Grieving mourner covers his eyes while placing a comforting arm around shoulders of Byzantine theologian and missionary, Saint Methodius as he dies in 885 AD at Velehrad, Moravia. Stained glass created in 1930 by Art Nouveau and Art Deco artist, Alphonse or Alfons Maria Mucha (1860-1939), in St Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czechia / Czech Republic. Saint Methodius and his brother, Saint Cyril, were sent by a Byzantine emperor as missionaries to the Slavs of the Moravian region. The brother saints are often referred to as “Apostles to the Slavs”.
Prague, Czechia / Czech Republic: a grieving mourner covers his eyes with his hand as he places a comforting arm around the shoulders of Byzantine theologian and missionary Saint Methodius as he dies in 885 AD at Velehrad, Moravia, in this detail of vivid stained glass designed in 1930 by influential Art Nouveau and Art Deco artist Alphonse Mucha for a Gothic window of the New Archbishop’s Chapel in the Cathedral of St Vitus. The full artwork, installed in 1931, is an allegory of Christ blessing the Slavic nations. The central panels feature Czech patron saint Wenceslas, Duke of Bohemia, depicted as a boy kneeling in prayer with his grandmother, St Ludmila,. Several panels depict scenes from the lives of Saint Methodius and his brother, Saint Cyril, often referred to as ‘Apostles to the Slavs’. The brother saints were sent by a Byzantine emperor to the Slavs of the Moravian region. They encouraged the spread of Christianity and culture by translating books of the Bible into the Old Church Slavonic language understood by ordinary Slavs, and by devising Glagolitic script, a Slavic alphabet that was used to transcribe them. Alphonse or Alfons Maria Mucha (1860-1939) was a prolific painter, illustrator and graphic artist. He lived in Paris in the Art Nouveau period, producing illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels and designs. He was best known at that time for his stylised theatrical posters of French actress Sarah Bernhardt. After returning to his homeland aged 43, Mucha devoted himself to painting his Slav Epic masterpiece, 20 monumental canvases depicting the history of the Slavic people that are now in the National Gallery in Prague.
Size: 3844px × 2599px
Location: Cathedral of St Vitus, Hradčany, Prague, Czechia / Czech Republic
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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