The Maidens' War – a relief by Sculptor Vojtěch Eduard Šaff : the origin and iconography of the sculpture in the light of new findings
Vol.63,No.1-2(2014)
Abstract
Keywords:
Vojtěch Eduard Šaff; Carl Egon Ebert; sculpture; historicism; realism; second half of the 19th century; Museum of West Bohemia in Plzeň/Pilsen
Pages:
38–55
In 1897–1901 a monumental two-part relief titled Dívčí válka (The Maidens' War) was created in the Vienna studio of Czech sculptor Vojtěch Eduard Šaff. It captures a story from the pre-history of the Czech nation. The work was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Public Education in Vienna and is currently located in the Museum of West Bohemia in Plzeň/Pilsen in the Czech Republic. The artist left behind a substantial volume of papers, currently located in Polička Municipal Museum and Gallery, which together with surviving correspondence enabled the author of this study both to accurately piece together the story behind the origin of this work of art and to discover the actual literary work it was based on, and from there it was possible for the first time to identify some figures in the relief that had hitherto been unclear and to interpret the individual scenes depicted therein.
Vojtěch Eduard Šaff; Carl Egon Ebert; sculpture; historicism; realism; second half of the 19th century; Museum of West Bohemia in Plzeň/Pilsen
38–55