Stained-glass windows of martyrs, Józef Mehoffer, between 1898 and 1899

The stained-glass window contains a figure of a saint in each of the four lancet-shaped strips. They are, from left to right, mauritius, sebastian, catherine and barbara, all of whom suffered martyrdom. A pair of youthful figures appears in each of the head panels, allegorically representing the innocence of the martyrs. In the central fields, the saints stand in partly animated gestures and indicate the story of their martyrdom with their attributes. Above mauritius, sebastian and catherine, light figures of angels and souls of the deceased swoop. Deep black crows fly past. With this, mehoffer conspicuously hints at the struggle between good and evil. With the large tower behind barbara, mehoffer pays reference to his homeland: it represents the schreiner tower in krakow. The images in the bottom row are particularly exciting. They depict the dying of the martyrs in an incredible way. All four saints, painted in complete nudity on white glass, are pictured at the moment of their death throes: mauritius, his neck cut by a sword, red blood pouring over his chest; sebastian, pierced by arrows, which also results in streaming blood over his heaving chest; catherine, tumbling headlong from the wheel with her bosom uncovered to the ground; and barbara, lying sideways on the ground with her legs drawn up. Each of the holy figures is accompanied by a female lament figure who, in the case of the male protagonists, nestles particularly closely and lovingly against the martyr, bending over him or, in the case of mauritius, embracing his upper body with both hands. The subliminal eroticism of these images is unmistakable, which has led to heated discussions in public. The window is entirely committed to the art nouveau. This draws its inspiration from the forms of the plant and animal world. The figures are often stylised to make use of a formal language consisting of undulating lines. The world of flowers is dominant. In golden colour, it spreads between the middle and lower part of the window. In addition, there are imaginative, colourful flowers that resemble butterflies or whose petals look like lips. In addition to the flower shapes, the colours are also symbolic. The flower carpet, on which the bodies of the martyrs lie, stands for the blessed seeds of christianity. Red and violet express death and mourning. Mehoffer has exploited the whole palette in this work, juxtaposing the strongest colours with the gentlest tones. Despite these tensions, the unity of the whole is preserved. Object Type: painting. Genre: Art Nouveau. Date: between 1898 and 1899. Place of creation: en:Fribourg, Switzerland. Dimensions: 4 strips à height: 670 cm (21.9 ft); width: 70 cm (27.5 in). Medium: stained glass. Collection: nave-aisle. Cathedral Fribourg vitrail Maertyrer 01