User:DeWesterloo/Naturalistic pulpit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The naturalistic pulpit was a type of pulpit that was produced from the 17th to the 19th century in the Southern Netherlands (especially in the Duchy of Brabant and the Lordship of Mechelen). At the height of its development, by the late 17th century, al the parts of the pulpit (support, pit, stairs, sounding board) would be integrated into one narrative sculptural whole within a naturalistic decor.
Many of these total works of art count among the highlights of Flemish baroque sculpture of the 17th and 18th centuries, with examples from important sculptors such as Artus Quellinus the Elder, Artus Quellinus the Younger, Pieter I Verbruggen, Hendrik Frans Verbruggen, Pieter Scheemaeckers, Laurent Delvaux, Theodoor Verhaegen and many more.
Naturalistic pulpits continued to be made after the Baroque period, well into the 19th century. Although the pulpits have been unused since the Second Vatican Council, they are considered historical church furniture that forms an integral part of the historic churches in which they are located and have not been sold or moved to museums.