Old craft - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 1999 - 9 Shilling

At the pillars of the organ group the visitor of the Prügger parish church discovers a small gotsiche statue. This sculpture, which was designed around 1520, is the only known one to date that has been personally created by the artist Lienhart Astl in Styria. The group of figures is made up of three persons of the Holy Family who come from three different generations. In the center sits the Holy Mother Anna with the little boy Christ on her lap, which she affectionately embraces with her right arm. To her left stands the adolescent Mary, who is giving an apple to the baby Jesus. Lienhart Astl was probably one of the most important sculptors who left their traces in Upper Styria around 1500. The sculptor from Gmunden (Upper Austria) supplied the Upper Austrian and Upper Styrian region with single sculptures and carved altars, although his large workshop probably supported him with numerous employees. His main work is the high altar of the parish church in Hallstatt. Likewise, works from the workshop of Astl have been proven in Pürgg, Gröbming and other churches around the Grimming. Astl's creative period in Styria lasted only from 1515 to 1520. This motif for the special postage stamp is just one of the numerous treasures of the "Styrian Kripperl", as Peter Rosegger has described the beautifully situated village of Prügg.