Naslov
Iluzionirani oltari XVIII. stoljeća na području sjeverozapadne Hrvatske
(Illusionistic painted altars in the North West Croatia during the 18th century)

Autori
Nestić, Jasmina

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Ocjenski radovi, doktorska disertacija

Fakultet
Filozofski fakultet

Mjesto
Zagreb

Datum
24.02

Godina
2014

Stranica
443

Mentor
Marković, Vladimir

Ključne riječi
iluzionirani oltari; zidno slikarstvo XVIII. stoljeća; Ivan Krstitelj Ranger; Franc Jelovšek; Anton Jožef Lerchinger; Andrea Pozzo; Perspectiva pictorum et architectorum; theatrum sacrum
(illusionistic painted altars; 18th century wall painting; Ioannes Baptista Ranger; Franc Jelovšek; Anton Joseph Lerchinger; Andrea Pozzo; Perspectiva pictorum et architectorum; theatrum sacrum)

Sažetak
Iluzionirani oltari se u hrvatskoj likovnoj baštini javljaju od četvrtoga desetljeća XVIII. stoljeća, s prvim poznatim nam oltarom u kapeli sv. Ivana Krstitelja u Gorici nad Lepoglavom (1731., Ivan Krstitelj Ranger), a brojnije se bilježe od šestoga desetljeća pa sve do kraja XVIII. stoljeća. Svojevrsni kontinuitet njihove pojave seže kroz XIX. te do prvih desetljeća XX. stoljeća, ali je ovo istraživanje bilo usmjereno prvenstveno na barokne primjere s kojima je pojava snažnije zaživjela. Oltari unutar ovako vremenski određenoga korpusa XVIII. stoljeća javljaju se na području sjeverozapadne Hrvatske – gusto u Hrvatskom zagorju, Zagrebu i okolici te samoborskom i jastrebarskom području, s krajnjim sezanjem oko Karlovca i Siska, koprivničkoga kraja te sjeverno do Štrigove. Istraživanjem je utvrđeno da su mnogi iluzionirani oltari tijekom XIX. i XX. stoljeća preslikani ili uništeni, ali su pojedini od njih prepoznati u arhivskim dokumentima, starijim fotografijama i literaturi te svjedoče o njihovoj mnogobrojnosti posebice u drugoj polovici XVIII. stoljeća. Kao likovna pojava iluzionirani oltari našega korpusa uklapaju se u umjetnički krajobraz šireg europskog područja u XVIII. stoljeću – brojni su primjeri iluzioniranih oltara u likovnoj baštini Češke, Poljske, Italije, Njemačke, Austrije, Slovenije, Mađarske, pa i šire. Mnogobrojnost naslikanih oltara na ovako širokom području te srodnost njihovih formi svjedočanstvo su uspješne vizualne protočnosti likovnih ideja koje su se proširile iz okrilja talijanske barokne umjetnosti, a posebice kao svojevrsna ostavština teorije i prakse svestranoga umjetnika Andree Pozza. Razlog tako raširenog Pozzovog utjecaja leži ponajviše u primjenjivoj naravi njegovog traktata Perspectiva pictorum et architectorum (1693., 1700.), koji poput pomno razrađene likovne podloge nudi principe i objašnjenja za izvedbu ovakvih struktura. Uporište je traktat prvotno pronašao unutar crkava isusovačkoga reda, kojemu je i sam Pozzo pripadao, a njegova popularnost se ubrzo očituje i u crkvama drugih redovničkih zajednica. Za uspješnost širenja Pozzovih oltarnih rješenja iz traktata zaslužne su i dvije specifičnosti koje u njemu naglašava: prikazani modeli istodobno mogu biti izvedeni u različitim materijalima, ali i za različitu namjenu. Upravo su često isti ili slični modeli mogli poslužiti i za izradu apparata za razne crkvene svečanosti, posebice pobožnosti Klanjanja Presvetome i Božjega groba, s kojima zasigurno dijele iste nakane: želju da se u scenografskom maniri, pomno izvedenom perspektivom, postigne savršena iluzija, bilo oltara, prostora svetišta ili svetog teatra. Na mnogim iluzioniranim oltarima srednjoeuropskoga područja prepoznajemo pozzeskne motive tijekom čitavoga XVIII. stoljeća. Oni će se ogledati u usvajanju specifičnih arhitektonskih elemenata i formi oltara, ali i u namjeri da se pravilno izvedenom quadraturom vizualno produži stvarni prostor crkve. Međutim, u izrazito malo primjera oltara bit će prisutno doslovno preuzimanje Pozzovih gotovih rješenja. Ono se prvenstveno može pratiti u oltarima njegovih učenika, Johanna Hiebela i Christophera Tauscha te posredno i u oslicima drugih slikara isusovačkoga reda, poput Josef Kramolina i Johanna Kubena, koji se čvrsto oslanjanju na svoje prethodnike. Oblici u kojima se javljaju ovi oslici su raznoliki, ali u najvećem broju to su naslikani oltari smješteni u iluzionističkim oslikom oblikovano svetište koji tako nasljeduju prvotnu Pozzovu zamisao o oblikovanju jedinstvenog prostora i sveobuhvatnoj varci percepcije promatrača. Na Pozzov prvotni impuls nadograđuje se fuzija utjecaja od kojih značajniji predstavlja djelatnost umjetnika iz obitelji Galli Bibiene, vrsnih scenografa i quadraturista, a posebice Giuseppea Galli Bibiene koji će u svojem traktatu Architetture e Prospettive (1740.) pružiti novi vizualni izvor predložaka, također prilagodljivih iluzioniranoj altaristici. Daljnje ispreplitanje formi i motiva odvijat će se fluktuacijom umjetnika djelatnih na širem srednjeeuropskom području, poput Franza Antona Maulbertscha, Josefa Winterhaldera ml. i Johanna Lucasa Krackera i drugih, koji će pokazivati da se prvotne Pozzove ideje više ne preuzimaju doslovno, nego su uklopljene u nove strukture i interpretacije. U ovakav umjetnički krajobraz uklapa se i pojava iluzioniranih oltara u sakralnim zdanjima našega područja, a čije širenje je uvjetovano s nekoliko nezaobilaznih čimbenika. Naime, i kod nas se ova pojava prvo očituje u redovničkim crkvama, ali ne isusovačkim, nego u okrilju pavlinskoga reda, prisustvom i radom pavlinskoga slikara i brata- laika Ivana Krstitelja Rangera, koji naslikane oltare integrira u svoje kompleksne zidne oslike. Ubrzo se iluzionirani oltari javljaju i u drugim redovničkim i župnim crkvama te dvorskim i filijalnim kapelama. Mrežu njihove rasprostranjenosti oblikovali su naručitelji, a vremenski nakon pavlina to su prvotno franjevci, i to onih samostana vezanih uz Ljubljanu kao središte provincije reda, koji u svojim zdanjima zapošljavaju slovenskog slikara Franza Jelovšeka (Samobor), unutar čijeg opusa nalazimo mnogobrojne naslikane oltare pomne konstrukcije, te najvjerojatnije i njegovog sina Andreja Krištofa Jelovšeka (Marija Gorica), slikara kojeg će posredstvom ljubljanskih isusovaca angažirati zagrebački isusovački kolegij za oslik svetišta crkve sv. Katarine u Zagrebu. Za širenje pojave iluzionistički slikanih oltara zaslužne su i velikaške obitelji, koje se prepoznaju i kao višestruki naručitelji ovih oltara (obitelj Oršić, obitelj Drašković), ali i biskupijski kler, koji se okreće ovoj novoj modi (more italico) sve više od sedmoga desetljeća XVIII. stoljeća. Upravo je to vrijeme vrhunca djelovanja štajerskoga slikara Antona Jožefa Lerchingera i njegove radionice na našem području, koji u izrazito mnogo slikanih cjelina upliću i naslikane oltare. U određenoj mjeri i spomenuti slikari mogu se smatrati promicateljima ove mode, budući da su zasigurno imali utjecaja i na naručitelje zidnih oslika da ujedno odaberu i ovakav vid crkvene opreme. Višedesetljetna djelatnost Lerchingerove radionice na području sjeverozapadne Hrvatske ogledat će se posredno i u djelima drugih neznanih slikara, a za pojedine od njih možemo pretpostaviti da su udomaćeni slikari proizašli upravo iz radionice ili pak domaći slikari koji su na određeni način u njoj imali udjela. Možemo pretpostaviti i da će unutar nje određeno vrijeme biti uposlen i Anton Archer, koji vjerojatno nakon Lerchignerove smrti djeluje kao vodeći slikar s nekoliko svojih pomoćnika, a koji se svojim oltarima datacijom približava samom kraju XVIII. stoljeća. U oblikovanju oltara bitno je promotriti višestruke utjecaje, od kojih se prvotni ogledaju u dobrom poznavanju Pozzovih rješenja i ideja, koje prepoznajemo u radovima trojice autora najvrsnijih oltara našega korpusa – I. K. Rangera, F. Jelovšeka i A. J. Lerchingera. Rangerovo poznavanje Pozza je temeljito, ali najčešće Pozzove ideje o sceničnosti, slojevitosti struktura i sveobuhvatnoj iluziji interpretira unutar svojih imaginacija Pojedina navedena načela prepoznatljiva su i kod F. Jelovšeka, koji će jedinim svojim oltarom na našem području (Samobor) ostvariti svoj najmonumentalniji oslik ove vrste, a u kojem će pokazati poznavanje svečanih struktura koje prepoznajemo i u Pozzovim svetim teatrima. Lerchinger Pozza slijedi samo sporadično, u dva gotovo doslovna prijevoda (iluzionirani oltar u Završju Začretskom, iluzionirana kupola u Gornjoj Stubici), arhitekturu retabla gotovo nikad ne zasniva scenično, ali u svojoj inačici izvodi iluzionističke transformacije građene arhitekture svetišta u kupolno svođene prostore kakve nalazimo i na Pozzovim oslicima (Frascati). Međutim, razvedene i kompleksne sakralne scenografije unutar našega korpusa nisu mnogobrojne, nego je unutar njega prepoznatljiviji oslonac na arhitektonske strukture i nacrtne sheme građenih oltara. Naime, unutar korpusa nalazimo samo dva atektonski zamišljena retabla, a njegovu većinu čine upravo tektonski građeni retabli klasičnog arhitektonskoga leksika izvedeni unutar barokne preobrazbe. Među njima ne nalazimo neposredne prijevode istih modela ostvarenih u plastici, ali će srodnosti njihovih nacrtnih shema pokazivati da je oslonac na iste ili srodne uzore ipak moguće pretpostaviti. Iluzionirani oltari se u Hrvatskoj javljaju na području snažne produkcije drvenih polikormiranih oltara, ali će se u njihovim nacrtnim shemama ponekad prepoznavati i odjeci konstrukcija mramornih oltara, što također svjedoči o višestrukosti primjene određenih modela oltara. Također, slikari se u oblikovanju oltara ne utječu gotovim rješenjima samo za slikane arhitektonske strukture, nego i u slikanoj figuralici prepoznajemo oslonac na popularna grafička rješenja ili njihove izmijenjene daljnje prijevode – posebice se to očituje kod slikara koji su autori većih slikanih cjelina, to jest ujedno zidnih i svodnih oslika. Ovakav oslonac na grafička rješenja, kojima su radionice poput Jelovšekove i Lerchingerove zasigurno bile bogato opremljene, pokazatelj je dostupnosti i popularnosti modela kojima na naše likovno tržište pristiže i izrazito suvremeni srednjoeuropski izričaj (Johann Georg Bergmüller, Franz Xaver Habermann). Tijekove preuzimanja i širenja modela (ili mode) iluzioniranih oltara donekle je moguće objasniti, međutim, izrazito je teško razjasniti razloge odabira slikarskoga medija u ukrašavanju unutrašnjosti sakralnih zdanja, koji su vjerojatno isti i na širem europskom području. Budući da su naslikani oltari cijenom bili zamjetno pristupačniji, pitanje koje se postavlja pri razmatranju njihove pojave je ono jesu li naručitelji razumjeli posebnost medija i rješenja ili su njihovi poticaji bili iznjedreni financijskim okolnostima. Iako nam je iz literature poznato da su pojedini oltari bili izvedeni u slikanome mediju upravo radi njegove financijske dostupnosti (Samobor, Petrinja), mnogobrojnost i teritorijalna raširenost ovih iluzioniranih oltara ukazuju na mogućnost da su se ovakva rješenja iz nužde pretvorila u svojevrsnu modu (more italico) u opremanju unutrašnjosti crkava. Tome u prilog ide i činjenica da iluzionirane oltare pronalazimo i u starijim zdanjima, posebice prilikom njihovih baroknih obnova (Slavetić, Koprivnički Ivanec, Visoko, Dol). Stoga možemo pretpostaviti da je u određenim slučajevima njihova financijska pristupačnost postala olakotna okolnost, a da je kriterij za njihov odabir bio iznjedren upravo suvremenom modom, u vrijeme kada zidno slikarstvo doživljava stanovit procvat u bogatim oslicima upravo diljem sjeverozapadne Hrvatske, posebice u slikarstvu I. K. Rangera i A. J. Lerchingera. Tome u prilog ide činjenica da se i dobrostojeće velikaške obitelji, poput Batthyány, Drašković i Oršić (u čak tri zdanja) javljaju kao naručitelji naslikanih oltara, ali i zapisi vizitatora, koji ovakve oltare, bili oni privremeni ili ne, često bilježe kao prilično lijepo naslikane (Martijanec, Gornja Bistra, Koprivnički Ivanec). Iluzionirani oltari našega korpusa pokazuju određene specifičnosti koje su omogućile da ih promatramo unutar četiri tipološke skupine, ustvrđene obzirom na njihove likovne karakteristike ponajprije tumačene u odnosu spram arhitekture i prostora u kojem se nalaze, to jest obzirom na njihove iluzionističke odlike i učinke. Prvu skupinu čine oltari izrazito scenografskih struktura i nacrtnih shema, čiji zidni oslici optički dokidaju začelni zid svetišta crkve rastvarajući ga prema vanjskom krajoliku. Ovi su oltari ujedno i najkvalitetnije izvedbe i zamisli unutar našega korpusa – većinom su radovi slikara I. K. Rangera, F. Jelovšeka i A. K. Jelovšeka. Bitno je naznačiti da se pojavljuju kao kronološki najraniji primjeri te tako svjedoče da se iluzionirani oltari na našem području prvotno javljaju u vidu kompleksnih iluzionističkih zamisli te da su usko vezani uz zidno slikarstvo, to jest slikani medij i njegove mogućnosti transformacije arhitekture. Drugu skupinu čine oltari koji su uklopljeni u iluzionirana kupolno svođena svetišta, koji se javljaju sve od kraja šestoga desetljeća pa do kraja XVIII. stoljeća. Oni su gotovo uvijek dio većega zidnoga oslika, bilo samo svetišta ili cjelokupnoga prostora crkve, a autorski se gotovo svi oltari ove grupe vezuju ili za štajerskoga slikara A. J. Lerchingera i njegovu radionicu ili za slikara A. Archera. Treću skupinu čine oltari u naslikanim ili oslikanim nišama i apsidama – to jest, ili se postojeće apside i oltarne niše oslikom dodatno ističu ili se i one iluzionističkim oslikom predočuju na ravnim zidovima. Četvrtu skupinu čini oltari naslikani na zidu bez iluzionističke transformacije, to jest zidu koji umjetnik poima samo kao svojevrsno jednobojno platno na kojemu predočuje oltar kao tijelo u prostoru i zidnu sliku. Iako se oltari ove grupe – u kojoj se nalaze pretežito bočni oltari – javljaju tijekom cijele druge polovice XVIII. stoljeća, oni su ipak vremenski najgušće raspoređeni unutar zadnja tri desetljeća XVIII. stoljeća. Također, bitno je naglasiti da se unutar ove skupine skupine nalaze pretežito bočni oltari. Unutar našega korpusa nalaze se i iluzionirani oltari u drvenim kapelama. Danas su sačuvana samo dva ovakva oltara (kapele u Velikoj Mlaki i Staroj Drenčini), a možemo pretpostaviti da su u prošlosti iluzionirani oltari i u drvenim kapelama bili brojniji. Naime, iako su danas malobrojne, drvene kapele su nekada bile gusto nanizane na području sjeverozapadne Hrvatske, a iz zapisa kanonskih vizitatora saznajemo da su mnoge u cijelosti bile oslikane. Razmatrani oltari manjih su dimenzija i skromnijih struktura od većine onih naslikanih u zidanima zdanjima. Međutim, svojim karakteristikama –srodnostima s popularnim i prepoznatljivim ikonografskim rješenjima te uporabom suvremenog leksika ornamenata – ovi oltari i zidni oslici drvenih kapela odaju da ih kao skromnija ostvarenja promatramo samo radi njihove manje vješte izvedbe, ali ne i uzora kojima se pritom utječu. Istraživanje je pokazalo da se iluzionirani oltari na našem području bilježe i u XIX. stoljeću te tako svjedoče da se ova likovna pojava ustalila i nakon plodonosnog XVIII. stoljeća. U pojedinim primjerima oltara iz XIX. stoljeća (Bučica, Nova Gradiška, Krušljevo Selo, Šišinec) i dalje se prepoznaju uzori u Pozzovim rješenjima, ali se nakana zadržava na prikazivanju retabla kao tijela u prostoru, bez upliva iluzionističkih tretmana i oslika koji bi građenu arhitekturu transformirali, a zidove optički rastvorili. U oblikovanju ovih oltara i dalje se koriste klasične arhitektonske strukture i leksik, u pojedinim primjerima još uvijek okrenute baroknoj, ali u većini ipak prilagođene klasicističkoj maniri. Oltari našega korpusa ne pokazuju izrazito uske poveznice u prenošenju modela s razmatranim europskim primjerima, izuzev prepoznatljivoga prvotnog oslonca pojedinih slikara na već spomenute Pozzove ideje i oltare. Pokazatelj je to i svojevrsne slobode pri njihovu oblikovanju, to jest da su u načelu oni većinom imitacija raznorodno oblikovane građene altaristike, a ne ponavljanje istih modela iluzioniranih oltara prisutnih na širem srednjoeuropskom području¬ – uz napomenu da ćemo srodnosti prepoznavati, dakako, na oltarima istoga slikara ili radionice. Preobrazba oltara u slikani medij, bilo da potječe iz slikareve imaginacije ili gotovih predložaka, na ovako širokom srednjoeuropskom području bit će izrazito raznolika, a naš se korpus i stilski u nju uklapa, pokazujući karakteristike barokne te pretežito kasnobarokne retorike, s uplivima rokokoa (prepoznatljivoga prvenstveno u ornamentu i atektonizaciji segmenata), ali i pomaka prema klasicističkoj maniri u primjerima prema kraju XVIII. stoljeća. Međutim, iako su raznorodni u nacrtnim shemama, odnosima oslika spram arhitekture u kojoj se nalaze, u kvaliteti izvedbe, ovi oltari predstavljaju poseban segment baroknoga zidnoga slikarstva XVIII. stoljeća u Hrvatskoj, a koji promatramo kao jednu od grana široko rasprostranjene pojave suvremene i na širem europskom području. Oni su vrijedan ulomak umjetničke baštine XVIII. stoljeća u Hrvatskoj, a pojedini primjeri vrhunska su ostvarenja te stoga neizostavni u pregledima cjelokupne hrvatske barokne umjetnosti.

Izvorni jezik
Hrvatski

Znanstvena područja
Povijest umjetnosti

Napomena
Illusionistic painted altars made their entrance in Croatian cultural heritage from the fourth decade of the 18th century with the first known altar in Saint John the Baptist Chapel in Gorica near Lepoglava (1731, Ivan Krstitelj Ranger), and a growing number of examples can be dated from the sixth decade up until the end of the 18th century. Although this phenomenon continued its manifestation during the 19th and even during the first decades of the 20th century, this research focused mainly on the Baroque examples when the phenomenon reached its highest point. Altars within such time defined corpus of the 18th century have been identified in the North West region of Croatia – they are very densely located all over Hrvatsko zagorje, Zagreb and its surroundings, in the vicinity of Samobor and Jastrebarsko, furthermost reaching Karlovac, Sisak and area around Koprivnica, and all the way up to Štrigova in the North. The research has determined that although many illusionistic painted altars were repainted or destroyed during the 19th and 20th century, several of them were identified through archival documents, old photographs and literature, which is a sign of their numerousness, especially in the second half of the 18th century. As a visual arts phenomenon, the illusionistic altars of Croatian heritage fit well into the artistic landscape of a broad European area in the 18th century – there are numerous examples of illusionistic painted altars in the heritage of Bohemia, Poland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, and beyond. The large quantity of painted altarpieces throughout such a wide area, in addition to the similarity of their forms, are a sign of the successful visual flow of artistic ideas which had spread from Italian Baroque art, particularly as the legacy of theory and practice by the versatile artist Andrea Pozzo. The reason for such an extensive spread of Pozzo's influence first of all was in the applicability of his Perspectiva pictorum et architectorum (1693, 1700) treatise which functioned as a carefully elaborated art base that offered principles and explanations for the execution of such structures. Being a Jesuit himself, his treatise initially established its stronghold in the churches of the Jesuit order, but its popularity quickly spread to the churches of other monastic communities. There were two particularities responsible for the success of expansion of Pozzo's altar design which he also accentuated in the treatise: models could simultaneously be executed in various materials as well as for different purposes. The same or similar models could often serve for the making of apparatus for various church festivities, especially for the devotion of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Holy Grave, with which they share identical intention: a wish to achive a perfect illusion either of an altar, presbytery or sacred theatre by means of a carefully executed perspective in a scenographic mode. Pozzoesque motifs can be recognized on a great number of illusionistic altars in Central Europe during the entire 18th century. They are reflected in the adoption of specific arhitectural elements and altar designs, but also in an intent to visually prolong the real church space by means of a well-executed quadratura. However, there are only few examples that directly copied Pozzo's ready-made solutions. In the first place, they can be identified in the works of his pupils, Johann Hiebel and Christopher Tausch, and indirectly in the works made by other painters of the Jesuit order, like Josef Kramolin and Johann Kuben, who firmly relied on their precursors. They are manifested in diverse forms, but for the most part, they represent altarpieces depicted in an illusionistic painted presbytery. This way they inherit Pozzo's initial idea of creating a unique space and a comprehensive deceit of observer's perception. Pozzo's initial impulse expanded through a fusion of influences, among which the most prominent was the work of the Galli Bibiena family, excellent stage designers and quadratura makers, especially Giuseppe Galli Bibiena whose Architetture e Prospettive (1740) treatise provided a new visual source of template designs, also applicable to illusionistic painted altars. Further interweaving of form and motifs developed due to the fluctuation of artists who worked all over Central Europe, like Franz Anton Maulbertsch, Josef Winterhalder Jr. and Johann Lucas Kracker and others, who demonstrated that initial Pozzo's ideas were no longer literally translated, but incorporated in new structures and intrepretations. The appearance of illusionistic painted altars in sacral interiors in our region fit in such artistic landscape, and their spreading depended on several unavoidable factors. The initial manifestation in our area was similarly connected with monastic churches, however, it were not the Jesuit ones, but under the auspices of the Pauline order and through the work of the Pauline painter and lay brother Ivan Krstitelj Ranger, who embedded painted altars in his complex wall paintings. Illusionistic painted altars soon appeared in other monastic and parish churches, as well as chapels and court chapels. The net of their diffusion was made by their clients and chronologically first after the Pauline order were the Franciscans, particularly those monasteries connected with Ljubljana as the provincial seat of their order. They engaged a Slovenian painter Franz Jelovšek (Samobor), whose works include numerous carefully constructed altarpieces, and most probably his son Andrej Krištof Jelovšek (Marija Gorica). Thanks to the Jesuits in Ljubljana, he was invited to paint the chancel of the Jesuit Church of St Catherine in Zagreb. Furthermore, noble families were also responsible for the spread of illusionistic painted altars, among which families like Oršić and Drašković can be identified as frequent patrons, as well as diocesan clergy who turned to this new fashion (more italico) from the seventh decade of the 18th century. This also marked the peak of activity of Styrian painter Anton Jožef Lerchinger and his workshop in our region, who frequently incorporated painted altars among their wall painted ensembles. To some extent, the above mentioned painters can also be regarded as promoters of this fashion, because they must had had considerable influence on their clients to select this approach for church decoration. Lerchinger's workshop was active over many decades in North-Western part of Croatia, which was indirectly reflected in the works of other unknown painters. For some of them we can assume that they were trained in the workshop and settled down here, or they were local painters who had participated in the workshop one way or another. We can also presume that Anton Archer also worked in the workshop for some time, and that he was active after Lerchinger's death as one of the leading painters working with several assistants near the very end of the 18th century. It is essential to observe multiple influences in altar design, among which the main are reflected in the extensive knowledge of Pozzo's solutions and ideas, which can be recognized in the altar design of some of the most prominent authors – I. K. Ranger, F. Jelovšek and A. J. Lerchinger. Ranger's knowledge of Pozzo was comprehensive, but most often he interpreted Pozzo's ideas about stage design, stratified structures and overall illusion through his own imaginations. Some of the described principles can also be identified in the works of F. Jelovšek whose only altar in our area (Samobor) stands out as his most monumental painting of this type, and in which he demonstrated his knowledge about ceremonial structures that we also recognize in Pozzo's sacred theatres. Lerchinger followed Pozzo only sporadically, in two almost literate translations (illusionistic altar in Završje Začretsko, and illusionistic dome in Gornja Stubica). His altar architecture was almost never scenically designed, but he made illusionistic transformations of a built chancel architecture into a dome vaulted space which we also find in Pozzo's paintings (Frascati). However, indented and complex sacral scenographies are rather rare within our corpus, and one can more often find examples modelled after architectural structures and plans for built altars. Moreover, there are only two altarpieces within the corpus designed without any architectural elements, while the majority consists of altars with classic architectural vocabulary executed within Baroque transformation. There are no direct translations of identical models built in other materials, however, similarities between their designs indicate they share identical or similar influences. Even though illusionistic altars in Croatia appear in the area renowned for the production of wooden polychromed altarpieces, their designs sometimes reflect marble altar constructions, which is a sign of widespread applicability of particular altar models. Moreover, painters didn’t only use ready-made solutions for the painted architectural structures, but they also relied on popular graphic models or their altered translations when painting figures – this is particularly noticeable in the works by painters who are authors of large painted ensembles, wall and ceiling paintings alike. Relying on graphic models, which Jelovšek's and Lerchinger's workshop must have been plentifully equipped with, is a sign of availability and popularity of models which introduced Croatian art market with the very contemporary artistic expression of Central Europe (Johann Georg Bergmüller, Franz Xaver Habermann). It is possible to explain to some extent the routes of adoption and distribution of models (or fashion) of illusionistic altars, however, it is very difficult to clarify the reasons for choosing the painterly medium for the decoration of sacral interiors, which are probably the same all over Europe. The question that arises in these considerations is whether the patrons understood the specifities of the medium and solutions, and whether their stimulus was financially dependant, given that painted altars were significantly more affordable. Although literature informs us that several altarpieces were executed in painted form precisely because of their financial attainability (Samobor, Petrinja), numerousness and territorial outspread of illusionistic altars suggest a possibility that such solutions out of need turned into a sort of fashion (more italico) for decorating church interiors. After all, illusionistic altars can be found in older buildings, particularly as a result of their Baroque renovations (Slavetić, Koprivnički Ivanec, Visoko, Dol). We can therefore presume that in some cases, their financial accessibility became their mitigating circumstance, and the criterion for their choice was due to contemporary fashion at a time when wall painting flourished all over North West Croatia, especially in the works of I.K. Ranger and A.J. Lerchinger. This is also supported by the fact that even the wealthy noble families like Batthyány, Drašković and Oršić (as many as in three examples) were patrons of painted altarpieces, as well as the fact that records of canonical visitations often described these altars as beautifully painted, regardless of them being temporary or not (Martijanec, Gornja Bistra, Koprivnički Ivanec). Illusionistic painted altars in this corpus demonstrate certain specifities that enabled their classification in four typological groups, based on their visual arts characteristics that have been interpreted primarily in the relations between architecture and space in which they are situated, that is, related to their illusionistic qualities and effects. The first group consists of altarpieces with elaborate scenographic structures and design plans that optically annul the rear wall of a chancel by opening it towards the outer landscape. These altarpieces are also the top quality works of art and concepts within our corpus – most often they are the works of I.K. Ranger, F. Jelovšek and A.K. Jelovšek. It is important to point out that chronologically they appeared the first, which indicates that illusionistic painted altars in this area were initially a part of a more complex illusionistic concepts and that they were closely connected with wall paintings, that is, with the painterly medium and its possibilities to transform architecture. The second group consists of altarpieces that are incorporated in illusionistic dome vaulted chancels, and they appeared from the end of the sixth decade up until the end of the 18th century. They are almost always a part of a larger wall painting, either in chancel only or the entire church interior, and almost every altarpiece of this group is connected either with the Styrian painter A.J. Lerchinger and his workshop, or with A. Archer. The third group consists of altarpieces in painted or depicted niches and apses, that is, either the existing apses and altar niches are additionally distinguished with painting, or they are illusionistic representations on flat walls. The fourth group consists of altarpieces depicted on walls without any illusionistic transformations, that is, on walls that an artist perceived as a monochrome canvas on which he depicted an altarpiece as a body in space and a wall painting. Although altarpieces of this group – in which there are mostly side altars – appeared during the entire last half of the 18th century, they most frequently appeared in the last three decades of the 18th century. Within the corpus one can also find illusionistic altarpieces in wooden chapels. Today only two of them have survived (altarpieces in the chapel in Velika Mlaka and Stara Drenčina), but we can assume that the number of illusionistic painted altars in wooden chapels was much larger in the past. Although the wooden chapels are scarce today, they were once very densely scattered over the North-West Croatia and the records of canonical visitations inform us that many of their interiors were completely painted. The altars in wooden chapels are smaller in size and have more modest structures than the majority of those painted in built churches. However, their characteristics like analogies with popular and well-known iconographic solutions and the use of contemporary ornaments show that we perceive altarpieces and paintings in wooden chapels as more modest works only because of their less skilful execution, and not because of the models they follow. The research has shown that illusionistic altarpieces are also found in the 19th century throughout our territory, demonstrating that this art form continued its manifestation after the productive period in 18th century. The influence of Pozzo's designs can still be observed in some examples (Bučica, Nova Gradiška, Krušljevo Selo, Šišinec), however, they still intended to depict an altar as a body in space, without any illusionistic treatment and paintings that would transform the built architecture and optically open the walls. Classic architectural structures and vocabulary were still used in designing these altarpieces, and while in most cases they demonstrated classicistic features, in some examples they were still oriented towards the Baroque characteristics. The altarpieces of this corpus don't display very close connections in translation of models with the analysed European examples, except the recognizable initial relying of particular artists on the already mentioned Pozzo's ideas and altars. To some extent, this is also a sign of freedom in their design, indicating that, generally speaking, they are mostly an imitation of diverse forms of built altars, rather than iteration of identical models of illusionistic altars widely spread throughout Central Europe, noting that similarities are, of course, recognizable on altarpieces carried out by the same author or workshop. No matter whether it sprung out of an author's imagination or ready-made templates, the transformation of altars into a painterly medium was extremely diverse in such a wide Central European area, and Croatian altarpieces fit into it style wise. They show Baroque and predominantly Late Baroque characteristics with the traces of Rococo (recognizable primarily in ornament and atectonic segments), and turning into to a classicistic direction towards the end of the 18th century. However, even though these altars are diverse in plan designs, in relations between paintings vs architecture in which they are situated, and in the quality of execution, they represent a unique segment of Baroque wall painting in the 18th century Croatia, which can be observed as one of the branches of a widely spread phenomenon concurrent all over Europe. They are a valuable segment of cultural heritage in Croatia in the 18th century. Particular examples are true masterpieces, and thus unavoidable in an overview of entire Baroque art in Croatia.

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