Page 105 - AC-3-3

Arts & Communication Altar “Passion of Christ” in Lviv

In the design of the side narrative reliefs “The Road to Renaissance altar. Its order-based composition is quite
Golgotha,” “Crowning with Thorns,” “Nailing to the Cross,” complex.
and “Scourging” (Figures 6 and 7), the sculptor sought The top of the altar is represented by three narrative
monumentality of form, thoroughly conveying the Gospel scenes, varying in proportions: small bas-reliefs depicting
narrative, which was characteristic of the Renaissance era. the final moments of Jesus Christ before the suffering and
Through plastic artistic language, the master conveyed in a central large bas-relief narrative of the victorious glory of
these scenes the feelings of helplessness against the pervasive the Son of God. The main part of the top is an aedicule with
evil of life. Sculptor Jan Zaremba succeeded in understanding a triangular pediment, culminating in a majestic cartouche
and expressing emotions, human experiences, sorrow, and crowned with a small Crucifixion. The central relief of
the intense expression of Christ’s suffering, as well as tragic the top is the large “Resurrection” relief, flanked by the
tension, with such depth and richness of shades that it small bas-reliefs “Last Supper” and “Agony in the Garden”
seems natural and realistic. Each Gospel story on the altar (Figure 8A-D). In the “Resurrection” relief (Figure 8B), the
appears as an independent composition, but together they sculptor realistically depicted the triumphant exaltation of
complement each other to form a narrative Gospel cycle. 1(p.63) the God-Man, Jesus Christ – the second person of the Holy
In constructing these narrative scenes, Zaremba not only Trinity – over the surrounding real world and prevailing evil.
adhered to the established Western iconographic tradition
but also infused them with distinct folk elements. Notable Having undergone all trials, torments, and suffering for the
among these are the depictions of local figures, such as a Lviv salvation of sinful mankind, Christ triumphed over death,
burgher with characteristic headgear, an Akkerman merchant, transforming into another physical body in human likeness,
a prisoner peering through the bars of a gate to observe the and emerged in spiritual majesty. The relief’s plasticity is
events, and a corpulent figure from the Reformation era, rich with energy and a wealth of artistic language. God
with spectacles perched on his nose. 1(p.63) The narrative bas- the Father, depicted by the master with outstretched arms
reliefs of the altar are marked by excessive expression. The above the “Resurrection” narrative scene, shows that He
sculptor realized them in the manner of Dutch pictorial relief welcomes His Son, who gave His physical body as a ransom
with its perspective compositions. However, there are also for humanity, back into the Heavenly Kingdom.
differences in the plastic interpretation of the scene “Nailing In the side bas-relief “Last Supper” (Figure 8C), the
to the Cross” with its flat traditional treatment of forms. sculptor realistically depicted the scene where Christ meets
Although the bas-relief compositions of the narrative scenes with his disciples for the last time at dinner to announce
are supplemented with Mannerist motifs – cartouche with the betrayal by one of them. In this narrative composition,
volutes – in the altar, the sculptor conveyed the esthetic tastes sculptor Zaremba used plastic means to convey the
of contemporary Ukrainian society.
The refined treatment of the bas-reliefs in the Passion of A B
Christ cycle of the altar, combined with the columns entirely
covered in geometric ornamentation and grapevine motifs,
attests to the high skill and talent of the Renaissance-era
sculptor. In the altar’s plastic treatment, the sculptor aimed
for monumentality of form, meticulously conveying the
Gospel events in multi-figure scenes, emphasizing the
portrait-like qualities of faces, the dynamic movement of
figures, and the tragedy of the characters, which compels
the viewer to empathize. In the completed images of the
Passion of Christ scenes, the sculptor realistically captured
profound human emotions. C D
A distinctive feature of the architectural design of
the Scholz-Wolfowicz altar is its perfect proportions,
constructed according to the golden ratio, where all
elements are harmoniously proportionate to each other in
scale. The composition of the altar fits into a square, based
on the principle of the golden ratio, where the overall Figure 8. The Passion of Christ altar. (A) Top part of the altar. (B) Central
proportions and relationships of its parts are commensurate relief of the top part depicting “Resurrection.” (C) Side bas-relief of
the top part depicting “Last Supper.” (D) Side bas-relief of the top part
with each other. 10(pp.22-27) The sculptor’s knowledge of the depicting “Agony in the Garden”.
laws of proportion helped create a unique, perfectly shaped Source: Author’s photos, 2024

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 7 doi: 10.36922/ac.4738