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A closer look: Examining the art and craftsmanship within Mary of the Angels Chapel

In this, the centennial year of the consecration of Mary of the Angels Chapel, Perspectives is celebrating with a series of stories about the chapel construction. In the last issue of Perspectives, we offered a behind-the-scenes look at the construction of the chapel, as documented through photographs and the St. Rose diary. In this issue, we take a closer look at the architectural features and artwork within the chapel, by featuring five specific works and the artists and craftspeople who created them.

Information for this article was compiled from newspaper articles, books and historic accounts preserved in the FSPA Heritage Room and researched by Sister Jolyce Greteman.

Visitors to Mary of the Angels Chapel and the Adoration Chapel are universally struck by the beautiful artwork within and outside these historic walls. To single out any one piece is difficult, as it is the combined effect of thousands of examples of statuary, oil paintings, stained-glass windows, wall décor and woodcarvings which create a space that takes our breath away. Yet, to fully appreciate the artistic prowess invested in each piece, it is necessary to look more closely at the process of creation; a process inspired by a promise to create as beautiful a chapel as means would allow.

The St. Michael statue by Albin Polášek is on the west side of the chapel.

World-renowned artists and celebrated craftsmen brought together the myriad pieces which include one-of-a-kind statues, original oil paintings, hand-carved wooden pews created in painstaking detail, intricate hand-laid mosaics and some of the highest-quality stained glass in the world. Here we feature five examples of these works.

St. Michael statue by Albin Polášek (1879-1965)
Albin Polášek was born in Frenstat, Moravia, Czechoslovakia. His career was initially as a harness maker's apprentice in Vienna. He ran away from school when he was about 13, and returned at his mother's urging, this time apprenticing as a woodcarver. He traveled to America when he was 19, and eventually came to work for the E. Hackner Altar Company in La Crosse. While here, he lived in a house at 1236 Mississippi Street with a widow, Anna Mashek, who was also originally from Czechoslovakia.

An archangel, carved in marble, overlooks the St. Rose Convent grounds and Viterbo University from a perch on the west side of Mary of the Angels Chapel. Polášek approached the creation of the statue as if it were wood, not marble. With a mallet and chisel, and no mechanical aid at all, he produced the St. Michael statue. In a time when most carvers used a "pointing machine" to drill into the wood or marble and mark points that correspond with the model, Polášek continued to embrace the more difficult process of carving by hand, much to the amazement of his peers. He began carving the archangel outdoors in the St. Rose courtyard on June 16, 1906, using a small model in clay for reference, while a large audience gathered to watch him work. On July 23, the statue was raised to the niche where it currently sits.

In a letter written after the artist's death, Mrs. Albin Polášek described him as a real "prayor (sic)." She wrote, "He knew he needed God to do his work well."

In his lifetime, Polášek's artwork earned him $2 million and international acclaim. For more information about the life and work of Albin Polášek, go to www.polasek.org.

This painting of St. Francis at the Little Chapel of the Portiuncula hangs above the main altar in Mary of the Angels Chapel.

St. Francis of Assisi altar painting by Thaddeus von Zukotynski (1855-1912)
An oil-on-canvas painting located immediately above the altar in Mary of the Angels Chapel shows St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order. This work, by Thaddeus von Zukotynski, shows Francis at prayer in the Little Chapel of Portiuncula, surrounded by visions of Jesus, Mary and angelic hosts.

Born in Podolia, Southern Russia, Zukotynski studied at the Academy of Arts in Munich, Germany, and was recognized with the highest prize awarded by the academy, a silver medal, as well as two bronze medals.

At the urging of his mother, he donated his first work, a small picture of the Blessed Virgin, to a poor church in Milwaukee. Shortly after he arrived in America, Zukotynski entered a church in Milwaukee and found his own Madonna in a place of honor. He opened a studio in Milwaukee at once, and went on to create more than 100 paintings and murals for churches around the United States, five of which hang above the altars in Mary of the Angels Chapel, with an additional three paintings in the Adoration Chapel.

It is said that Zukotynski would walk out into the country to study scenery so his paintings would be in harmony with local nature. He also apparently relied heavily on prayer, and always had a light burning in front of a statue of the Blessed Virgin, to whom he attributed his success.

Mary of Angels stained-glass window by F. X. Zettler Studios
All of the stained-glass windows in Mary of the Angels Chapel and the Adoration Chapel were furnished by F. X. Zettler of the Royal Bavarian Art Institute of Munich, Germany. Numbering more than 100, these windows include a gallery of angels with emblems of the passion, busts of female saints of the Franciscan Order, various scenes from the life of Christ, and more. They are considered to be some of the finest-quality stained-glass windows in the world, due to the level of detail and lack of fading over time.

One of the most stunning windows is Mary of Angels, the central stained-glass window in the Adoration Chapel. In this depiction, Mary is clothed in a tunic of crimson, symbolizing heavenly love. She is draped in a star-bordered blue mantle which stands for heavenly truth. She is surrounded by a spray of light, holds a scepter and wears a jeweled crown, all symbols of her God-granted royal dignity.

The colors in this, and the other stained-glass windows are stunning, which is attributed to F. X. Zettler. Zettler's ability as a chemist enabled him to design beautiful colors and dyes. The Royal Bavarian Art Institute's secret for such exquisitely painted stained glass was destroyed during World War II.

Mary of the Angels Chapel altars by Egid Hackner and Eugene Liebert
Born in Germany, architect Eugene Liebert sailed to America in 1883 at the age of 16. His father had been a building contractor in Germany, and his mother had family ties to a prominent Milwaukee architectural firm, both influences which likely led to his interest in pursuing the architectural profession. Examples of his work abound in the Milwaukee area, where Liebert lived much of his life. In the fall of 1901, Liebert completed his plans for the high altar in Mary of the Angels Chapel. The chapel itself is considered by experts to be Liebert's religious masterpiece.

	Left photo: Egid Hackner and Eugene Liebert are the craftsmen behind the stunning altars in the chapels including the main altar in Mary of the Angels pictured here. Right photo shows mosaic detail on a side altar.

The marble altars in Mary of the Angels and the Adoration Chapel were constructed by the E. Hackner Altar Company. Egid Hackner, who was born in Germany, had studied at the Munich Royal Academy of Art. He came to the U.S. in 1880, and started his altar-building business one year later in La Crosse at 13th and Ferry streets. "Even if La Crosse at that time, 1880, was not a large town, where one might look forward to fame and fortune," Hackner wrote in an article for the La Crosse County Historical Sketches in 1945, Records and Reminiscences, (translated from German to English at St. Rose Convent by Sister M. Rosina). "Still it was ideal in its location and in the congeniality and friendliness of its inhabitants. It served as a peaceful rendezvous for a humble beginner until his name might be echoed beyond its limits."

The altars are unique, according to Hackner himself. "It is no exaggeration to say that these altars seem to vie with one another in beauty and perfection. All are constructed of very fine Italian marble: carrara, bianco, chiarro, bianco-purissima, interspersed and decorated with flawless Mexican onyx, mother-of-pearl, and precious gems. Very artistic and colorful designs are carried out by means of Venetian mosaic which is second to no other."

		These church pews designed by Bernard Dockendorff, exhibit stunning detail and meaningful symbolism.

Church pews, designed by Bernard Dockendorff
Bernard Dockendorff was born in La Crosse, but European influences are obvious in his architectural work, due to his apprenticeship with European architectural experts, and his formal training in Darmstadt, Germany. Examples of his work as a partner in the local architectural firm of Parkinson and Dockendorff are widespread in the Coulee Region. As a company, they designed St. Rose Convent (1924 addition), St. Wenceslaus Church, St. Ann's Maternity Hospital, St. Francis Hospital (1931 addition) and the St. Francis School of Nursing. With such a stunning portfolio to Dockendorff's credit, it could be easy to overlook one of his most beautiful and functional masterpieces of design: the pews of Mary of the Angels Chapel. But, in fact, the pews command a closer look.

Constructed from red oak and hand-carved by workers for the E. Hackner Altar Company, the pews combine elegance and craftsmanship with sym-bolism. The four-petaled rose designs are symbolic of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for whom the chapel is named. The fleur-de-lis on the pew side is also a symbol of the Blessed Virgin. The Greek cross, arches and stylized oak leaf carvings appear throughout. An egg and dart carving rounds out the trim on many of the pews; the egg symbolizes life and the dart symbolizes suffering. This design is repeated throughout the chapel.

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