Franz Anton Maulbertsch
Saint Felix of Valois and Saint John of Matha with the Holy Trinity
The work is one of the most intriguing paintings in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw. It depicts the Holy Trinity appearing to Saint Felix and Saint John of Matha, the founders of the religious order of Trinitarians. Although only a preparatory painting, possibly a modello to a larger composition, it characterize with a great expression and smoothness.
It was painted in grisaille with white highlights, brown and blue tones, in smooth, twisted, baroque forms. The scene of adoration of the dead body of Christ in the background is emerging from the clouds. Inert body of Christ, having been offered for the sins of the world, is supported by two angels and offered to God the Father. The stillness of the scene in the background is contrasted with the agitation in the foreground. It is a revelation to the two Saints enshrined in the mist of tormented sky.
Deformation and almost extraterrestrial appearance of Saint John of Matha (to the left) is another feature differentiating the painting and making the study more distinguish then the final painting.
The effigy of Saint John of Matha is almost identical with the painting in Trnava (created in 1755), while the figure was depicted quite differently in other known versions, also in grisaille, in Tours and in Graz. Several differences in technique and composition can be spotted between those versions. The pose of the two Saints as well as iconography of the Holy Trinity, rarely employed by Maulbertsch and referring to medieval Gnadenstuhl (Mercy Seat). According to dr. P. Preiss the Warsaw's painting could be a recordo executed by Maulbertsch's pupil, Franz Sigrist. It is supported by the obscurity of the Christ's legs, rectangle composition not set in an arcade, different dimensions and material, non typical for the artist.
Paintings preserved in the Landesmuseum Joanneum in Graz (oil on canvas, 72.5 × 42 cm (28.5 × 16.5 in), inventory number 206) and in the Museum of Fine Arts in Tours (oil on canvas, 80 × 40.5 cm (31.5 × 15.9 in), inventory number 874-5-56), are considered as studies for the final version in the high altar of church in Trnava. At that time the church belonged to the Trinitarians. In order to respond to the commission, the artist adjusted an earlier composition, created between 1747 and 1748. According to French researchers from CTHS the painting from Tours can be considered as a bozzetto, while the one from Graz as a modello.
The painting was acquired in 1976 from the collection of Krystyna Daszewska and included in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw under the number 7617 Tc/77.
It was painted in grisaille with white highlights, brown and blue tones, in smooth, twisted, baroque forms. The scene of adoration of the dead body of Christ in the background is emerging from the clouds. Inert body of Christ, having been offered for the sins of the world, is supported by two angels and offered to God the Father. The stillness of the scene in the background is contrasted with the agitation in the foreground. It is a revelation to the two Saints enshrined in the mist of tormented sky.
Deformation and almost extraterrestrial appearance of Saint John of Matha (to the left) is another feature differentiating the painting and making the study more distinguish then the final painting.
The effigy of Saint John of Matha is almost identical with the painting in Trnava (created in 1755), while the figure was depicted quite differently in other known versions, also in grisaille, in Tours and in Graz. Several differences in technique and composition can be spotted between those versions. The pose of the two Saints as well as iconography of the Holy Trinity, rarely employed by Maulbertsch and referring to medieval Gnadenstuhl (Mercy Seat). According to dr. P. Preiss the Warsaw's painting could be a recordo executed by Maulbertsch's pupil, Franz Sigrist. It is supported by the obscurity of the Christ's legs, rectangle composition not set in an arcade, different dimensions and material, non typical for the artist.
Paintings preserved in the Landesmuseum Joanneum in Graz (oil on canvas, 72.5 × 42 cm (28.5 × 16.5 in), inventory number 206) and in the Museum of Fine Arts in Tours (oil on canvas, 80 × 40.5 cm (31.5 × 15.9 in), inventory number 874-5-56), are considered as studies for the final version in the high altar of church in Trnava. At that time the church belonged to the Trinitarians. In order to respond to the commission, the artist adjusted an earlier composition, created between 1747 and 1748. According to French researchers from CTHS the painting from Tours can be considered as a bozzetto, while the one from Graz as a modello.
The painting was acquired in 1976 from the collection of Krystyna Daszewska and included in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw under the number 7617 Tc/77.
oil on paper mounted on canvas, second half of the 18th century, 43 × 32 cm (16.9 × 12.6 in), inventory number M.Ob.2622, currently not on permanent display, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie (MNW)
© Marcin Latka
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