Location
Austria, Styria, Graz
Façade of building Sterngasse 12 (Fassade des Gebäudes Sterngasse 12)
Gries
Artwork
The sculptural group of St Francis Xavier, Mary Immaculate and St Florian on the façade of house Sterngasse 12
Type
Sculptural group
Critical History
The house Sterngasse 12 was rebuilt about 1765/70 by Joseph Hueber.1 The façade in late baroque style shows an impressive basket-arch stone portal as well as three sculptural groups created by Philipp Jakob Straub. The first one can be seen over the portal and shows the death of St Francis Xavier, bedded on a cloudscape. His eyes are closed, his right hand holds a cross. The left hand is gripped by an angel, supporting him from beneath. It’s a very gentle and emotional scene, flanked by two putti on clouds. On the left corner we see the sculpture of Mary Immaculate, standing on a massive cloudscape on a rocaille- console with folded hands. In 1972 the head was renewed.2 The counterpart on the right corner is the sculpture of St Florian with typical bulging eyes and a mild facial expression.
The sculptures are of the high technical quality and artistic meaningfulness typical for the artist’s other sandstone statues of that period – in contrast to the carvings, which already show classical tendencies.3
Construction / Execution
The sculptures are made of carved sandstone.
Components
- Sculpture
- Author: Philipp Jakob Straub (Wiesensteig 1706 – Graz 1774)
- Completed: 1760 – 1770
- Technique(s): stone carving
- Material(s): sandstone
Comment
The collaboration between Philipp Jakob Straub and Joseph Hueber is not an isolated case and can be seen from several examples, like the façade sculptures of Mariahilf Church as well as the sculptures of Mariahilferstraße 1 and 16.
Images
- The basket-arch stone portal of Sterngasse 12, Graz (photo by Anja Lindbichler, 2018)
- Death of St Francis Xavier, Detail, portal Sterngasse 12, Graz (photo by Anja Lindbichler, 2018)
- The statue of Mary Immaculate, façade of Sterngasse 12, Graz (photo by Anja Lindbichler, 2018)
- Mary Immaculate, Detail, Sterngasse 12, Graz (photo by Anja Lindbichler, 2018)
- The statue of St Florian, façade of Sterngasse 12, Graz (photo by Anja Lindbichler, 2018)
- St Florian, Detail, Sterngasse 12, Graz (photo by Anja Lindbichler, 2018)
Catalogue entry prepared by Christina Pichler and Dagmar Probst
Recommended citation: Christina Pichler and Dagmar Probst, The sculptural group of St Francis Xavier, Mary Immaculate and St Florian on the façade of house Sterngasse 12, in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 25/01/2026) URL
