Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.17018/portal.2023.6
On Lipovljani and white sculptures: construction and design of the church of St Joseph
Martina Ožanić
orcid.org/0000-0003-3935-8897
; Ministry of Culture and Media, Conservation Department in Zagreb
Ksenija Škarić
orcid.org/0000-0003-4496-6010
; Croatian Conservation Institute, Zadar Department for Conservation
Abstract
The paper discusses the history of the construction and design of the parish church of St Joseph, in Lipovljani, through the prism of archival sources and the results of conservation and restoration research, used for the first time to analyse and evaluate the church in the context of the space and the time period in which it was built. The people of Lipovljani were members of the Gradiška Regiment of the Military Frontier, and the parish was under the patronage of Maria Theresa. Loyalty to the imperial crown is evident from the choice of the patron saint, as well as in the design of the interior and the façade of the new brick church built in 1771 in accordance with the typical plans and solutions (Kirchennormpläne) used throughout the Military Frontier and the Habsburg Monarchy. The church is a single-nave longitudinal building with two bays vaulted with domed ceilings, and it has a built-in belfry on the façade. The church inventory was acquired shortly after its construction in 1775. The high altar stands out because of the rare materials used for its construction. It was made of brick, similar to the one in the parish church of St. Vitus in Brdovac, so far the only known 18th-century example in continental Croatia. The side altars were fresco-painted illusory altarpieces on the wall of the nave. The altars, and the altarpiece on the high altar, were replaced in 1885 with wood-carved altars from the Moravian workshop of Ignaz Johann and Teodor Berger. The next major change came in 1895, when Marko Antonini painted the entire interior of the church and reapplied the polychromy on the high altar. The interior was renovated again in 1980, and the high altar was repainted with acrylic paints, and it remained the same until the conservation project carried out from 2019 to 2022. The work yielded a valuable discovery of the original polychromy of wooden sculptures – a polished white colour – a technique particularly popular in Vienna, Bavaria and the larger cities of the Habsburg Monarchy during the 18th century, and that reached its peak during the Rococo era. The appearance of white-painted sculptures in continental Croatia is primarily a reflection of the client's taste, as well as historical and political circumstances. The clients were mainly noble families, church dignitaries or monastic orders (Jesuits, Franciscans) connected with the brothers at the centre of the Monarchy, especially in the Military Frontier and Slavonia, which was politically dependent on Vienna. Equally interesting are the reinterpretations in later altar renovations, adapted to the context and local expectations. Where monochrome was generally accepted, sculptures were often restored in a similar manner; however, many sculptures acquired mimetic polychromy during restorations. A review of the conservation and restoration records from the archives of the Croatian Conservation Institute and the conservation departments of the Ministry of Culture and the Media has revealed that the restoration of monochrome sculptures differs in approach from the restoration of polychrome sculptures, and that overpainting with polishing, also applied in Lipovljani, has been accepted as a possible and correct choice in recent decades when it comes to damaged or matted white polished sculptures in churches.
Keywords
Lipovljani; church of St Joseph; Kraljeva Velika; Military Frontier; brick altarpiece; Marko Antonini; monochrome sculptures; 18th century
Hrčak ID:
312362
URI
Publication date:
29.12.2023.
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