Zprávy památkové péče 2020, 80(1):76-88 | DOI: 10.56112/zpp.2020.1.09

The Na dlážkách sculpture gallery in Telč

Ondřej Hnilica, Adam Sekanina

NPÚ, ÚOP v Telči

The article focuses on an area of research interest taking place as part of the project NAKI II entitled Telč and the Jesuits, the Order and its Patrons. This is an ensemble of exterior early modern sculptures which are arranged into a certain gallery. The statues line the path from the core of present-day Telč to the Old Town to the "ancient" Marian shrine of the Church of the Mother of God. These are seven solitary statues (Guardian Angel, Archangel Michael, St. John of Nepomuk, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Wendelin, Archangel Raphael, St. John the Baptist) and a pair of figures of the Annunciation (Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary) in front of the gate to the cemetery near the church. The spatial location on the shore of the Old Town Pond and their only partial integration into the built-up area forms part of the phenomenon of the "sacralized landscape". This phenomenon, with its many layers of meanings, must now be reconstructed in order for us to understand it today. The statues line a certain "holy path", one of the basic types of this phenomenon, the intention of which is to prepare and stimulate pilgrims to its destination, the enigmatic depiction of Our Lady of Telč.
After a summary and critique of the historiography, the study focuses on uncovering the most probable scenario concerning the issue of the ensemble's dating and authorship. It implies that the sculptures must have been created in the years 1742-1749 by the sculptor Kaspar Ober, originally from Questenberg. The second part of the article deals with the sculptures in terms of their iconographic and iconological analysis. After a brief description, the meanings of the individual figures are summarized, both in general and with regard to the Society of Jesus, since it is assumed that the idea of the sculptures originated from the Order. The study also attempts to connect the sculpture gallery with the local burgher sodality of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, which was under the spiritual administration of the Jesuits. Thanks to a remarkable source, namely the Brotherhood Handbook which is about fifty years older than the sculptural ensemble, we believe that it is possible to identify the townspeople, who were its members, as possibly the ones who ordered the sculptures. This hypothesis would be supported today by the indistinct letters on the pedestals of some of the statues. As members of the sodality, these burghers could have participated in the communal work while stimulating their own piety and that of the pilgrims, but also thus providing an opportunity to represent themselves socially.
The unifying meaning-creating aspect of the individual figures in the ensemble is not only their obligatory function as a model and likeness, but also their closeness and accompaniment in everyday life and, of course, their meanings and roles in the history of salvation. The objective was, among other things, to evoke in the recipient the idea and desire to follow these patterns and guides and therefore to better prepare for the reception of the sacraments and to enable a better reception of divine grace through the local depiction of grace. Apart from these arguments, it has unfortunately not yet been possible to find an explicit document verifying the hypothesis presented.

Keywords: sculpture gallery, baroque, iconography, fraternities, Telč, Society of Jesus

Published: March 1, 2020  Show citation