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- Title
The Madonna of Hallstatt: New Findings About Its Acquisition and Polychromy.
- Authors
ANTUŠKOVÁ, VÁCLAVA; CHLUMSKÁ, ŠTĚPÁNKA; ŠEFCŮ, RADKA
- Abstract
This article arose from the need to provide a broader commentary, both textual and visual, regarding the conclusions from recent monographic research about the Madonna of Hallstatt (Salzburg, circa 1400, cast stone, the National Gallery in Prague, inv. no. P 226)—an extraordinarily significant work of Salzburg provenance now in the collections of the National Gallery in Prague. The Madonna of Hallstatt has been included in the permanent exhibitions at the National Gallery in Prague (and its predecessors) since the time it was purchased in the 1920s. Because of its exceptionally high quality and the materials that were used, it was included in the recent Czech- Austrian exhibition Beautiful Madonnas # Salzburg. Cast Stone around 1400, which was focused on artworks made of cast stone—a phenomenon of the so-called Beautiful Style variation of International Gothic sculpture from the Salzburg region. The exhibition was organised first at the Mining and Gothic Museum in Leogang, and later at the National Gallery in Prague (2019–2020). The Madonna is made from cast stone which was subjected to a petrographic analysis based on the requirements for the exhibition. This article presents an interdisciplinary perspective built on previous findings and highlights two main aspects. The first consists of the results of research in the Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, which document the circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the artwork and the role the then-Director Vincenc Kramář played in the purchase of the artwork for the state collections from the Viennese antique dealer and collector Filip Madl; the second consists of the results and interpretation of the material research performed on the polychromy. Several chronologically non-consecutive polychrome layers and plating have been identified on the sculpture as well as traces of the original polychromy, which provide a hint of the original colour scheme. Technical questions that have arisen regarding the oldest polychrome layers have also been beneficial, and we are finding further comparative data to help address these in more than just other stone sculpture works of Salzburg provenance from the period around 1400. In order to compare and study the workshop context, comparative parallels were sought in artworks made of the same cast stone material, particularly the sculpture the Madonna of Bad Aussee (Salzburg, circa 1405, Roman Catholic Parish in Bad Aussee), which was made in the same workshop environment as the Madonna of Hallstatt.
- Subjects
MARY, Blessed Virgin, Saint, in art; POLYCHROMY; SCULPTURE; MUSEUM acquisitions; ART museums
- Publication
Bulletin of the National Gallery in Prague / Bulletin Národní Galerie v Praze, 2020, Issue 30, p32
- ISSN
0862-8912
- Publication type
Article