Boniface (Bonifatius)

About this artwork.

The bronze relief on the facade of the Jozefkerk (St Joseph Church) represents Saint Boniface, the patron saint of the diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden. The English monk Boniface is venerated as a great saint among Catholics. In 716, he came to continental Europe for the first time as a missionary and proclaimed his faith among the Frisians and in a large part of Germany. In 744, he travelled again to Friesland, with the intention of converting the population. Unfortunately, this journey would prove fatal for him: on 5 June 754, he was ambushed and murdered near Dokkum by a group of non-Christian men. 

In the bronze relief by Gosse Dam, Boniface is depicted as a monk. The abstract lines of his cloak are reminiscent of a Benedictine monk’s habit. Clasped to his chest, he holds the Gospel, the preeminent attribute for a Proclaimer of the Faith. However, a large part of the bronze field is empty space; the main figure can be seen entering on the field on the left. The emptiness represents the heavy tension between the driven missionary and his pagan assailants, depicted by the sword appearing at the right-hand-side edge of the relief. Whether Boniface protected himself against the sword with his Gospel, as lore dictates, remains unknown. Gosse Dam says: “Is he already trying to spread the word of the Lord to the pagan Frisians? Does he use it as defence against his attackers? The viewer might say it well.”

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Gosse Dam

• District
  Centrum

• Year of creation
  2009

• Art type
  Art in / on a building, Wall sculpture

• Material
  Bronze

• Dimensions
  h 1,76 x b 0,85 x d 0,12 m