|
This work belongs to the twenty-eight busts which decorated the former choir stalls of St. Martin's Church in Pozsony (Bratislava). The bearded male bust probably represents an apostle or a prophet. It was made on the basis of Donner's design by one of his assistants whose identity is hitherto unknown, but he certainly worked on the other busts of the series as well. The figure is somewhat related to some other bearded older male figures in Donner's "oeuvre", but falls behind in suggestiveness. The extremely long nose and the great eyes sitting under strong modelled eyebrows are also characteristic of other figures of the same wood-carver. The forked beard, which can also be observed on other busts of the same series, is similar to the beard of Donner's Enns figure on the Viennese "Providentiabrunnen". The smooth modelling and quiet manner of the face offer some contrast to the ecstatic expression of the half-opened mouth. This motif, hardly used by Donner, was a common Baroque technique for emotionalizing the look of the represented person.
At the bottom of the bust there is engraved the Roman numeral VIII. Hence the work might have originally stood in the eight place on the right or left side of the stalls. The circular socle was added certainly after 1867, the date when the stalls were moved from their original place.
|
