This bearded Moorish soldier in Renaissance costume guards the entrance to the Old Town Hall at Prachatice, South Bohemia, Czechia / Czech Republic. The building, constructed in 1570, was decorated in 1571 with chiaroscuro paintings and inscriptions urging the town’s civic leaders and judges to act wisely, justly and honourably. Two artworks at ground floor level derive from scenes in the disturbing Dance of Death woodcut cycle by German artist Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543).
Prachatice, South Bohemia, Czechia / Czech Republic: this bearded Moorish soldier in Renaissance costume helps to guard the rusticated portal of the Old Town Hall or Stará Radnice in Velké námestí, the Great Square. The Old Town Hall was built in 1570 and decorated in 1571 with painted scenes in chiaroscuro, the use of light and dark in strong contrast to define three dimensional objects. The rich decoration features painted allegorical morality scenes urging Prachatice’s civic leaders and judges to act wisely, justly and honourably. The judiciary and municipal leaders are addressed in Latin inscriptions below a line of eight virtues in red ovals. At ground level, two allegorical chiaroscuro artworks by Jan Březnický, The Advocate and The Judge, derive from scenes in the disturbing Dance of Death woodcut cycle by German artist Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543). They feature an animated Skeleton of Death suddenly confronting a lawyer and a corrupt judge with their own inevitable mortality - even as the advocate ignores a pauper to take payment from a wealthy client and a rich man prepares to offer the judge a bribe. Prachatice, founded in the 13th century, was once a wealthy trading town that gained from its location at the end of the Golden Trail trade route from Bavaria. It became one of Bohemia’s richest towns thanks to its right to levy taxes on travelling merchants and a monopoly to store salt, essential in medieval times for preserving food.
Size: 2000px × 3008px
Location: Prachatice, South Bohemia, Czechia / Czech Republic.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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