Ontwerp voor een wijwatervat (?) c. 1845 - 1855

Frédéric-Jules Rudolphi made this design for a stoup, or holy water font, in pen and grey ink. It is a somewhat humble drawing, lacking the fine finish you might expect from a proposal for church furniture, but it embodies key aspects of nineteenth-century religious life in Europe. The figure of the saint in gothic garb is framed by a pointed arch. Note the gothic lettering that flanks the bowl which is supported by pendant tracery. These features are characteristic of the Gothic Revival style which was popular in Europe in the 1800s. The revival was about more than aesthetic preference: the pointed arch and soaring vertical lines of gothic architecture were associated with the piety of the medieval world, and their resurgence came about as part of a larger conservative movement. The leaders of this movement sought to reinstate the values of the pre-revolutionary past. To understand the place of the artwork in this movement, we might consult architectural journals, religious pamphlets, and other documents of the period. Art becomes meaningful when understood as part of its historical moment.