carpentry and woodcarving techniques gilding polished primer in white polychrome wood
Exposure location Main Nave northern wall on the first pillar of the inter-nave arcade going from the east
Opis podstawowy
Opis profesionalny
The figure, set on a console attached to the wall, depicts St. Peter. The apostle is shown in a slightly animated pose, as if preaching a sermon. His face is framed by stubble and hair with a characteristic lock above the balding forehead with which he is usually depicted. He is dressed in voluminous, pleated robes. Peter is holding a key, and a model of the church is placed at his feet. The figure is mostly in the white color of the polished primer, only its small elements are gold. St. Peter, one of the Apostles and the most important disciples of Christ, is recognizable by his attributes - the key to the Kingdom of God and the church, which is a reference to the words addressed to St. Peter by Jesus: 'And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it'.

Description: A full-figure, almost full, cut-back and hollow depiction of a standing St. Peter set on a console suspended on a pillar. A prominent console, decorated from the front with a massive volute cartouche preceded from the bottom with a kind of suspended grooved “shell”. Side cartouche decorated with leaves; in its center an oval plaque with a golden inscription on a red background: “In honorem | S. PETRI | apostles.” Above the cartouche, the upper part of the console, polygonal, profiled in the form of a cornice, covered with brown marbling. On the upper surface of the console, there is an additional base for the figure in the form of a thick plate. The saint’s whole figure is turned slightly to the right (heraldically) side (towards the main nave of the cathedral), with his right leg strongly advanced, bent at the knee, and resting his foot on a slight elevation created by a piece of a slab (of a similar thickness as the base); both feet of the saint are bare. The upper body of St. Peter (from the hips) is more clearly turned to the right (heraldically) side, and the head is even more turned in this direction. The face is of a man in his prime, framed by the hair with a characteristic curl above the forehead and stubble with a not-too-long beard. Peter’s right arm is bent at the elbow, moved to the side from the body, the hand is raised in a rhetorical gesture at the height of the face – the saint gives the impression of speaking (or rather preaching). His other hand is more forward, and in the hand visible at the height of his hips, Peter holds a massive key. The Apostle’s robes are of a “timeless” character – a visible undergarment and a kind of buttoned coat with a collar at the neck. Both garments are arranged dynamically, and very richly folded – which makes it difficult to trace their course and distinguish them from each other. At the bottom, on the right (heraldically) side of the saint, is located a prominent model of the church, treated quite realistically (with a nave covered with a gable roof with a very prominent domed turret and a semicircular apse; the windows of the church are closed with semicircular tracery; a portal is shown on the facade of the church). A sculpture in white color of polished primer with small golden elements: on a console with the edges of volute forms of a cartouche and some small leaves; on the robes of the saint with borders; in addition, the key and small details on the church building are gold.

History: The figure is one of nine sculptures of saints placed on the initiative of the Jesuits in 1710 on the consoles hung on the pillars of the nave. Each of the sculptures was funded by a different person – the execution of the figure of St. Peter was financed by the parish priest of Grodziszcz, Petrus Kunze.

Characteristics: To refer to the Catholic, medieval past of Świdnica, the Jesuits decided that each figure would represent the patron of one of the chapels located at the gates leading to the city. The described statue refers to the chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul located at St. Peter’s Gate. The Apostle presented in the figure, one of the most important disciples of Christ, is recognizable both by his typical physiognomy (with a characteristic curl of hair on a high, balding forehead) and by attributes – one of the keys to the Kingdom of God and the church – which is a reference to the words addressed to st. Peter by Jesus: “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it’.


Bibliografia
Literatura (w wyborze, w układzie chronologicznym, z uwzględnieniem pozycji wzmiankujących cały zespół figur, a nie pojedyncze przedstawienia, których nie wymieniają – jest to zaznaczone uwagą w nawiasie trójkątnym na końcu zapisu - ; jeśli ta uwaga została pominięta oznacza to, że w danej publikacji wymieniono wszystkie figury, każdą określając tytułem przedstawienia – w tym figurę omawianą w nocie, co nie jest osobno zaznaczone; jeśli jest podana s. ewentualnie nr il. [z notatką identyfikującą przedstawienie] to oznacza, że opracowana w nocie figura jest uwzględniona w danej publikacji, a nie są wymienione lub zreprodukowane wszystkie inne figury, albo wzmiankowana jest tylko ich część):


Hermann Hoffmann, Die Jesuiten in Schweidnitz, Schweidnitz 1930 (Zur Schlesischen Kirchengeschichte, Nr 3), s. 153.

Erich Wiese, Thomas Weisfeldt, ein nordischer Barockbildhauer in Schlesien, „Jahrbuch der Preussischen Kunstsammlungen“, Bd. 55, 1934, s. 79 .

Edmund Wilhelm Braun, Studien zur schlesischen Barockplastik. II. Die Künstlerische Entwicklung des Schweidnitzer Bildhauers Georg Leonhard Weber bis 1725, „Kunst und Denkmalpflege in Schlesien“, Bd. 2, 1939, s. 128-129 .

Danuta Ostowska, Jerzy Leonard Weber rzeźbiarz śląski epoki baroku, „Roczniki Sztuki Śląskiej” T. II, 1963, s. 97-98.

Danuta Ostowska, Zespół rzeźbiarski w Konarach, „Roczniki Sztuki Śląskiej, T. IV, 1967, s. 218 .

Danuta Ostowska, Rzeźba śląska 1650-1770. Katalog wystawy, Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu, Wrocław 1969 .

Danuta Hanulanka, Świdnica, Wydanie II poprawione i uzupełnione, [seria: „Śląsk w Zabytkach Sztuki”, pod redakcją T. Broniewskiego i M. Zlata], Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków-Gdańsk 1973, s. 88-89.

Konstanty Kalinowski, Rzeźba barokowa na Śląsku, Warszawa 1986, s. 180-181, przypisy 251-252 na s. 225.

Edmund Nawrocki, Kościół parafialny św. Stanisława i św. Wacława w Świdnicy. Przewodnik, Świdnica 1990, s. 23-24.

Teatr i mistyka. Rzeźba barokowa pomiędzy Zachodem a Wschodem, [katalog wystawy], Poznań, Muzeum Narodowe, czerwiec – sierpień 1993, Katalog pod redakcją Konstantego Kalinowskiego, Poznań 1993, [edycja polsko-angielska], s. I.104 - notę biograficzną Jerzego Leonarda Webera opracował Konstanty Kalinowski .

Dariusz Galewski, Kościół Jezuitów w Świdnicy na tle pozostałych gotyckich świątyń prowincji czeskiej Towarzystwa Jezusowego [w:] Śląsk i Czechy. Wspólne drogi sztuki, Materiały konferencji naukowej dedykowane Profesorowi Janowi Wrabecowi, [seria: „Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis” No 2953, „Historia Sztuki” XXIV], Wrocław 2007, s. 263.

Sobiesław Nowotny, Przewodnik po świdnickiej katedrze, Autor zdjęć Mariusz Barcicki, Świdnica 2009, s. 70-71.

Dariusz Galewski, Jezuici wobec tradycji średniowiecznej. Barokizacje kościołów w Kłodzku, Świdnicy, Jeleniej Górze i Żaganiu, [seria: „Ars Vetus et Nova”, Redaktor serii W. Bałus, T. XXXVI], Kraków 2012, s. 195 i 222.

Barbara Skoczylas-Stadnik [tekst], Franciszek Grzywacz [fotografie], Katedra świdnicka perłą Dolnego Śląska, Legnica 2016, s. 32 i 34-35 (il. z podpisami), figura Św. Piotra – il. górna prawa na s. 35.

Artur Kolbiarz, Michael Klahr Starszy, Paul Stralano i rzeźba barokowa w Świdnicy. Nowe uwagi na temat edukacji artystycznej Klahra, „Roczniki Sztuki Śląskiej”, T. XXVII, 2018, s. 147 .