Saint Jerome

The presbytery is separated from the nave by a marble balustrade adorned with two Baroque figures of St. Jerome and Gregory the Great, funded by Canon Frankenberg and created by Jan Jerzy Urbański.

Originally, there were also two additional figures of St. Augustine and St. Ambrose, which now adorn the parish church in Stężyca near Dębin.

A distinguishing feature of the master’s work is his tendency to maintain the compactness of the figure, while keeping the correct proportions of human anatomy. Movement is limited to a few small gestures, such as a tilt of the head or a gesture of outstretched and pointing hands. Urbański particularly focused on details, such as the depiction of garments, lush locks of hair, and numerous decorations in the form of acanthus leaf scrolls.

Jan Jerzy Urbański, also known as J. Jiří Urbanský, was born around 1675 in Chlumec and died in 1738. He was a sculptor of Czech origin and one of the most prominent representatives of Baroque sculpture in Wrocław in the 18th century.

He worked mainly in Silesia (altars, tombs, figures in Wrocław churches). Most of his works were made in wood and sandstone; exceptions include alabaster reliefs in the Wrocław cathedral and stucco figures of St. Anne and St. Jerome in the Hochberg Chapel.

His most famous work, created jointly with Johann Albrecht Siegwitz and Johann Adam Karinger (design by Christoph Tausch), was the monument of St. John of Nepomuk – an 18th-century sculpture (nepomuk) located on Ostrów Tumski in Wrocław near the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross.