Naslov
“Pious Vandalism” on Mural Paintings and the Long Wooden Sticks of Istrian and Dalmatian Clergy

Autori
Marušić, Matko

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, znanstveni

Skup
Corpus picturarum muralium medii aevi

Mjesto i datum
Ljubljana, Slovenija, 01.09.2022. - 02.02.2023

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Nije recenziran

Ključne riječi
mural painting ; graffiti ; damage ; pious vandalism

Sažetak
Many preserved mural paintings present graffiti in the lower compartments, either invocations to saints depicted, mementos of important events, or “signatures” of devotees that prayed before them. Because of their importance for the study of literacy, a more significant number of these instances have been extensively discussed in the literature. On the other hand, intentional damages, such as surface scratches and disfigurements of specific saintly (or non-saintly) figures, have attracted little to no interest. The present paper aims to shed light on two such cases of “pious vandalism”, one whose traces are still extant and the other one that is amply documented in the archival sources: the first one is the mural of the Living Cross in Lindar, in central Istria, dated by inscription to 1409, and the second one the wall painting of the Last Judgement, that once graced the apse of the Cathedral in Zadar, probably dating from the second half of the sixteenth century. The cross-examining of these two cases, different in many respects (dating, iconography, setting etc.), will lay out the principal reasoning behind the intentional scratching, the occasions it took place and the instruments used to cause it. The examined cases are all the more intriguing for the “damage” on the murals seems to have been caused by the members of the clergy, which adds valuable nuance to the understanding of the reception of mural painting, both in the time of their making and centuries later.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
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