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South Tyrol
Presepio in Tyrol, like those in most northern European countries,
are generally carved in wood. During the Renaissance, figures produced
by wood-carvers in Tyrol and Cologne were in great demand at the
Italian courts. During the 17th century in South Tyrol, Nordic Baroque
was fused with Italian elements. Figures were mainly of wood, some
with moveable limbs, but also puppets with faces of wax and hats
of wool or straw were produced. Neustift monastery near Brixen has
a Presepio which dates to 1621. It was built at the request of Abbot
Mark Hausser with twenty figures some of which are 50 cm high. Slightly
damaged during bombing in World War II, it was restored and can
still be admired today.
Moreover the Diocesan Museum in Brixen has forty six dioramas, mostly
18th and 19th century wood carvings and mainly the work of the Probst
family. They consist of a total of some five hundred exquisitely
carved figures set in backgrounds of amazing architectural harmony.
In the 19th century, besides the traditional wood, Presepio figures
were also made with papier mache, paper cut-outs, stucco and wax.
Famous of this period, a wooden Presepio made by Karl Sigmund Moser,
acquired by the National Museum in Munich, in which an amphitheatre
in different styles ranging from Gothic to Rococo, reconstructs
a spectacular imaginary Jerusalem .
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Fides News
Fides
News 2004
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