Standing Crucifix with Our Lady of Sorrows, St John the Evangelist, St Mary Magdalene, two angels and Adam

Cross: 51 × 23, pedestal: 13 × 19 × 15, figures of St Mary Magdalene: H 18 and St John the Evangelist: H 19
Kretinga district

Small standing crucifixes, also known as ‘home crosses’, were often kept on a shelf above the krikštasuolė (baptismal bench). They were coloured artefacts, small, simple and often in one colour. The base was a plain quadrangular or rectangular plate or block. Geometric shapes were carved on the pedestals of the more decorative ones. Coloured crosses with carvings on triangular pedestals that narrowed at the top were rarer in homes, and more frequently used as altarpieces in churches and chapels. In rare cases, home crosses also had sculptures of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist, and sometimes of St Mary Magdalene and the angels.

Juozapas Paulauskas (1860–1945), a religious carver from Grūšlaukė in the Kretinga district, carved several standing crosses with complex compositions. The base of the cross shown here is in the shape of a mountain rock (an allusion to Golgotha), and a sculpture of the body of Adam lies in a cavity below it. Our Lady of Sorrows and St John the Evangelist are standing on both sides of the cross, St Mary Magdalene is kneeling at its foot, and below her are two figurines of angels. The small cup for holy water between the angels is a characteristic feature of the standing crosses made by this carver.

Text author Skaidrė Urbonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album HEAVEN AND BEYOND (2016). Compiler Dalia Vasiliūnienė. Text authors Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė
Expositions: “Heaven and Beyond. Works of religious art from the collection of Rolandas Valiūnas and the law firm Valiunas Ellex“, 31 May–24 September 2016, Church Heritage Museum, Vilnius (curators Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė)

Cross: 51 × 23, pedestal: 13 × 19 × 15, figures of St Mary Magdalene: H 18 and St John the Evangelist: H 19
Kretinga district

Small standing crucifixes, also known as ‘home crosses’, were often kept on a shelf above the krikštasuolė (baptismal bench). They were coloured artefacts, small, simple and often in one colour. The base was a plain quadrangular or rectangular plate or block. Geometric shapes were carved on the pedestals of the more decorative ones. Coloured crosses with carvings on triangular pedestals that narrowed at the top were rarer in homes, and more frequently used as altarpieces in churches and chapels. In rare cases, home crosses also had sculptures of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist, and sometimes of St Mary Magdalene and the angels.

Juozapas Paulauskas (1860–1945), a religious carver from Grūšlaukė in the Kretinga district, carved several standing crosses with complex compositions. The base of the cross shown here is in the shape of a mountain rock (an allusion to Golgotha), and a sculpture of the body of Adam lies in a cavity below it. Our Lady of Sorrows and St John the Evangelist are standing on both sides of the cross, St Mary Magdalene is kneeling at its foot, and below her are two figurines of angels. The small cup for holy water between the angels is a characteristic feature of the standing crosses made by this carver.

Text author Skaidrė Urbonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album HEAVEN AND BEYOND (2016). Compiler Dalia Vasiliūnienė. Text authors Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė
Expositions: “Heaven and Beyond. Works of religious art from the collection of Rolandas Valiūnas and the law firm Valiunas Ellex“, 31 May–24 September 2016, Church Heritage Museum, Vilnius (curators Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė)