The West Portal of the Former Benedictine Abbey Church in Ják

Unknown Sculptor, Reichenberger József (cast maker)

No image available

Artist
Unknown Sculptor


Reichenberger József
(cast maker)
Budapest
Dated
13th century (original), 1902 (cast)
Medium
plaster cast
Dimensions
1. 160X50x22 cm 2. 175x54x37cm 3. 177x50x38 cm 4. 157x58x39 cm 5. 86x66x38 cm 6. 166x43x37cm 7. 157x47x36 cm 8. 180x58x44 cm 9. 168x54x43 cm 10. 190x56x32 cm 11. 174x44x32 cm 12. 170x45x35 cm 13. 31x34x23 cm 14. 28.5x100x6 cm
Inv.no.
Rg.248
Department
Sculptures - Plaster casts
Current Location of the Original Artwork
Hungary, Ják, Abbey church of St George

The portal of the West entrance to the former Benedictine abbey church in Ják is one of the most important monument of medieval Hungarian architectural sculpture. The portal in two sides is flanked with jamb columns starting from pedestals with sculpted lions. On the tympanum Christ is represented in a mandorla. In the niches of the gable figures of the Apostles are placed. The copy was made in 1902 by the Hungarian sculptor and cast maker József Reichenberger. The plaster cast was placed in 1908 in one of the Museum’s courts situated beside the Ionic Hall, and in the 1980’s the copy was removed from there to be stored in the building of the Ludovica Academy in Budapest and then was transported to Ják. Although the copy preserves the former unrestored condition of the original portal, unfortunately it survived only in parts. Today these pieces of the cast are housed in the Local Historical Collection of Ják.