Ignác Raab
Encyclopedia
Ignác Viktorin Raab was a Czech Jesuit and is considered one of the most important Czech painters of the 18th century.
In his work can be traced the influence of Italian and Czech masters, such as Petr Brandl
among others. His work is generally assigned to Rococo
, but some remnants of the Baroque
are still evident. Raab usually signed his works, because he considered this to be a right given to an author by God, who was the originator of his talent.
He was the author of a wide range of paintings and frescoes in various churches, monasteries and other religious buildings. Especially valuable are the altarpieces of the Churches of St. Ignatius and St. Nicholas in Prague. He is also accounted the author of the altarpieces in churches in Opava
, Most Holy Trinity Church in Fulnek
, and many others. Another two of his paintings, of Saints Odile
and Thecla
, are located on the side altars in the Church of St. Procopius in Letinech.
In 1744, as an adult, he entered the noviate of the Jesuit Order. After two years as a novice in Brno, he was sent to Jesuit houses in Klatovy, Uherské Hradiště, University of Olomouc, Jihlava, Kutna Hora, and to Prague. There he was at St. Clement and later the college of St. Ignatius in the New Town. He was then sent to Opava. In his service at these sites, he worked primarily as a skillful hand painter. In addition, he also filled all kinds of supporting roles, such as table service (involving the preparation of meals for a common dining room) and care of patients from the Order. During this period, Raab produced an impressive amount of images. His painting was involved in the decoration of a series of new churches, large-scale cycles of the lives of saints in corridors of Jesuit colleges, and to a lesser extent, frescos.
The longest period of his Jesuit life was at the Clementinum in Prague, where he lived from 1758 to 1769 and again in 1771. There, he gradually created around him a painting workshop. In addition to composing paintings, Raab also produced drawings for works of sculpture, oversaw the quality of their implementation, and, if necessary, sculpted them himself. His Jesuit colleagues included the excellent painter Joseph Kramolín.
Raab’s stay at the Accademia Clementina was only significantly interrupted in 1770, when he lived at St. Ignatius in the New Town of Prague. In the church of St. Ignatius, one can still see four altarpieces by Raab: St. Libor, St. Francis Xavier (with a small painting of St. Tekla), St. Barbara, and St. Francis Borgiáše. Corridors of the adjacent dormitory buildings were originally decorated with three major life cycles of the Jesuit saints, namely St. Ignatius of Loyola (27 canvases; 24 of which are preserved at Bohosudov), St. Francis Xavier (29, of which 12 are preserved at Bohosudov) and St. Francis de Regis (21, all of which are now lost). Associated with these is a series of ten paintings in the refectory, which represent scenes from the Old and New Testaments relating to food (four remain the property of the Vyšehrad chapter). He also produced series of St. Alois Gonzaga (21, still preserved in Štěkni) and St. Stanislav Kostka (26, preserved in Štěkni) which were done at the Klementinum. Considering that these 137 images (92 of them hanging in the New Church of St. Ignác and adjacent buildings) were completed in about three years (namely 1769-71), that the images in the series of the saints were of dimensions of approximately 2.2 x 2 meters, and that the vast amount of these works is of high quality, it is an amazing achievement. It is clear that Raab was helped in this work by his workshop, but the excellent quality found in them indicates the frequent and sometimes exclusive creative participation of the master alone.
In 1773, the Jesuit Order was abolished and Raab had to adapt to a whole new life. He eventually was accepted by the Cistercian monks of Velehrad. The quality of his work, however, gradually declined, with the light virtuosity of the Rococo style replaced with Classical elements.
In 1784, the Velehradská Monastery met the fate of many other religious houses in the Habsburg empire and was abolished. Although Raab’s hosts had to leave, he decided to stay. The rest of his life was spent in Velehrad, earning a livelihood from his artistic work. He died in 1787.
This article was derived from translation of the corresponding article at Czech Wikipedia and the article at www.jesuit.cz.
In his work can be traced the influence of Italian and Czech masters, such as Petr Brandl
Petr Brandl
Petr Brandl was a painter of the late Baroque, famous in his time but - due to isolation behind the Iron Curtain - rather forgotten until recently. He was of German-speaking Austrian descent in the bilingual kingdom of Bohemia...
among others. His work is generally assigned to Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
, but some remnants of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
are still evident. Raab usually signed his works, because he considered this to be a right given to an author by God, who was the originator of his talent.
He was the author of a wide range of paintings and frescoes in various churches, monasteries and other religious buildings. Especially valuable are the altarpieces of the Churches of St. Ignatius and St. Nicholas in Prague. He is also accounted the author of the altarpieces in churches in Opava
Opava
Opava is a city in the northern Czech Republic on the river Opava, located to the north-west of Ostrava. The historical capital of Czech Silesia, Opava is now in the Moravian-Silesian Region and has a population of 59,843 as of January 1, 2005....
, Most Holy Trinity Church in Fulnek
Fulnek
----Fulnek is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic, about 30 km south from Opava.- People :People from Fulnek include:* Leopold Ritter von Dittel , urologist, worked in Austria...
, and many others. Another two of his paintings, of Saints Odile
Odile
St Odile of Alsace is a saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, although according to the current liturgical calendar her feastday is not officially commemorated. She is a patroness of good eyesight.She was the daughter of Etichon , Duke of Alsace. She was born blind...
and Thecla
Thecla
Thecla was a saint of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul the Apostle. The only known record of her comes from the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, probably composed in the 2nd century.-Biography:...
, are located on the side altars in the Church of St. Procopius in Letinech.
Biography
Raab was born in 1715 in Nechanicích in Nové Bydžov as the twelfth child of his family. As a boy, he appeared to have a great talent for painting. His father Francis therefore decided to send him to Jičín in order to study art under painter Jan Jiřího Major, a disciple of painter Petr Brandl. He studied with him for seven years.In 1744, as an adult, he entered the noviate of the Jesuit Order. After two years as a novice in Brno, he was sent to Jesuit houses in Klatovy, Uherské Hradiště, University of Olomouc, Jihlava, Kutna Hora, and to Prague. There he was at St. Clement and later the college of St. Ignatius in the New Town. He was then sent to Opava. In his service at these sites, he worked primarily as a skillful hand painter. In addition, he also filled all kinds of supporting roles, such as table service (involving the preparation of meals for a common dining room) and care of patients from the Order. During this period, Raab produced an impressive amount of images. His painting was involved in the decoration of a series of new churches, large-scale cycles of the lives of saints in corridors of Jesuit colleges, and to a lesser extent, frescos.
The longest period of his Jesuit life was at the Clementinum in Prague, where he lived from 1758 to 1769 and again in 1771. There, he gradually created around him a painting workshop. In addition to composing paintings, Raab also produced drawings for works of sculpture, oversaw the quality of their implementation, and, if necessary, sculpted them himself. His Jesuit colleagues included the excellent painter Joseph Kramolín.
Raab’s stay at the Accademia Clementina was only significantly interrupted in 1770, when he lived at St. Ignatius in the New Town of Prague. In the church of St. Ignatius, one can still see four altarpieces by Raab: St. Libor, St. Francis Xavier (with a small painting of St. Tekla), St. Barbara, and St. Francis Borgiáše. Corridors of the adjacent dormitory buildings were originally decorated with three major life cycles of the Jesuit saints, namely St. Ignatius of Loyola (27 canvases; 24 of which are preserved at Bohosudov), St. Francis Xavier (29, of which 12 are preserved at Bohosudov) and St. Francis de Regis (21, all of which are now lost). Associated with these is a series of ten paintings in the refectory, which represent scenes from the Old and New Testaments relating to food (four remain the property of the Vyšehrad chapter). He also produced series of St. Alois Gonzaga (21, still preserved in Štěkni) and St. Stanislav Kostka (26, preserved in Štěkni) which were done at the Klementinum. Considering that these 137 images (92 of them hanging in the New Church of St. Ignác and adjacent buildings) were completed in about three years (namely 1769-71), that the images in the series of the saints were of dimensions of approximately 2.2 x 2 meters, and that the vast amount of these works is of high quality, it is an amazing achievement. It is clear that Raab was helped in this work by his workshop, but the excellent quality found in them indicates the frequent and sometimes exclusive creative participation of the master alone.
In 1773, the Jesuit Order was abolished and Raab had to adapt to a whole new life. He eventually was accepted by the Cistercian monks of Velehrad. The quality of his work, however, gradually declined, with the light virtuosity of the Rococo style replaced with Classical elements.
In 1784, the Velehradská Monastery met the fate of many other religious houses in the Habsburg empire and was abolished. Although Raab’s hosts had to leave, he decided to stay. The rest of his life was spent in Velehrad, earning a livelihood from his artistic work. He died in 1787.
External links
This article was derived from translation of the corresponding article at Czech Wikipedia and the article at www.jesuit.cz.