Matthias Faller

In 1650, relics were brought to Freiburg from Rome after the catacombs there had been opened. The relics were mostly distributed among the twelve city guilds. In order to display them, a commensurate number of busts were commissioned, which were then paraded in Corpus Christi processions. Often enough, frequent use led to restoration or, indeed, replacement, whereby the busts were modified to accommodate changing stylistic sensibilities over time. The busts - here St Artemisius, patron saint of the butchers' guild - taken in their entirety, they provide a vivid insight into and convey a rich sense of the local artistic craft of wood carving during the period between c. 1650-1800.