Architectural, ornamental and figural sgraffito, created in 1547, on burgher or town house on Horni náměstí (Upper Square) in Slavonice, South Bohemia, Czechia. The house is Besídka, Horni náměstí 522. The sgraffito designs include depictions of Cain and Abel (faded panel towards top), 10 human figures representing 10 stages of human life (above windows) and scenes from the life of Samson (below windows). The four waterspouts above the windows are not original.
Slavonice, South Bohemia, Czechia: sgraffito designs created in 1547 on the facade of a burgher or town house on Horni náměstí (Upper Square) in Slavonice’s historic centre. The house displaying these sgraffito designs is Besídka (Bower or Arbor), Horni náměstí 522. It is now the Design Hotel Besídka. Sgraffito is a traditional art form that involves creating an image by scratching away a surface to expose a different colour or texture. The faded sgraffito panel towards the top of this image depicts, from left: Cain killing Abel, Abel sacrificing from his flock, and Cain sacrificing grain. The row of human figures above the three windows and four waterspouts depicts 10 stages of human life from age 10 to age 100. The panels below the three windows depict, from left: Samson fighting lion with bare hands, Samson opening the jaws of a lion with a tree in the background, Samson with a donkey’s jawbone, Samson drinking water gushing from a rock, Samson carrying the gate from the city of Gaza, Delilah cutting Samson’s hair while soldiers wait for Samson, and the coat of arms of the clothiers’ guild. Slavonice was founded in the 1100s CE and expanded in the 1300s. It owes its current appearance to building in the 1500s when houses lining what is now Horni náměstí were rebuilt. The above information on sgraffito decoration of houses in Slavonice draws on research by Michaela Musilová, compiled for a History of Art Bachelor Thesis at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice in 2014.
Size: 3960px × 2640px
Location: Slavonice, South Bohemia, Czechia
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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