St. Nicholas

Title The figure of St. Nicholas. From a series of nine figures depicting the patrons of Świdnica
The Author Georg Leonhard Weber
Date of creation 1709-1710
Dimensions height 262 cm
Material / Technique carpentry and woodcarving techniques gilding polished primer in white polychrome wood
Exposure location Main Nave southern wall on the second 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. Nicholas. The saint is shown in a slightly animated pose. His face was rendered with exceptional realism. The saint is dressed in pontifical bishop vestments. In his left hand he is holding a crosier, in his right hand there is a closed book with three lumps of gold arranged on top of it. The figure is mostly in the white color of the polished primer, only its small elements are gold (including the book and the lumps on it). Actually, little is known bout the life of st. Nicholas, one of the most popular saints in medieval times. He was the bishop of Myra in Asia Minor in the first half of the 4th century. He was associated with a number of stories by later legends, including the most famous story of three poor maidens. The saint miraculously provided them with three golden balls (or lumps of gold) for dowries. The golden lumps are the most famous attribute of the saint, and the story itself has retained its popularity and has become the basis for the custom of gifts delivered to children.

Description: A full-figure, almost full, cut-back, and hollow depiction of a standing St. Nicholas 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. NICOLAI | epic.” 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 entire figure is turned slightly to the right (heraldically) side, with the right leg strongly put forward, bent at the knee and the left leg withdrawn, practically invisible under the robes; a massive shoe is visible on the right foot. The saint’s head is turned in the same direction as his body, slightly tilted. The face of an elderly man with very realistic features; plump, broad, furrowed, with a small prominent chin, no beard, with locks of hair on the sides. In his left hand, moved to the side from the body, visible at shoulder height, the saint holds a crosier with a cane set diagonally. His right arm is bent at the elbow, and on a horizontally spread hand visible slightly above the height of his hips, he holds a closed book on which lie three shapeless lumps.
Nicholas is dressed in a pontifical episcopal outfit: a cassock fastened with buttons at the front, a surplice, a stole, a humeral (under the neck), a cope fastened on the chest, and a miter on his head; on his hands, he wears bishop gloves with rings. Robes are moderately folded. 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 and small ornamental motifs; moreover, the book and the lumps lying on it are gold, as well as the curvature of the crosier (his staff is silver).

History: The figure is one of nine sculptures of saints placed on the initiative of the Jesuits in 1710 on 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. Nicholas was financed by Fr. David Tusche from the church in Świdnica dedicated to this saint.

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 in the city cemetery, dedicated to this saint. St. Nicholas was one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages, he was also highly venerated in the Orthodox Church. Very little is known about him: he probably lived in the first half of the 4th century and was bishop of the city of Myra in Asia Minor. Later legends greatly complemented this biography – one of the most frequently mentioned miraculous stories related to St. Nicholas was a story about how he helped by miraculously giving golden balls (or lumps of gold) to three poor maidens as a dowry. The most popular attribute of the saint – appearing in the described figure – comes from this story. St. Nicholas delivering gifts to children also has the same pedigree.


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, figura Św. Mikołaja - il. nlb. środkowa na tabl. XXXVI w obrębie wkładki z tablicami po s. 160.

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. Mikołaja – il. dolna lewa na s. 34.

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 , figura Św. Mikołaja – s. 145 i 147, il. 40 na s. 146.