Variant of the Krumlov Madonna

Purchased by the Museum of Art and Industry in Vienna in the early 20th century, the Madonna of Český Krumlov represents one of the fundamental sculptures of the Beautiful Style. The composition of this famous statue recurred many times in historical copies and variants, the Madonna of Hallstatt near Salzburg being one of them – unlike the majority of the Beautiful Style artworks in Prague, it is not made of marlstone but of stone. This practice was common in Salzburg because of the lack of suitable material. The artist sculpted the statue out of a block of stone; the softness of the material, similar to fresh quarried marlstone, enabled him to use carving tools. The traces of tools are still visible on the back of the statue and residues of the original polychromy have also survived.