The Living Cross Image in Lindar
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Tea Hlača THE LIVING CROSS IMAGE IN LINDAR: CONTEXTS OF STYLE, ICONOGRAPHY, AND HISTORY MA Thesis in Comparative History, with a specialization in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies. CEU eTD Collection Central European University Budapest June 2017 THE LIVING CROSS IMAGE IN LINDAR: CONTEXTS OF STYLE, ICONOGRAPHY, AND HISTORY by Tea Hlača (Croatia) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ Chair, Examination Committee ____________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________________ Examiner CEU eTD Collection ____________________________________________ Examiner Budapest Month YYYY THE LIVING CROSS IMAGE IN LINDAR: CONTEXTS OF STYLE, ICONOGRAPHY, AND HISTORY by Tea Hlača (Croatia) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Reader CEU eTD Collection Budapest June 2017 THE LIVING CROSS IMAGE IN LINDAR: CONTEXTS OF STYLE, ICONOGRAPHY, AND HISTORY by Tea Hlača (Croatia) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Supervisor CEU eTD Collection Budapest June 2017 I, the undersigned, Tea Hlača, candidate for the MA degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies declare herewith that the present thesis is exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information as properly credited in notes and bibliography. I declare that no unidentified and illegitimate use was made of the work of others, and no part of the thesis infringes on any person’s or institution’s copyright. I also declare that no part of the thesis has been submitted in this form to any other institution of higher education for an academic degree. Budapest, 19 June 2017 __________________________ Signature CEU eTD Collection Abstract The year 1409 inscribed on one of the scrolls depicted within the Living Cross wall painting in the Chapel of St. Catherine in Lindar (Croatia) places it at the very beginning of the history of this peculiar late medieval allegory. This thesis is a comprehensive case study of the Lindar image within the medieval tradition of Istrian countryside wall painting as well as reassessment of its position in the light of the new chronological, geographical and iconographic framing of the origins and formative stages of the early Living Cross imagery. The main focus of this thesis will be a comparative iconographic analysis of the image in Lindar with the two Living Cross representations in Germany, wall painting in Bologna and the fairly recently discovered wall paintings in Koprzywnica, Poniky, and Žehra. Taking into account the lack of certain textual or visual sources that would unequivocally determine the location and iconographic source of the Living Cross imagery, the major contribution of this thesis will be the reevaluation of the Lindar image as a single known occurrence on the borderline territory between the North Italian and Central European artistic, cultural and political spheres. CEU eTD Collection i Acknowledgements I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Gerhard Jaritz and Béla Zsolt Szakács for the invaluable guidance, comments, and suggestions provided during the elaboration of this study. My special thanks goes to Marina Vicelja Matijašić for being an integral part of this study as my external supervisor. From the moment I approached her regarding my postgraduate aspiration, Marina provided me with extensive consultation and unfailing support which contributed immensely to my becoming an MA student at CEU. I would also like to express my gratitude to Thomas Rooney and Zsuzsa Reed for patiently handling the editing process of this thesis and contributing to my improvements in academic writing and English language skills. The CEU-ELTE Medieval Library with its holdings and CEU Interlibrary Loan service were central for my work. CEU funded my project with a generous Short Research Grant. It is with heartfelt appreciation that I acknowledge the support of the following friends and colleagues: Željko Bistrović from the Conservation Department in Rijeka for providing me with information on the restoration of medieval churches in Istria as well as photo documentation and valuable research hints that enabled my findings; Josip Banić for his generous sharing of knowledge and scholarship on Istrian medieval history; Patrik Pastrnak for helping me get hold of the Slovakian scholarship relevant to my research. As well as my parents, friends and colleagues who supported me in various ways. CEU eTD Collection ii Table of contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 1. The Gothic Chapel of St. Catherine in Lindar: Architecture and Wall Painting ................... 7 1.1. Placing the Living Cross Image ...................................................................................... 7 1.2. The Istrian “Countryside Romanesque” Group ............................................................ 12 1.3. The Istrian “Countryside Gothic” Group: Butoniga and Lindar ................................... 16 1.4. The Living Cross Image in Lindar: Pictorial Analysis ................................................. 24 2. Lindar and the Early Living Cross Imagery: Iconography .................................................. 29 2.1. The Problem of Date, Origin and a Common Source ................................................... 30 2.2. The Avenging Crucifix and the Antithetical Pairs: Eucharistic and Eschatological Allegory ............................................................................................................................... 38 2.3. Ecclesia, Synagogue and the Jewish Controversy ........................................................ 48 2.4. A Bride of Christ: St. Catherine of Alexandria ............................................................. 57 3. The Living Cross Image: Ideology for the People ............................................................... 63 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 69 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 74 CEU eTD Collection Illustrations .............................................................................................................................. 78 iii List of Illustrations Figure. 1. Chapel of St. Catherine, Lindar, turn of the 15th century. Photo in the public domain. Source: Central Istria Tourist board. Accessed February 23, 2017, http://www.central- istria.com/en. ............................................................................................................................ 78 Figure. 2. Plan of the Chapel of St. Catherine. Image reproduced from Grković, Odnos slike i arhitekture u srednjovjekovnom graditeljstvu Istre, 82. .......................................................... 78 Figure. 3. Church of St. Martin, Lindar, 14th century. Photo in the public domain. Source: Central Istria Tourist Board. Accessed February 23, 2017, http://www.central-istria.com/en. .................................................................................................................................................. 79 Figure. 4. Interior of the Chapel of St. Catherine. Photo in the public domain. Source: REVITAS. Accessed February 23, 2017, http://www.revitas.org. .......................................... 79 Figure. 5. Western wall, Chapel of St. Catherine, Lindar. Photo: Tea Hlača, 2017. ............... 80 Figure. 6. The Living Cross, 1432, relief, west portal tympanum, St. Martin, Landshut. Photo in the public domain. Source: Fotocommunity. Accessed February 23, 2017, http://www.fotocommunity.de. ................................................................................................ 80 Figure. 7. Lost fragment of a wall painting, turn of the 13th century, SS. Cosmas and Damian , Boljun. Image reproduced from Bistrović, Predromaničko i romaničko slikarstvo u Istri, 27. .................................................................................................................................................. 81 Figure. 8. Interior, turn of the 14th century, Church of St. Eliseus, Draguć. Photo in the public domain. Source: REVITAS. Accessed February 23, 2017, http://www.revitas.org. ............... 81 Figure. 9. Adoration of the Magi, fresco, southern wall, Church of St. Eliseus, Draguć. Image reproduced from Fučić, Romaničko zidno slikarstvo istarskoga ladanja, 94. ........................