Kristus na hoře Olivetské

It is one of the most significant late Gothic sculptures in Central Europe, not only in Moravia.

 

The sculpture was carved from Mladějov sandstone, probably in the 1430s. Its author is an unknown sculptor who was influenced by art from the Rhineland or the southern Netherlands. The sculpture was originally polychromed (colorfully painted).

 

It was originally located in the cemetery or in the cemetery chapel near the Church of St. Maurice. Today, the original is located in the Archdiocesan Museum in Olomouc, where it is part of the permanent exhibition. A copy of the sculpture is located in a niche on the south wall of St. Maurice Church.

 

The sculpture depicts Christ kneeling in prayer and three sleeping apostles – Peter, James, and John. It is an emotional and realistic depiction of the moment of Jesus' anguish before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. The work reflects the Devotio moderna (New Piety) movement, which emphasized the personal experience of faith and the suffering of Christ.