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Last edited by Bearcat (talk | contribs) 5 days ago. (Update) |
The Apostles is a stained glass window by Józef Mehoffer in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Fribourg, Switzerland. It was the first window the artist made for the cathedral. Its design won an international competition in 1895. The window was installed in November 1896. This began Mehoffer's work for the cathedral, which lasted until 1936.[1][2]
Origins and competition
editThe renewal of the glazing of the collegiate church of St. Nicholas began in 1892 on the initiative of the local Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament. The design was chosen through an international competition announced in 1895. Its adviser was the Swiss art historian Johann Rudolf Rahn.[1] Entrants had to prepare a design for a window with four apostles. The jury chose Mehoffer's work; second place went to Carl Ule of Munich.[3] The window was installed in November 1896.[4]
Description
editThe window has two main openings and four lancets. Each lancet holds one figure, but together they form a single programme. Each lancet has three zones: an upper zone with symbols, a central zone with the figure, and a lower zone with the name and attributes. The figures stand under late-Gothic canopies that echo the cathedral's architecture.[1][3]
Mehoffer used a technique close to cloisonné. A strong black contour encloses flat areas of colour, and the lead and paint act as drawing. He worked mainly in pot-metal antique glass, with modelling in Schwarzlot and silver stain.[1] The window was made by the Fribourg workshop of Kirsch & Fleckner.[3]
Iconography
editFrom the left the window shows Peter, John the Evangelist, James the Great and Andrew.[1]
- Peter covers his face with his hands after denying Christ. His attributes are the cock and the crossed keys. The background shows the dome of St. Peter's Basilica and a sailing ship.[3]
- John points to the vision of the Apocalypse above him. His attribute is the eagle.[1]
- James the Great appears in a scene from the Golden Legend. The sorcerer Hermogenes is at his feet, and an angel drives off a demon above him.[5]
- Andrew raises his arms upward. His attribute is the X-shaped cross, and the lower zone bears the inscription O bona crux.[3]
Significance
editSee also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 von Roda, Hortensia (1995). Die Glasmalereien von Józef Mehoffer in der Kathedrale St. Nikolaus in Freiburg i. Üe. Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte der Schweiz, no. 7 (in German). Bern: Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte. ISBN 3-7165-0969-8.
- 1 2 "Art Nouveau stained glass by Józef Mehoffer in Fribourg". POLONIKA Institute. Retrieved 2026-06-09.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Sauterel, Valérie (2007). "Les vitraux de Józef Mehoffer". La cathédrale Saint-Nicolas de Fribourg. Miroir du gothique européen (in French). Lausanne–Fribourg: La Bibliothèque des Arts. pp. 166–180. ISBN 978-2-88453-132-0.
- 1 2 Adamowicz, Tadeusz (1982). Witraże fryburskie Józefa Mehoffera. Monografia zespołu (in Polish). Wrocław: Ossolineum.
- ↑ de Voragine, Jacobus (1993). The Golden Legend. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-00153-1.
Further reading
edit- Tadeusz Adamowicz, Witraże fryburskie Józefa Mehoffera. Monografia zespołu, Wrocław 1982.
- Hortensia von Roda, Die Glasmalereien von Józef Mehoffer in der Kathedrale St. Nikolaus in Freiburg i. Üe., Bern 1995, ISBN 3-7165-0969-8.
- Valérie Sauterel, "Les vitraux de Józef Mehoffer", in La cathédrale Saint-Nicolas de Fribourg. Miroir du gothique européen, Lausanne–Fribourg 2007, pp. 166–180.