engleski

The Romanesque Figural Sculpture of the 12th and 13th Century in the Continental Croatia

Intense research into medieval art, sculpture in particular, in Continental Croatia, was launched only some twenty years ago. Many new facts and monuments have emerged, others, hiding in the museum storages, were resurrected and reinterpreted. In the course of the Liberation War earlier layers were often discovered under the ruins of Baroque buildings (Gora, Sotin, Nijemci, etc.) including fragments of sculpture. Local institutions (museums, offices of monuments preservation), have in the course of the last two decades grown strong enough to undertake independent research projects, what has been reflected in a growing list of monuments and their more intense investigation as a whole, whereas the earlier studies were mostly dedicated to individual sites and monuments, and were of a more particular nature. As a result of those explorations one has recognized and documented some fifty monuments/fragments in both museum collections and in the field which can be convincingly attributed to the Romanesque period. The preserved monuments can be divided into larger complexes, smaller groups, and individual fragments which cannot be convincingly linked to any group. Most of the material has been briefly described in the scholarly literature. Within the framework of the exhibition „Stotinu kamenčiča izgubljenog raja“ (A Hundred Stones form a Lost Paradise) set up in the Archeological Museum of Zagreb in 2007 most of the Romanesque sculpture in Continental Croatia was presented at one place for the first time. The Catalogue of the exhibition includes most of the known Romanesque figural sculpture, with an exception of the materials in situ, but there are still no systematic morphological, stylistic and iconographic analyses, and no comprehensive attempt at a chronology of the development, and of regional influences or links within a wider European context. Most of the figural sculpture could be linked to usually better preserved architectural sculpture, which is in general better researched than figural sculpture. So, this thesis continue the research in terms of contextualization of preserved monuments, definition of workshops and their possible cooperation, and the links of the key Croatian sites to the European context. Also, a better knowledge of patrons and the entire cultural historical context in which the monuments came into being has been obtained and the art historical consideration of the material undertaken has lead to a better understanding of Croatia’s medieval art in general. The most important goal, to establish a more precise picture of the state, significance and role of the Romanesque figural sculpture in Continental Croatia, has been achieved through a research of the primary material within its original context, what has finally enabled us to identify local and regional factors, and influences and links of Croatian sites with the relevant sites in Central and Southeastern Europe, in particular in the Carpathian basin. As the professional literature was until recently dominated by a belief that in the Continental Croatia there were no significant monuments of figural sculpture before the Gothic, dissertation has rebutted such a contention and has demonstrated how, through analysis of the preserved monuments, one can shed more light on the development of the arts in Continental Croatia in the 12th and the 13th century. A comprehensive consideration of the preserved material of the Romanesque figural sculpture has also highlighted the genesis of the monuments from the point of view of both autochthonous origin and regional characteristics, and of the ties with the European trends, which so far have never been sufficiently researched. The starting point of the research was field work documenting the actual state of the monuments and an analysis of monuments in question within the context of the sites. This was followed by documentation and the Catalogue reflecting the basic chronological systematization of the preserved architectural monuments the works of sculpture may be linked to. Although some of that has been already done in the existing literature (in particular Goss, ed., Stotinu kamenčića izgubljenog raja, passim), this research has included the newest insights, and, most of all, the material has been systematically analyzed in terms of morphology, style and iconography. Next, all relevant domestic and foreign sources have been studied and the results of this research have enabled us to contextualize individual monuments or fragments in comparison to similar works outside the medieval Slavonia. Finally, the research into the Romanesque sculpture in the neighboring lands, in particular within those Continental Croatia was culturally and politically tied to (Hungary), as well as relevant sites elsewhere in Western Europe (V. P. Goss, I. Takacs, B. Pomfyova, J. Belaj, K. Filipec, etc.) have been considered. All existing dates of the monuments have been critically rechecked, and wherever possible the monuments have been confronted with the materials outside the territory under consideration. The study of the material is complemented by iconographic analysis, and attempts at reconstruction in order to identify the original iconographic context. The result is the first comprehensive and systematic presentation of the figural sculpture in Continental Croatia in the 12th and the 13th century. Along with a morphological, stylistic, and iconographic analysis of all so far known monuments, the first complete corpus of the Romanesque figural sculpture Continental Croatia has been produced. By a comparison with monuments of sculpture from other European centers better understanding of the original context has been provided and a new view into the development of the Romanesque sculpture in Continental Croatia has been opened (also in terms of Croatia’s links to other parts of Europe). A clear framework of ties of the Romanesque sculpture of the territory under consideration with the European cultural space has been revealed, as well as that within Continental Croatia and the Pannonian basin. Last but not least, the new insights have contributed to a better understanding and evaluation of works under consideration.

figural sculpture; Stone sculpture of 12th and 13th ct.; Middle Ages; Continental Croatia; Lands of Crown of St. Stephen; Cultural landscape

Slovenski naslov: Romanska figuralna skulptura 12. in 13. stoletja v kontinentalni Hrvaški