Saint AugustineSouth GermanyAround 1700Carved lime wood & polychromyHeight 134 cmSaint Augustine (354-430) is a church father and was trained as a rhetorician before converting to Christianity due to an apparition. He preached in Hippo Regius in North Africa, where he was ordained a priest and later even became a bishop. He is considered one of the greatest theologians in church history. His most famous work is the autobiographical Confessions ("Confessiones"), which he wrote around 400 and which expressed his fiery love of God. Therefore, he was given a flaming heart as an attribute as well as a book, the Holy Scriptures. The saint is portrayed as a wise elderly man with a long rakish beard. He wears the typical bishop's insignia such as mitre and crosier. In his right gloved hand, he presents his identifying attribute to the viewer, namely the flaming heart. He is wrapped in a long golden cloak, splendidly decorated with floral patterns at the seams and fastened by a large clasp in front of his chest. Underneath he wears what must be a silver and now oxidised dark robe. His gaze is turned downwards; he is possibly looking at the heart in his hand. The large almond-shaped eyes with prominent lids are rapturously lowered, his mouth slightly open. He is often depicted reciting from the Holy Scriptures, so it is possible that he is also absorbed in prayer here. Stylistically, the figure can be dated to the period around 1700, particularly striking because of the wind-blown beard and the drapery of the cloak asymmetrically hugging him. The large bowl fold under his left arm directs the viewer's gaze to the saint's central attribute. The figure of Saint Augustine on the Baroque pulpit (1706) in the parish church of Sankt Wolfgang in Upper Austria, which was made by Meinrad Guggenbichler (Einsiedeln 1649 - Mondsee 1723), can be considered a relatedparative example. He is an important Baroque sculptor who is particularly known for the softly modelled, flowing hair of his figures. There is a particular resemblance here to the figure of a Holy Abbot in the Bavarian National Museum (61/51.1-2). Nevertheless, the saint's prominently elaborated facial features and mannerist drapery already refer to works by later Rococo sculptors such as Johann Baptist Straub (cf. Victoria & Albert Museum A.2-1953).Bibliography:Hermann Bauer, Kunst in Bayern, Rosenheim 1985.Hermann Bauer, Baroque - Art of an Epoch, Berlin 1992.