Location
Austria, Styria, Graz
Bürgerspital church Holy Spirit (Bürgerspitalskirche Hl Geist)
Gries
Artwork
The pulpit of Bürgerspital Church in Graz
Type
Pulpit
Critical History
The stucco-lustro pulpit of Bürgerspital Church was built between 1734 and 1738.1 Its sculptural decoration (angels and putti) is said to be executed in the style of Philipp Jakob Straub.2 What speaks for the authorship of the artist is the twisted and highly moved body composition of the sitting angel with the book of the seven seals and a communion cup on the sounding board. His feet point in one direction, his arms in the other; his muscles are defined in a very precise way. The mannered posture of the fingers is also typical for Straub’s oeuvre, the same applies to the billowing clothing which exposes most of the body. The putti are executed in a similar dynamic manner, also the cloudscape under the pulpit shows the characteristic forms typical for Straub. There should also be a relief with “Noah’s Ark” on the sounding board,3 but it isn’t present any more.
The angel and putti are coloured in white, which can also be seen at the sculptures of the high altar and the pulpit in Hollenegg or the sculpture of St John of Nepomuk in Thannhausen.
Construction / Execution
The pulpit has a rectangular shape, while the sounding board shows curved forms. It is decorated with vivacious angels and putti. It is supported by a console-shaped cloudscape and a putto, which acts like an atlas. On the pulpit there are two putti as well as two herm-like putti, whose lower body end in gilded volutes. The pulpit is accessible from behind.
Components
- Carpentry
- Completed: 1734 – 1738
- Technique(s): sawing
- Material(s): wood
- Sculpture
- Author: Philipp Jakob Straub (Wiesensteig 1706 – Graz 1774)
- Completed: 1734 – 1738
- Technique(s): wood carving
- Material(s): wood
- Polychromy
- Completed: 1734 – 1738
- Material(s): gold leaf, red bole
Images
- The pulpit of Bürgerspital church in Graz (photo by Anja Lindbichler, 2018)
- Pulpit, detail, Bürgerspital Church, Graz (photo by Anja Lindbichler, 2018)
- Sounding board, pulpit, Bürgerspital Church, Graz (photo by Anja Lindbichler, 2018)
Catalogue entry prepared by Christina Pichler, Margit Stadlober
Recommended citation: Christina Pichler, Margit Stadlober, The pulpit of Bürgerspital Church in Graz, in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 27/01/2026) URL
