The art of the genius architect Santini is celebrated by a postal sheet and a silver coin
Sberatel.info
20. December, 2023
The Czech National Bank is issuing a commemorative silver coin to mark the 300th anniversary of the death of architect Jan Blazej Santini-Aichel. The sheet dedicated to the famous architect, whose seminal work is firmly linked to the Czech lands, was previously issued by the Czech Post.
The coin with a face value of 200 crowns (EUR 8) is issued in an issue of 30,000 pieces. The selling price will be higher than the nominal one, taking into account, among other things, the price of silver or the cost of producing the coin.
The coin has a diameter of 31 millimetres and depicts Santini’s important buildings. On the obverse side is the facade of the Church of the Assumption in Sedlec, on the reverse side is the Church of St. John of Nepomuk on Zelená hora. The coin was designed by the academic sculptor Vladimír Oppl.
The coin weighs 13 grams and is made of an alloy of silver and copper.
The commemorative postal sheet “Jan Blažej Santini Aichel and his buildings” was issued by the Czech Post in April and was designed by the artist Karel Zeman. The engraving of the first day cover (FDC) was done by the engraver Miloš Ondráček.
The sheet was printed by offset printing in an edition of 26,000, and the FDC was printed by steel printing from a flat plate in an edition of 2,400.
The sheet depicts Santini’s famous buildings, including the Chapel of St. Anne in Panenské Břežany, the Church of the Holy Trinity in Rychnov nad Kněžnou and the pilgrimage church of St. John of Nepomuk in Žďár nad Sázavou.
The sheet is conceived in the Baroque manner – it is composed on an axis, with a triptych of stamps depicting individual buildings. The author used the axial layout of the castle in Rychnov nad Kněžnou, which he placed in the centre of the sheet.
To make the whole complex stand out, it is depicted from a bird’s eye view. The façade of the Holy Trinity Church rises on the horizon and forms the central stamp. On the left is a stamp with the Chapel of St. Anne, on the right a stamp with the pilgrimage church of St. John of Nepomuk. For a uniform impression, these buildings are also depicted from above.
Immediately next to both stamps, the floor plans of the buildings are also added, showing Santini’s fondness for numbers and geometry. The technique chosen by the artist for the original designs was pencil drawing supplemented with crayons.
The subject of the FDC is the interior of St. Anne’s Chapel, a detail of the facade of the Rychnov nad Kněžnou castle and part of the interior of the St. John of Nepomuk Church.
Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel was born on 3 February 1677 in Prague and was one of the most important Baroque builders. His buildings, characterised by a combination of Gothic and Baroque elements, are scattered all over the country and are among the most important Czech monuments. During his 23 years as a designer, he designed almost a hundred sacral, palace and farm buildings, which were distinguished by their geometric and luminous
JJ, photo: Czech Post and CNB
COLLECTORS’ AUCTIONS
