St Florian

Church: H 18

Šiauliai district

Gaudentas Rimdeikis (ca 1871–1945) was born in the village of Norvaišiai in the Šiauliai district. After living in Gruzdžiai and Meškuičiai, he eventually returned home, and engaged in religious carving, cross-carving and woodwork. He made sculptures of many saints, which spread around the Gruzdžiai region, and reached the environs of Viekšniai and Akmenė.

This sculptural composition by Rimdeikis represents St Florian (?–304), a Roman army officer, who was tortured and thrown into the River Enns in Austria with a stone around his neck for being a Christian. The portrayal of the saint is based on the story that he saved a burning house, or even a whole city, with one bucket of water. The carver made the figure of the saint in strict compliance with the standard iconography. Wearing a helmet, he is standing with a bucket in his right hand and pouring water on a burning church. The banner in his left hand has not survived. The bucket looks like the wooden pails used in their everyday life by country people.

St Florian is popular in Lithuania and in other Catholic countries, and is considered to provide protection against fire. People would place a memorial in the central square with a sculpture of St Florian, in order to protect a village or a town from fire. On farms, they would place a sculpture of St Florian on monuments together with sculptures of other saints.

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); “Saint Florian - patron of firefighters” 4 May – 31 July 2017, Trakai Island Castle, Trakai

Church: H 18

Šiauliai district

Gaudentas Rimdeikis (ca 1871–1945) was born in the village of Norvaišiai in the Šiauliai district. After living in Gruzdžiai and Meškuičiai, he eventually returned home, and engaged in religious carving, cross-carving and woodwork. He made sculptures of many saints, which spread around the Gruzdžiai region, and reached the environs of Viekšniai and Akmenė.

This sculptural composition by Rimdeikis represents St Florian (?–304), a Roman army officer, who was tortured and thrown into the River Enns in Austria with a stone around his neck for being a Christian. The portrayal of the saint is based on the story that he saved a burning house, or even a whole city, with one bucket of water. The carver made the figure of the saint in strict compliance with the standard iconography. Wearing a helmet, he is standing with a bucket in his right hand and pouring water on a burning church. The banner in his left hand has not survived. The bucket looks like the wooden pails used in their everyday life by country people.

St Florian is popular in Lithuania and in other Catholic countries, and is considered to provide protection against fire. People would place a memorial in the central square with a sculpture of St Florian, in order to protect a village or a town from fire. On farms, they would place a sculpture of St Florian on monuments together with sculptures of other saints.

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); “Saint Florian - patron of firefighters” 4 May – 31 July 2017, Trakai Island Castle, Trakai