St. Martin

Description: Full-figured, almost full but slightly beveled at the back and hollow representation of a standing St. Martin set on a console suspended from a pillar. The console is prominent, decorated from the front with a massive volute cartouche preceded from the bottom by a kind of suspended grooved “shell”. The cartouche on the sides decorated with leaves; in its center an oval plaque with a gold inscription on a red background: “In honorem | S. MARTINI | Episc.”. Above the cartouche the upper part of the console, polygonal, profiled in the form of a cornice, covered with bronze marbling. On the upper surface of the console an additional base for the figure in the form of a thick plate. The saint is depicted in animated movement, in a dramatic pose: his left leg extended firmly forward, very slightly bent at the knee, his right leg retracted backward, stretched out. The right hip firmly raised upward, the shoulder on the same side lowered, which gives the figure a silhouette similar to the letter “S”. The head is shown almost in profile, pointing to the right (heraldically), bent downwards; the face has clear masculine though young features, with a large slightly curved nose; thick locks of hair emerge from under the helmet. Hands pointing in the opposite direction from the head: with the left hand moved far to the side from the body, the saint holds the end of the cloak’s hem; in the right hand, visible closer to Martin’s torso, he holds a sword with which he cuts off part of the cloak. The saint is dressed in a half-armor alluding to ancient designs, with a kind of “apron” down to the knees, revealing legs in sandals. A tunic underneath with wide sleeves reaching to the elbows, over it is superimposed a leather half-armor, closely fitted to the torso, highlighting the musculature, decorated with ornamental motifs. On St. Martin’s back is a cloak, the half of which, pushed aside from the body, the saint holds on his left (heraldically) side. Elements of the outfit complemented by stripes of various lengths. On the saint’s head is a helmet decorated with decorations including a leaf motif. Next to the saint’s right leg sits a beggar (a figure clearly smaller than the saint’s), with a raised head covered with locks of hair, with an open mouth (blind eyes?), extending his right hand upward in a gesture of request; the beggar’s left hand cut off at shoulder height. The figure is dressed in couture robes partially exposing the naked body. Sculpture in white polished ground with small gold elements: on the console the edges of the volute cartouche forms and some small leaves; on the robes and helmet narrow borders and some stripes and ornamental motifs; the golden sword of the saint has a silver head.

History: The statue is one of nine sculptures of saints set up at the initiative of the Jesuits in 1710 on consoles suspended from the pillars of the nave. Each of the sculptures was funded by a different person – the making of the statue of St. Martin was financed by the mayor of Świdnica, Neumann.

Characteristics: the Jesuits, in order to refer to Świdnica’s Catholic medieval past, decided that each statue would depict the patron of one of the chapels set up at the gates leading into the city. The only exception to this rule is precisely the statue of St. Martin. In the literature on the Świdnica Cathedral, it is assumed that the choice of the saint in this case was due to the personal motivation of the founder: mayor Neumann took office on November 11, precisely on St. Martin’s Day, and apparently considered him the patron saint of the office he held. St. Martin (316 or 317-397), is – unlike many semi-legendary saints of the early Christian era – a historical figure about whom many accounts have survived. Born in the territory of Pannonia (now Hungary), he joined the ranks of the Roman army as a 15-year-old and served in it as an imperial guard. During this service, a famous event took place in Amiens, Gaul (now France): Martin, seeing a scantily clad beggar, without hesitation cut off the half of his military coat and covered the destitute man – this very moment is depicted in the sculpture of Swidnica. Martin’s later fate is generally well known: he was baptized, left the army and became intensely active (he traveled extensively) pursuing missionary ideas (he converted a huge number of people) alternating with hermitism and monasticism. He himself would lock himself up for a while in hermitages or establish monasteries. He was most closely associated with Tours in Gaul, and the people of that city elected him bishop – he is most often referred to as St. Martin of Tours, and, for example, in Świdnica, the title of bishop (episcopus) appears on an inscription explaining his person, which for a viewer unfamiliar with his biography may at first appear to be a contradiction (a young soldier a bishop?). He died in Tours (he was buried on November 11), and his tomb became one of the most visited Christian sites. Anyway, to this day he is one of the most famous saints of the Catholic Church, and he was also venerated in the Orthodox Church.