Master Paul of Levoča (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
: ''Paul von Leutschau'', hu, Lőcsei Pál mester; sk, Majster Pavol z Levoče) was a medieval
carver and
sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
of the 15th and 16th century, active mostly in then
Carpathian-German town of
Levoča
Levoča (; hu, Lőcse; rue, Левоча)
is a town in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,700. The town has a historic center with a well preserved town wall, a Gothic church with the highest wooden altar in the wor ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
( hu, Lőcse, german: Leutschau).
History
Most documents about him seem to have perished in the Levoča fire of 1550. Thus neither his surname, nor dates or places of birth and death, are known. It is assumed that he was born between 1470 and 1480. He must have died between 1537 (when he is still mentioned on record) and 1542 (when his widow is mentioned).
His origin is unknown. Theories of his origin include being a native of Levoča, theories of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
origin link him to
Passau
Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north.
Passau's popu ...
,
Wittenberg
Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...
and
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
. He was also linked with origins from northern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
or
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
. He probably started working in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, judged by the connections of this city with Levoča at that time and, based on the artistic similarities, he may have been a student of
Veit Stoss
Veit Stoss (also: ''Veit Stoß'' and ''Stuoss''; pl, Wit Stwosz; before 1450about 20 September 1533) was a leading German sculptor, mostly working with wood, whose career covered the transition between the late Gothic and the Northern Renaissa ...
. He worked in
Sabinov
Sabinov ( la, Сibinium, hu, Kisszeben, german: Zeben, russian: Сабинов) is a small town located in the Prešov Region (north-eastern Slovakia), approximately 20 km from Prešov and 55 km from Košice. The population of Sabinov ...
and
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mo ...
before settling in
Levoča
Levoča (; hu, Lőcse; rue, Левоча)
is a town in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,700. The town has a historic center with a well preserved town wall, a Gothic church with the highest wooden altar in the wor ...
in 1500, marrying a daughter of an influential citizen. In 1506 he established a carving workshop. A list of some of his works includes an Altar of
St. Barbara
Saint Barbara ( grc, Ἁγία Βαρβάρα; cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲃⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲁ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Accounts place her in t ...
in Banská Bystrica dated to 1509, an Altar of
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
in
Spišská Sobota
Spišská Sobota (German ''Georgenberg'', Hungarian ''Szepesszombat'') is a historic Slovak town that was absorbed in 1946 as a borough of the city of Poprad. It is located in the northeastern part of the city above the Poprad river. The popul ...
of 1516, and his most famous work, completed in 1517, an altar in the
Basilica of St. James in Levoča. This late
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
altar is the tallest in Europe, measured at 18.62 meters. It is carved in wood and decorated with gold. The
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
from this altar was depicted in the former issue of 100
SKK banknotes (before Slovakia's adoption of the Euro in 2009).
In 1527 he became a member of the Levoča town council, but he gained most of his fame and recognition after his death. He began to be recognised by
art historian
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
s in 1870s in debates concerning the Levoča altar.
References
* Hleb, E.: Levoča in history. Prešov 1995.
* CHALUPECKÝ, I.: St. James' Church. Martin 1991.
* CHALUPECKÝ, I.: Contribution to the biography of Master Paul. In: Writings - homeland Proceedings I. Ves, 1967, pp. 181–187
* Kluber, Š.: Master Paul in Szepes towns. In: Levoča - provincial seat of Szepes (1271-1971). Levoča 1971 pp. 23–25
* Master Paul of Levoča - life, work time. Proceedings of seminar. Levoča 1991.
External links
Spectacular SlovakiaPanorama.sk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul of Levoca, Master
Gothic sculptors
Hungarian sculptors
15th-century Hungarian people
16th-century Hungarian people
People from Levoča