page_title: Beautiful Madonna of Toruń
section_title: Analysis
hierarchical_section_title: Beautiful Madonna of Toruń / Analysis
caption_attribution_description: English: Toruń, St. Johns Church, Beautiful Madonna (copy) Polski: Toruń, katedra Świętych Janów, Piękna Madonna (kopia) Deutsch: Thorn, Johanneskirche, Schöne Madonna
context_page_description: The Beautiful Madonna from Toruń - a Gothic sculpture depicting Mary and Infant Jesus. One of the most valuable, in terms of artistic value, images of the Madonna and Child made at the turn of the 14th and 15th century. In terms of typology and stylistics, this work is pars pro toto of the Beautiful Madonna, an iconographic type shaped before 1400. The sculpted images of Beautiful Madonnas represent the Beautiful style, a stylistic trend shaped during the Gothic period in Central Europe.
  Before World War II, the sculpture of the Beautiful Madonna was located in the church of St. John, the former parish church of the Old Town, now a cathedral of the Diocese of Toruń. At the end of the war it was stolen and removed by the Germans - the trace was ultimately lost. Only the original console with the bust of Moses, which was the basis for the statue, has been preserved to this day. A faithful copy made in 1956 by Witold Marciniak was put in place of the lost sculpture of Mary and the Child.
context_section_description: Toruń's Beautiful Madonna is considered to be the quintessence of the style around 1400, but the tradition of Gothic realism has also been preserved, including the art style of Parlers (a family of sculptors). The dynamic, fluid composition, far-reaching idealization of beauty and subtle decoration of the abundant draperies of the robes and the studio contrast of Mary's posture, soft modeling of the Infant's body, correct proportions, knowledge of anatomy, spatiality of individual elements of the body and attention to detail confirm this stylish synthesis.
  The author of the figure, unknown by name, was once called by art historians the Master of Beautiful Madonnas or currently the Master of Beautiful Madonna of Toruń. His unknown career, as well as his oeuvre, origin and influence are the subject of many years of scientific discussions, although as a result of more recent research, the Master is credited, among others, with Praying Christ from the Church of St. John the Baptist in Malbork (currently in the collection of the local Castle Museum) and is associated with Pieta in the Church of St. Barbara in Krakow. However, the factors complicating the research on the work of the Toruń Master are the similarities of many other works in terms of composition, stylistics and ideological content, which were found in various places in Central Europe, hence the "international" character of art around 1400. The problem of the origin of the style of Toruń's work reflects to a large extent the unresolved issues of the sources of the beautiful style. The Czech Republic with Prague, Silesia with Wrocław, France with Paris, Austria with Salzburg and the Rhineland with Cologne are considered to be the main centres that were to shape the style around 1400. The court culture and the Parler's trend are important foundations for the beautiful style, these two tendencies have marked a large part of Europe. The Eastern Pomerania, which belonged to the Teutonic Knights' state, became an important artistic region around 1400, with the artistic centres in Gdansk, Torun, Elblag and the capital of the monastic state - Malbork. A number of works from around 1400 have been preserved in Toruń (including St. Mary Magdalene carried by angels from Toruń Cathedral), but each of them has its own characteristics, independent of the form of the Beautiful Madonna, with the exception of the Madonna of Good Hope (also known as the Pregnant Madonna) from Toruń City Hall, which went missing during the recent war. Researchers emphasize a strong link between the Beautiful Madonna of Toruń and the Beautiful Madonna of Wrocław, some of them associate both works with the same sculptor. Numerous similarities to the figure from Toruń can be observed in the statues of Mary and the Child in Bonn, Sternberk, as well as in Gdańsk (e.g. Pietà in the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary). Apart from Toruń, researchers point to Prague as the place of the creation of the Beautiful Madonna. Numerous stone sculptures were made in this city around 1400, including the Beautiful Madonna from Český Krumlov (currently in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna); however, according to most art historians, this figure has no direct workshop connection with sculptures from Wroclaw and Torun. The capital of the Czech Crown during the reign of the last Luxembourgers, mainly King Wenceslas IV (1378-1419), and his father Charles IV, belonged to the main art centres of Central Europe.
  The beautiful Madonna from Toruń is also characterized by rich symbolism and ideological content. The extraordinary beauty of Mary is reflected in theology by the spiritual beauty of the Mother of God. Because of the fruit of the apple tree passed on to Christ, Mary becomes a New Eve and Jesus a New Adam. This gesture means the forgiveness of the sins of humanity and its forefather and foremother, who were the first to reach out and taste the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge against God's will. The naked body of the Child presented by Mary not only reflects the Savior's humanity, but is also assoc
caption: Reconstruction of the Beautiful Madonna and the original console with Moses
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