Original scientific paper
Christus triumphans - The Painted Crucifix from St. Andrew's Church on the Island of Čiovo
Žana Matulić Bilač
orcid.org/0000-0003-3613-6009
; Croatian Conservation Institute, Split Department for Conservation, Split, Croatia
Abstract
The conservation on the painted crucifix of Christus triumphans from the church of St. Andrew on the island of Čiovo, dated to the first quarter of the 14th century was conducted from 2000 to 2006, under the supervision of the Conservation Department of the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Split. The paper brings forth for the first time the results of a comprehensive conservation research of this crucifix, perplexing in terms of its style and authorship, together with a chronological overview of previous art-historical interpretations. New insights into the historical alterations to the crucifix are presented, in part chronologically associated with a redesign of the St. Andrew’s Church interior. Based on the assumption that the crucifix had originally been commissioned for the
Trogir Cathedral, a digital reconstruction was made of its position on the triumphal arch. The text brings out a series of technical details about the Čiovo Crucifix, with a description and a comparative genesis of certain elements of its design, form and construction, as well as the materials and painting technology that was used. Reconstructions are given of the axial sections of the bars, their type and structure, the manner of carving, tool traces, the mode and manner in which the segments of the structure were bind together, as well as the modifications to the original design and a model of the stencil used. Analyses of the painting technique are complemented with micro-sections of the samples with details about the number and the thickness of the layers, the types of pigments and binders, the way they were mixed and the sequence of applying the paint layers. Based on the analyses conducted, ties are drawn from within the Italian and Dalmatian painting to the origins and analogies in the Byzantine art. The choice of procedures and materials for the reconstruction is discussed in detail, with the technique of their execution described, and accompanied by a digital reconstruction of the original painting.
Keywords
painted crucifix; St. Andrew’s Church; Čiovo; painting; 14th century; gothic painting; adriobyzantine painting; Dalmatia; painting technique; technology; conservation; presentation
Hrčak ID:
122556
URI
Publication date:
20.12.2013.
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