MOVING A GOTHIC SCULPTURE. IT IS NOW IN THE CLOISTER

Until now, visitors to the Zdík Palace, which is part of the tour route of the Archdiocesan Museum Olomouc, could admire the Gothic sculpture of Christ on Mount Olivet in the local chapel. Since the beginning of this week, the statues of Christ and Saints Peter, John and James the Greater have been on display on a new pedestal in the adjacent cloister.

“The Olomouc sculpture from the 1530s is undoubtedly one of the most important works of European late Gothic. It was originally polychromed in a harmonious harmony of red, blue, green and white, following the enduring tradition of the beautiful style of the late 14th century. The sculpture belongs to the parish of St. Moritz in Olomouc. Now, a copy is placed on the outer south wall of the church between the first and second western pillar of the nave,” explains Jana Hrbáčová, curator of the Olomouc Museum of Art. “This is not the original location of the sculptures. They were probably made for the former cemetery or the cemetery chapel at the Church of St. Moritz.”

The scene of Christ praying alone in the Garden of Gethsemane while the apostles Peter, John and James the Greater fell into sleep is one of the most important sacred themes. These works were intended to encourage personal prayer, mortification and sharing in the sufferings of Christ. The Olomouc sculpture was probably made of local Mladějov sandstone. The touching face of the praying Christ with his eyes turned towards heaven, together with the emphasis on his naked knees kneeling on the hard rock, reflects the influence of the new Dutch realism. The monumentality of the figures of the three sleeping apostles, draped in jagged, woven draperies, is also related to it, following the style of the van Eyck brothers.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)