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Death of Saint Norbert

Author, school, workshop
Norbertine monastic sculptor (?)
Style
Late Mannerism
Date
1662–1665
Material and technique
Oak wood; shallow relief
Size
Height 145 x width 85 cm
Location
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wroclaw, Poland
Description
The bas-relief depicts Premonstratensians saying prayers beside the deceased founder of their order. The saint's body is depicted diagonally to the left; he rests in his monastic garb, with his hands folded on a cross placed along his torso. In the foreground, at the headboard, stands a monk shown in profile holding an open book in front of him. The four other monks kneel facing him, by St. Norbert's feet.

The two foreground figures are visible in full view - they are holding open prayer books before their eyes, the two behind them only their heads are visible. On the axis of the relief, a bishop's stole lies on a table covered with a fringed cloth in front of the deceased; on the other side by the saint's head, a cardinal's cross.

In the upper left part of the composition, in bust, God the Father with the sphere of the world depicted in clustered clouds surrounded by rays. He blesses with his right hand the soul in the form of a naked child approaching him in a shaft of light leading from the mouth of the deceased.