Sümeg - Parish Church of the Ascension
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The interior decoration of the outwardly insignificant Church of the Ascension is a unique work of art. The entire single-naved interior of this building (1756-57) was designed by Bishop Márton Biró and carried out by Franz Anton Maulbertsch between 1757 and 1758, probably the most important representative of Austrian Late Baroque painting. Born in 1724 in Langenargen on Lake Constance he moved in 1739 to Vienna where he painted the dome of the piarist church in 1752/53 and was professor of the art academy from 1770. The frescos in Sümeg were prototypes for the first main period of his art, which is characterized by bright colors, active composition and expressive gestures of the usually (as with Goya) rounded figures.
The paintings are in order of the gospel story: below the organ gallery are the Old Testament figures of Adam and Eve, Moses, Noah, and the prophets awaiting salvation in limbo (in the side chapel the sacrifice of Abraham; above the gallery a picture of Bishop Bíró). 1st truss: the Annunciation, right side altar the Adoration of the Shepherds (self portrait of the artist as a shepherd presenting cheese and bread) left side altar the Circumcision of Jesus.
The paintings are in order of the gospel story: below the organ gallery are the Old Testament figures of Adam and Eve, Moses, Noah, and the prophets awaiting salvation in limbo (in the side chapel the sacrifice of Abraham; above the gallery a picture of Bishop Bíró). 1st truss: the Annunciation, right side altar the Adoration of the Shepherds (self portrait of the artist as a shepherd presenting cheese and bread) left side altar the Circumcision of Jesus.
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