Languages of Baroque
Models and ornaments; materials and techniques
The constant interaction of various materials and techniques in architecture, and competition between sculpture and painting in achieving more convincing visual illusion and eliciting the amazement of audiences, found its counterpart in the applied arts.
The constant interaction of various materials and techniques in architecture, and competition between sculpture and painting in achieving more convincing visual illusion and eliciting the amazement of audiences, found its counterpart in the applied arts. The art of gold embroidery – elaborately embroidered religious objects and clothing – in the age of Baroque, competed with painting and sculpture as well. An amazing example of such a work is the Holy Sepulchre from Zagreb Cathedral Treasury, with a figurative repertoire made after plastic and graphic models. Liturgical vessels and reliquaries are made in countless imaginative variations of elaborate designs and precious materials, being the very essence of style.
Holy Sepulchre

1659
Zagreb Cathedral Treasury
Zagreb, North-West Croatia, Croatia
Wolfgang Jacob Stoll
Relief embroidery in gold thread; embroidery in various coloured silks on red and white satin
The gold-thread relief embroidery of the Holy Sepulchre covers eight panels and contains 16 oval medallions, which bordered by gold cartouches, contain scenes from the Old and New Testaments.

The Bishop of Zagreb, Petar Petretić, commissioned the Sepulchre from the German embroiderer, Wolfgang Jakob Stoll.