Artworks Catalogue

Location

Croatia, Zagreb County, Bedenica

Parish Church of All Saints (Župna crkva Svih svetih)

Artwork

Sculptures in the Parish Church of All Saints in Bedenica

Type

Sculpture

Inscriptions

1. Obnovljeno 1939 / u vreme g.župnika M. Marenčića / i g. kapelana Antuna Pem/Cmerekar slikar (on the back of the high altar)

Critical History

The parish church in Bedenica underwent significant alterations in the past and the present state is a result of the 19^th and 20^th century interventions (see Ins. 1). The archival records provide very little information. The high altar was first mentioned in a very brief text in the canonical visitation in 1795 as commissioned by the parish priest [Stjepan Švagel]. 1 Since Švagel had been appointed as the parish priest in 1776, Lelja Dobronić concluded that the high altar must have been built in around 1780. She added that the sculptures of St Joseph, St Sebastian, Pope St Gregory I and St Paul on the high altar probably belonged to the side altars of Saint Bartholomew and Saint Lawrence originally in the chapel in Otrčkovec, of which there are only very brief descriptions.2 The parish chronicle noted that the side altar of Saint Bartholomew had been removed and replaced by a new one in 1819. 3

Of all the sculptures in the parish church, the sculptures of Saint Lawrence, Saint Joseph, Saint Sebastian and the small putto bear resemblances to Franz Anton Straub's style. The sculpture of Saint Lawrence, now on the side altar of Saint Anthony of Padua, was attributed to Franz Anton Straub by Doris Baričević, who commented it had all characteristics of his style. 4 The sculptures of Saint Joseph and Saint Sebastian on the high altar have not been attributed yet, but their stylistic features share similarities with the sculptures attributed to Franz Anton Straub and his workshop. Furthermore, the sculpture of Saint Sebastian, particularly his pose and the way his curled lock of hair falls on his shoulder, is similar to the figure of the same saint in Egervár, attributed to Philipp Jakob Straub (now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, Inv. no. 4963). 5 However, the sculptures were heavily repainted during the 1970s or 1980s so that it is difficult to discern the quality of their artistic expression.

Components

Carpentry

Technique(s): sawing

Material(s): wood

Sculpture

Author: (workshop) Franz Anton Straub

Polychromy

Polychromy

First repolychromy

Author: Ivan Cmerekar

Completed: 1939

Polychromy

Second repolychromy

Completed: ca. 1970 – ca. 1980

Comment

The sculptures on the high altar were repainted with a new layer of repolychromy probably during the 1970s or 1980s.
The sculpture of the small putto on the tabernacle of the high altar has been recently renovated.

Images

1. Sculpture of Saint Sebastian (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Goran Tomljenović, 2018)
2. Sculpture of Saint Joseph (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Goran Tomljenović, 2018)
3. High altar in parish church in Bedenica (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Goran Tomljenović, 2018)
4. Sculpture of Saint Lawrence on the side altar of Saint Anthony (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Goran Tomljenović, 2018)