Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.17018/portal.2015.6
A Rare Example of Preserved Wall Paintings in Konavle
Lucija Vuković
; Museums and Galleries of Konavle - Museums and Galleries of Konavle - Vlaho Bukovac Memorial House, Konavle, Hrvatska
Ana Požar Piplica
Abstract
The church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is located in the village of Popovići, a secluded place near the southern shaded edge of the Konavle Plain, at the site of Lug. It is a votive chapel of all the Konavle villages. Over the course of time, it has experienced numerous injuries and several reconstructions, with its present appearance resulting from the investigative and conservation work that was started in 1997, when the church was valorized and partially restored to the construction phase pre–dating the building–up of the portico and the extensions to the building, which is believed to had been carried out in 1849. Today, the church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a single–nave, longitudinal, east–facing church, with a square apse and a portico before the west front. Architectural features of the church indicate a strong presence of the Gothic tradition and a possible origin of the church in the early period of the Dubrovnik Republic’s rule over Konavle. Of this, however, we have no historical confirmation, while scholarship and archival records, both the earlier known and the newly–discovered, point to the 17th century as the time of origin of the church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
It can be assumed that the church of Our Lady of Promise was built as a votive chapel, meant to safeguard the valuable crops of this fertile plain that was exceptionally important to the Dubrovnik Republic.
In the course of the 1997 efforts, the wall paintings were investigated and valorized. The rest of the wall paintings from inside the sanctuary, in the apse and above the triumphal arch, are particularly valuable as a rare example of mural painting in churches all across Konavle. Conservation work on the wall paintings was carried out in 2014 on two different historical layers, dating probably from the 17th and the 19th century, respectively. The layers were presented side–by–side. By adhering to the technology of execution and hallmarks of the periods in which they originated, the conservation procedure was adapted to each of the preserved layers.
As the Konavle Plain has over time ceased to be the economic centre of Konavle, so has the church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary lost its earlier meaning and importance. The historical research and conservation work on the wall paintings aim to contribute, at least to some extent, to the revival of its historical role and prominence in the everyday life of Konavle.
Keywords
church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Popovići; Konavle; the Dubrovnik Republic; 17th century; 19th century; wall paintings
Hrčak ID:
149923
URI
Publication date:
21.12.2015.
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