Article cover
Essay

The Lost Gothic Statue of St. Wenceslas at the Old Town Bridge Tower

Jana Gajdošová

Published online:

01 Sep 2017

Abstract

Abstract

This article suggests that a Gothic statue of St. Wenceslas once stood in front of Prague’s Old Town Bridge Tower in a location where a miracle associated with the translation of the saint’s body occurred. Consequently, the statue complemented the east façade’s sculptural program but was also set away from it in order to signal the saint’s significance here. This location in turn encouraged the viewers below to interact with the statue in a very intimate way, and also to make a link between this canonized Bohemian ruler and Emperor Charles IV. The emperor’s own statue on the façade, fashioned with the symbols of St. Wenceslas, leaned out of its architectural niche in order to look down at the saint-king and to emphasize the link between the two rulers.

Other articles in this issue:

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte Issues

Volume 87 (2024)
Volume 86 (2023)
Volume 85 (2022)
Volume 84 (2021)
Volume 83 (2020)
Volume 82 (2019)
Volume 81 (2018)
Volume 80 (2017)
Volume 79 (2016)

Get instant, unlimited access to this journal

Related titles

Would you like to receive monthly information about new publications and events?

DKV
EUR
English

Deutscher Kunstverlag

Genthiner Straße 13

10785 Berlin

+49 (0)30 / 27 90 76 - 0

Neumarkter Straße 28

81673 München