Home > Auction >  paintings, furniture and works of art, jewellery, sculptures, bronzes >  Lot.489 Babel, Santa Claus (and workshop, attr.). Pfronten, 1643 - 1728. H. 180 cm. Saint George defeats the dragon. Life-sized figure of the saint, with his feet he treads on the dragon he is about to kill with his lance. Lime tree, flattened at the back. Remains of original setting, completely overlooked. Restorations and additions. Lance erg. Provenance: Belgian private collection. Nikolaus Babel was one of the most famous sculptors and masters in the construction of altarpieces in the southern Allgäu and the neighbouring Tyrol between about 1670 and 1720. Born in Pfronten as the son of a carpenter, he studied with Martin Schneider on site and with Guggenbichel in Dillingen. His works can be found in Bad Hindelang, Füssen, Bichlbach/Tyrol, Nesselwang etc. and of course in Pfronten. Apart from the altar buildings themselves, most of the figures, decorations, etc. are also from the Babel workshop. Cf. the figures of St. George and St. Florian for the high altar of the St. Sebastian branch church in Füssen (fig. 1+2) as well as an angel in the parish church of Vils and a St. Anna Selbdritt in the chapel of St. Leonhard in Tannheim-Kienzen. Lit. Herbert Wittmann: Nikolaus Babel (1643-1728), carpenter and sculptor in Pfronten, article in the yearbook of the hist. Association Alt Füssen, Alt Füssen, 2006.