Restitution of Saint Nicholas
The painting serves as the central representation in the main altar and depicts the church’s patron saint, St. Nicholas, kneeling before Christ, who hands him a book, and the Virgin Mary, who places a mitre on his head. The painting spans the height of the second and third tiers of the altar, measuring 510 x 308 cm.
In the lower right corner of the painting, there is a painted plaque with an inscription in Baroque capital letters: “S/anctus/ Nicolae ob colaphum heretico impactu/m/ decora alta tiarae dempta Tibi a patribus Maria referet. Anno 1643” (Saint Nicholas, after the Fathers /of the council/ took away the splendid adornment, the old mitre, because of the slap to the heretic, the Virgin Mary returns it to you. Year 1643).
The inscription refers to a legendary episode from the life of St. Nicholas, who, as the bishop of ancient Myra, participated in the First Council of Nicaea convened by Pope Sylvester I in 325 AD. For his views expressed there, he was deprived of his episcopal insignia – the pallium and the mitre.
For many years, this painting was attributed to the Gdańsk painter Herman Han (1574-1627, 1628). It is now attributed to the workshop of August Ranisch.
Gigapixels
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