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Figure of a Saint Man

Franciszek Oledzki

Basic information

ID: С-I-1118
Author: Franciszek Oledzki
Name: Figure of a Saint Man
Date of creation: 18th c.
Culture: Eastern Europe
Technique: carving
Material: wood whitewash
Dimensions: 132 x 68 x 47 cm (height x width x depth)

Additionally

Type: sculpture 3D
Genre: religious

Information about author

Author: Franciszek Oledzki
Author in the original: Franciszek Olędzki
Artist's lifetime: c. 1745–1792
Country: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, now Ukraine
Biography: Franciszek Oledzki was a Lviv sculptor of the second half of the eighteenth century. There are not enough documented works about the artist. His creative activity dates between 1760 and 1792. The author worked with various materials: limestone, marble, stucco, wood (linden was the primary material) and mostly carved round sculptures. Since the 1770s, Oledzki worked in Lviv: he performed stained glass works in the Latin Cathedral (from June 14, 1773 to November 4, 1779, he worked on four altars, a throne for the bishop, and various ornaments); in the Dormition Church, the artist made an iconostasis; in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, he carved an altar with figures of saints. In addition to Lviv, Franciszek Oledzki worked in Berestechko, Buchach, and Lopatyn. In 1774, he signed an agreement with the superior of the Dominican monastery in Pidkamin to perform sculptural works. A characteristic feature of the sculptor's work is the figures' expressive poses and dynamic gestures – his angels seem to be flying in the sky. The professionalism of the master is felt in the filigree facial features, movements of the depicted figures, and peculiar curls of their hair.

Object description

The dynamism of the work is evident in the elongated proportions of a saint man, his pose, and theatrical movements. All this is intensified by the folds of the man's clothing. The head of the figure is turned and tilted to the right shoulder. The sculptor carved the person's large eyes, a straight nose, and a slightly open mouth with a protruding upper lip in detail. The curls of fluttering hair are made in the manner typical of a sculptor. The massive neck smoothly passes into the body. The elongated figure of the saint man is reproduced in the type of the S-shaped silhouette (figura serpentinata), which dominates in Baroque sculpture. Dynamic horizontal and vertical folds of clothing envelop every bend of the man's body, full of expression and action.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Figure of a Saint Man

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