Jan Kryštof Handke (1694–1774), Hlohov a Gorzupia Dolna

This report presents a hitherto unknown work by the Olomouc painter Johann Christoph Handke (1694–1774): a signed and dated (1736) oil painting of St. Jude Thaddaeus. It is currently to be found on the main altar in the filial church of St. George in Gorzupia Dolna near Żagań in Lower Silesia. The painting, together with the altar as a whole, was most probably taken there after 1808 from the Jesuit church of Corpus Christi in Głogów, where it had been located in one of the side chapels. In his autobiography, Handke described his work in 1733 for the Jesuits in Głogów: the fresco decoration on the vault of the refectory in the college building and two oil paintings portraying the emperors Ferdinand and Leopold. However, he neglected to mention the painting St. Jude Thaddaeus, which he painted three years later. This example underlines the fact that there are many inaccuracies and errors in the autobiography of the Olomouc painter. This situation leads us to hope that more works by Handke may be discovered in Lower Silesia, as was the case with The Apotheosis of St. Francis Xavier in the Jesuit church in Nysa.