Tactile Exhibition

HAPTIC TRAIL – CLOISTER

REMOVABLE ENLARGED CAPTIONS IN BLACK PRINT FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

Introduction to the tactile exhibition The National Gallery Prague owns a large collection of medieval cast reproductions. More than a dozen works were selected from these, clearly demonstrating the stylistic transformation of sculptural form from the Romanesque period to the late Gothic. The selection clearly shows how sculptors' approach to depicting religious images and everyday reality changed over the centuries. The exhibited set captures stone and wood carvings in copies. The originals of some of them remained for centuries in the places for which they were created. This is the case, for example, with the portrait busts from Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral or the beautiful Pilsen Madonna. We can now encounter others in gallery exhibitions.

Introduction to Gothic sculpture Gothic style has its roots in France and came to us indirectly, especially via the Rhineland, in the mid-13th century. Early medieval sculpture was closely intertwined with architecture. Statues were placed both outside and inside. They often adorned portals and vestibules; indoors, they were on consoles, columns, and pillars, complementing altar decorations. Later, sculptures were increasingly used outside of architecture, which led to a change in their format and the diversity of materials used. In addition to stone carvings, usually made of marlstone or sandstone, many woodcarvings have been preserved. In the Czech lands, linden wood was most often used, more rarely fruit trees and conifers. Woodcarvings, and some stone sculptures, were usually provided with a coloured finish – polychromy.

Votive Relief from St. George's Basilica

Bohemia, before 1228 Cast: patinated plaster Original: golden marlstone, remnants of original polychromy, central part h. 88 cm, w. 57 cm, wings h. 66 cm, w. 27 cm

The relief consists of three parts, most likely secondarily joined into a single whole. The surface of the central panel is filled by the most important figure of the enthroned Virgin Mary. She holds the Infant Jesus on her lap, depicted in profile and with a raised blessing right hand. In both upper corners, angels with censers float on clouds. They place a crown on Mary's head, which is surrounded by a halo, just like the angels'. The engraved Latin inscription on the frame identifies the small figures kneeling at Mary's feet below the steps of the throne. To the left, Princess Mlada, sister of Prince Boleslav II, is depicted with clasped hands. She was the abbess of the first women's Benedictine monastery of St. George at Prague Castle, which her brother founded in 973. On the opposite side, the praying abbess Berta is depicted. On the right wing kneels King Přemysl Otakar I, as indicated by the preserved inscription on the edge of the frame, and on the opposite wing, a praying nun, probably Abbess Agnes, the king's half-sister.

Madonna from Prostějov

Master of the Michel Madonna – workshop Prague (?), around 1340 Cast: patinated plaster, head of the Madonna h. 32 cm Original: linden wood, remnants of original polychromy, h. 113.5 cm

The sculpture is attributed to the workshop of an excellent carver active in Prague or Brno in the second quarter of the 14th century. He is provisionally called the Master of the Michel Madonna, after one of his most famous works. The Michel Madonna is exhibited in the long-term exhibition of medieval art here. The exhibited head of the Prostějov Madonna is part of a carving of a standing Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus. Mary is without a crown, a veil in the back covers her hair and does not fall freely over her shoulders but wraps around her entire chest. The detailed fine carving on the crown of the parted strands of wavy hair is striking. They are twisted into deep folds that frame the face. A hinted smile enlivens the face with wide-open eyes, a short, gently curved nose, and a small chin.

Franciscan Madonna

Prague (?), after 1350 Cast: epoxy resin, polychromy Original: linden wood, later polychromy, h. 134 cm

The statue adorned the cloister of the Franciscan monastery in Plzeň. The figure of the Virgin Mary is tall, elongated, imperceptibly curved, and steps slightly forward. The child sits unnaturally high on her right arm, its head almost level with Mary's. The Infant Jesus is naked, and a drape covers his hips. He is depicted almost in profile, and both his hands point towards Mary's outstretched left hand. The sphere, which the Saviour holds in his left hand, symbolises the supreme power of the future unlimited ruler. Deep contemplation and a certain rigidity are disrupted by the lively gesture of the child's hands. Mary's face is framed by intricately braided strands of long hair, and her crownless head is covered by a veil. The plain undergarment is covered by a cloak on her chest, fastened by a clasp. The right tip of the cloak, draped over her arm, creates several sharply cut folds, which disrupt the otherwise flowing rhythm of the garment.

Peter Parler

St. Vitus workshop, 1378 - 1379 Cast: epoxy resin, patinated Original: sandstone, 63 x 60 cm

The respect enjoyed by the work of the architect of St. Vitus Cathedral is evidenced by the inclusion of his likeness in the portrait gallery of royal family members in the triforium of St. Vitus Cathedral. The triforium is a gallery within the thickness of the church wall of a cathedral type, open to the interior and located below the windows and above the arcades in the choir and nave. As the inscription above the bust in the triforium attests, Charles IV invited the twenty-three-year-old Peter Parler to Prague and appointed him builder of St. Vitus Cathedral in 1356. In the portrait, he has an oval face with slightly sunken cheeks, a high arched forehead, and sparse, short-cropped hair combed behind his ears. The gaze of his eyes, without emphasized eyelids, suggests deep contemplation. A short beard on an indistinct chin follows the moustache under a narrow, regular nose. The turned-up collar edge creates a natural bowl-shaped fold under the neck. The master's emblem is well preserved on his chest: a stonemason's square on a shield.

Charles IV

St. Vitus workshop, 1375 - 1378 Cast: epoxy resin, patinated Original: sandstone, 58 x 59 cm

Charles IV was often depicted in the 14th century. His likeness can be found in wall, panel, and book painting, in mosaic, goldsmithery, on seals and coins. The portrait of Charles IV from the triforium of St. Vitus Cathedral, like other portrait busts, was created life-size, polychromed, and supplemented with an emblem. The likenesses of the royal family members are arranged in a strict hierarchy. In the most honourable place in the centre is the bust of Charles IV. The king here has large, widely spaced eyes. The upper eyelid is emphasized by two strong lines, the lower one is almost straight. Slightly open lips under a strong, short nose are bordered by a plastically emphasized moustache and beard. Long, wide ribbons ending in tassels cover the hair on the sides. They overlap the raised collar edge. They are remnants of a mitre – a liturgical head covering.

Anna of Świdnica

St. Vitus workshop, 1375 - 1378 Cast: patinated plaster Original: sandstone, 55 x 53 cm

The fourteen-year-old daughter of Duke Henry of Świdnica, Princess Anna, became the third wife of the then thirty-seven-year-old Charles IV on May 27, 1353. Two months later, she was crowned Queen of Bohemia in Prague and on February 9, 1354, Queen of the Romans in Aachen. Anna of Świdnica's likeness is one of the most charming busts in the triforium. An oval face on a slender neck with a high, wide forehead is framed by long natural strands of hair that fall freely over her shoulders. A gentle smile, joyful eyes, a small narrow nose, and a small chin resemble the loveliness of the Madonnas of the emerging beautiful style. Anna of Świdnica's life ended prematurely. She died a year after the birth of her son Václav (born February 26, 1361), the heir to the throne eagerly awaited by all.

Console with Dog and Cat

St. Vitus workshop, 1370 - 1380 Cast: patinated plaster Original: sandstone, 42 x 73 cm

Gothic architecture was also complemented by fantastic animal and grotesque motifs. On the outer triforium of St. Vitus Cathedral, under the consoles, there are small animal reliefs: a lioness with cubs, a bear, a horse, a unicorn, an eagle, a cat, a chicken's head, and on the inner triforium, a male mask and a struggling cat and dog. The depiction of a cat in the Middle Ages is often associated with both positive and negative meanings. A dog is an image of loyalty, but also of envy and anger. In the relief from St. Vitus Cathedral, a cat is depicted on the left, threatened from the right by an attacking dog with bared teeth. It is arched. Its right front paw is broken, and the left one rests against the dog's head in defence. Its hind legs are braced against the attacker's body. The relief of the cat and dog, which we reproduce on the next page, is an example of a work in which the sculptor showed his sense of…