Artworks Catalogue

Varaždin, Ursuline church, organ, sculpture of King David (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Miroslav Pavličić, 2018)
Varaždin, Ursuline church, organ, sculpture of the left putto (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Miroslav Pavličić, 2018)
Varaždin, Ursuline church, organ, sculpture of the right putto (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Miroslav Pavličić, 2018)

Location

Croatia, Varaždin County, Varaždin

Ursuline church of the Birth of Jesus (Uršulinska crkva Rođenja Isusovog)

Artwork

Sculptures on the Organ in the Ursuline Church in Varaždin

Type

Organ case

Critical History

The first written record of the sculptures of King David accompanied by two small putti on the organ1 was in the canonical visitation in 1764, which noted that they had been polychromed and gilded since the last visitation in 1752.2

They have not been attributed nor published yet. Given that Joseph Straub was invited by the head of the monastery for the execution of the sculptures for the side altar of Saint John Nepomuk in 1745, he might have been commissioned again several years later for the execution of the sculptures on the organ case. The sculptural composition with King David and angels with instruments is a common theme for decorating an organ case, so comparable examples are also found within Joseph Straub's ouvre (Sladka Gora,3 Ruše4). However, there are striking similarities regarding the physical features, the pose and the treatment of the drapery of the left putto in Varaždin with the putto holding two short sticks (claves) on the organ in Birkfeld, the work by Philipp Jakob Straub in 1765. Furthermore, strong resemblances are also evident with the puttos on the attic of the side altar of St. Cross in Varaždin dated in 1762-1764 or for example, with the puttos on the choir in the parish church in Ehrenhausen, also attributed to Philipp Jakob. Hence, one cannot completely reject the possibility of Philipp Jakob's involvement in the execution of the sculptures on the organ case in the ursuline church in Varaždin.

Construction / Execution

The sculptures crown the organ casing situated on the church's choir. In the middle is the figure of King David holding a harp, accompanied by two small puttos on either side of the case holding trumpets.

Components

Sculpture
Author: Philipp Jakob Straub (Wiesensteig 1706 – Graz 1774)
Completed: ca. ca. 1752
Technique(s): wood carving
Polychromy
Completed: 1752 – 1764
Technique(s): oil gilding, water gilding
Material(s): gold

Images

  1. Varaždin, Ursuline church, organ, sculpture of King David (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Miroslav Pavličić, 2018)
  2. Varaždin, Ursuline church, organ, sculpture of the left putto (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Miroslav Pavličić, 2018)
  3. Varaždin, Ursuline church, organ, sculpture of the right putto (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Miroslav Pavličić, 2018)

Catalogue entry prepared by Martina Ožanić and Ksenija Škarić

Recommended citation: Martina Ožanić and Ksenija Škarić, Sculptures on the Organ in the Ursuline Church in Varaždin, in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 25/10/2025) URL

Sources and Bibliography

  1. Archive of the Archbishopric of Zagreb, Canonical visitations, Album Deserviens Visitationibus Monialium Societatis, Sanctae Ursulae in Civitate Varasdinensi fundati Claustri ab Anno 1714 tempore Vicariatus Illustrissimi Domini Nicolai Gotthal a quo etiam emptum est. Protocol 210, 1761
  2. Sergej Vrišer, Baročno kiparstvo na slovenskem Štajerskem, Maribor, Obzorja, 1963
  3. Ladislav Šaban, Glazbene mogućnosti Varaždina u 18. i prvoj polovini 19. stoljeća, in: RAD, Knj. 377, Zagreb, JAZU, Razred za muzičku umjetnost, 1978, 129–194
  4. Marija Assumpta Svalina, Ana Klaudija Đuran, Hrvatske uršulinke, povodom 275-godišnjice osnutka uršulinskog samostana u Varaždinu, Varaždin, Provincijalat hrvatskih uršulinki, 1979
  5. Sergej Vrišer, Vodnik po ruških cerkvah, Ruše, Župnijski ured, 1995
  6. Darja Koter, Likovna oprema baročnih orgel: Johann Frančišek Janeček in dekoracija njegovih orgelskih omar, in: Muzikološki zbornik, XLV/1, Ljubljana, Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, 2009, 45–63
  7. Valentina Pavlič, Late baroque sculptor Joseph Straub and his works for the Church of Saint Mary in Sladka gora, Slovenia, in: Axios, ISSN 2545–4285, vol. 2, 2017, 223–236, URL

Notes

1 According to Ladislav Šaban, the instrument was constructed in an unknown workshop, most likely in Graz. In 1925, however, the instrument was replaced with a new one, but the original case with sculptures on top have been preserved. Ladislav Šaban, 1978, 140.

2 "In choro organum elegans et post ultiman visitationem diversis aptisque coloribus depictus, in cuius summitate in medio statua Davidis a dextris vero et sinistris angelorum simulacris ornatum concipitur: statuae praemissae ex maiori parte sunt inauratae." Archives of the Archdiocese of Zagreb, Canonical visitations, Album Deserviens Visitationibus Monialium Societatis... Protocol 210, 1764, 235. (Transcribed by Šime Demo). 
See also Marija Assumpta Svalina, Ana Klaudija Đuran, 1979, 59

3 Sergej Vrišer, 1963, 169; Darja Koter, 2009, 56.
Valentina Pavlič agrees with Sergej Vrišer that the two pair of puttos (two violinists and two trumpeters) on the organ case in Sladka Gora "reveal them as significant works of Joseph Straub". However, she believes that the sculptures of King David and six angel heads "are not so well made and were evidently not made by the same sculptor". Valentina Pavlič, 2017, 230.

4 Sergej Vrišer, 1995, 15; Darja Koter, 2009, 53

The TrArS project is dedicated to the study and presentation of artworks created by members of the Straub family in 18th century Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. This website is being updated regularly and reflects the current state of the ongoing research.

Project Management Office

Ksenija Škarić, project manager
Croatian Conservation Institute

Creative Europe