Baptismal Font

German Sculptor, Joseph Kreittmayr (cast maker)

Artist: German Sculptor

Joseph Kreittmayr
(cast maker)
München
Dated: ca. 1200 (original), 1909 (cast)
Classification: sculpture, plaster cast
Medium: plaster cast
Dimensions: 77 × 90 × 91 cm, 345 kg with base: 147 cm
Inv.no.: Rg.2
Department: Sculptures - Plaster casts
Current Location of the Original Artwork: Germany, Altenstadt, Saint Michael Basilica
Location: National Museum Conservation and Storage Centre (Budapest), Building A, Ground Floor. European Architectural Sculpture. Selection from the Cast Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts. Visible Storage

The Romanesque sandstone baptismal font stands in the south side-aisle of Saint Michael Basilica in Altenstadt, built between 1180 and 1220. The surface of the chalice-shaped font is decorated with figural depictions between twinings. The iconographic programme was based on the themes of the triumph over sin and the deliverance from the devil through baptism: the reliefs running around at the top depict Saint Michael Slaying the Dragon, the Virgin and Child Enthroned, as well as the figure of Saint John the Baptist and the baptism of Christ, with the symbols of the Evangelists under them. The motif of water appears at the bottom: pouring from the mouths of bearded men, it can be interpreted as the Four Rivers of Paradise and as the symbol of redeeming holy water. Although the font of Altenstadt was made out of sandstone, its Budapest plaster cast was coated with patina imitating bronze. Commissioned by the museum in 1909, the cast by Joseph Kreittmayr in München.