Image: Cathedral Fribourg vitrail Unsere Liebe Frau 01

Description: In memory of the confessional wars of the Old Confederation, the window glorifies the victory of the Confederates and their allies from Fribourg over Charles the Bold at the Battle of Murten in 1476. Mehoffer stages the event as an image that encompasses all four panels of the window. The warriors appearing on the right are marked with their weapons and armour as old Confederates. They lay down the flags of the Burgundian army at Mary's feet under the protection of the Archangel Michael. In the front line, a warrior with a white beard raises his sword to Mary as a sign of victory and exults with joy. An angelic glory frames the dignified Madonna in her ostentatious robe, while the angels appear lively. Below her, the equally splendidly dressed allegory of Helvetia (Patria), depicted as a supine figure, is presenting the laurel wreath to two honourations from Fribourg. In the panes of the head zone, the allegorical figures of hope, faith, strength and love are reproduced. This window was commissioned by the state. Therefore, the two dignitaries, one of whom holds the coat of arms of Fribourg, are dressed in modern clothing. In this way, the stained glass creates a link to the present. Although the heroic deeds of the ancestors, as they have been formed into myths by the modern nation state, are glorified, they are religiously exaggerated in the Fribourg Catholic sense. For the picture suggests to the viewer that the Confederates had already officially placed themselves under the protection of Mary in 1476 just as the people of Fribourg did around 1650 when they donated the Chapel of Our Lady of Victory. In this way, the Fribourg state demonstrates its reservations about the Enlightenment-liberal federal state. Mehoffer succeeded in creating a convincing portrayal of patriotic feelings with this window.
Title: Our Lady of Victory
Credit: This photo, this drawing or graph was taken by Martin Thurnherr. If you use one of my photos, drawings or graphs, an email (account needed) or a message would be greatly appreciated. Please note the license terms. Other licensing terms can get discussed, too.
Author: Józef Mehoffer
Permission: The author died in 1946, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 75 years or fewer. You must also include a United States public domain tag to indicate why this work is in the public domain in the United States. Note that a few countries have copyright terms longer than 75 years: Mexico has 100 years, Jamaica has 95 years, and Colombia has 80 years. This image may not be in the public domain in these countries, which moreover do not implement the rule of the shorter term. Côte d'Ivoire has a general copyright term of 99 years, but it does implement the rule of the shorter term.
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No