The Votive Panel of Jan Očko of VlašimAlternative names: ''Votive Picture of Jan Očko of Vlašim'', ''Votive Painting of Jan Očko of Vlašim'', ''Votive Panel of Archbishop Očko of Vlašim'', ''Votive Panel of Archbishop Jan Očko of Vlašim'', ''Votive Painting of Archbishop John Očko of Vlašim'', etc. is a

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 ...

panel painting A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel of wood, either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, panel painting was the normal method, when not paint ...

now in the

National Gallery in Prague The National Gallery Prague ( cz, Národní galerie Praha, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Cze ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It is one of the most important artworks made in medieval

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. The panel was painted for the Prague archbishop

Jan Očko of Vlašim Jan Očko of Vlašim ( cs, Jan Očko z Vlašimi; Jan VIII as the Bishop of Olomouc) (? – died 1380), from the family of the House of Vlašim, was the second Archbishop of Prague (1364–1378). He was the uncle to his successor Jan of Jenštejn ...

who is depicted kneeling before St. Adalbert of Prague in the lower part of the picture (

donor portrait A donor portrait or votive portrait is a portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his, or (much more rarely) her, family. ''Donor portrait'' usually refers to the portr ...

). The author(s) of the painting is (are) not known. The style of the painting stands between the works of Theodoric of Prague and the

Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece __NOTOC__ The Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece (german: Master of Wittingau) was a Bohemian painter active in Prague around 1380–1390. His name is derived from the Třeboň Altarpiece from the church of Saint Eligius at the Augustinian convent ...

(who represents the so-called ''Beautiful style'',

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

an form of

International Gothic International Gothic is a period of Gothic art which began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by th ...

History

The panel was originally placed in the chapel of

Roudnice Roudnice is a municipality and village in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. Etymology The name is derived from the red shades of color (in Czech ''rudá'') of the water in ...

Castle, which belonged to the bishops and archbishops of Prague who used it as their residence. In 1371''"Item post hec die XV mensis eiusdem'' une 1371''consecravit capellam novam in magna turri in castro suo Rudnicz in honore beate Marie Virginis et sanctorum patronorum ecclesie Pragensis: Viti, Wenceslai, Adalberti atque Zigismundi."'' the chapel was consecrated in honor of the Virgin Mary and patron saints of Bohemia, and this is probably the date when the picture was finished.

Description

The picture measures 181 x 96 cm and it is painted on a panel made of

lime wood ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

. The painting is divided into two parts. In the middle of the upper part is the Virgin sitting on a throne with the infant Jesus. They are adored by kneeling Emperor Charles IV and his son King

Wenceslaus IV Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; cs, Václav; german: Wenzel, nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he w ...

. St. Sigismund of Burgundy stands behind Charles IV, while St. Wenceslaus of Bohemia stands behind the young king as his patron. In the lower part of the panel stand other Bohemian (Czech) patron saints (from the left): St. Procopius, St. Adalbert,

St. Vitus Vitus (), whose name is sometimes rendered Guy or Guido, was a Christian martyr from Sicily. His surviving hagiography is pure legend. The dates of his actual life are unknown.Basil Watkins, ''The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical D ...

and St. Ludmila. In the middle there is kneeling Archbishop Jan Očko of Vlašim who is adoring St. Adalbert, his predecessor in the post of bishop of Prague.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Votive Panel of Jan Ocko of Vlasim Gothic paintings Czech paintings 1370s paintings 14th-century portraits Paintings of the Madonna and Child Paintings in the collection of the National Gallery Prague