Preliminary communication
A Contribution to a Study of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Kloštar Ivanić
Krasanka Majer
; Hrvatski restauratorski zavod
Abstract
St. John the Baptist church in Kloštar Ivanić is one of the largest Gothic churches in Continental Croatia. It can be compared to St. Mary in Remetinec and the Church of the Visitation at Vočin, as all the three belong to the core Franciscan entity of Slavonian custody within the Hungarian vicariate of the Most Holy Redeemer. At the time of construction of St. John the Baptist, the Franciscan order was very busy filling up the network of its sites. The seat of the vicariate that St. John belonged to was in Gyöngjös, and this is where the source of the aisleless building with an elongated polygonal sanctuary was; the Franciscan churches in Požega, Našice, Nyírbátor, Zagreb, Remetinec, Vočin, Šarengrad, Zrin, and Kobaš belong to the same model. Larger churches, such as St. John, usually follow the well-established type of ground plan characterized by a lower sanctuary and a wider nave. In addition, the tower appears in some of the cases. This is usually placed on the side, between the nave and the sanctuary.
The church was probably originally a chapel of the bishop's fortress, and at the beginning of the 16th century it was extended by an addition of the 30 meters long nave. Thus it acquired characteristics of a mendicant, aisleless hall church with an elongated sanctuary, which acted as the monk's choir for their common prayers.
On the territories previously threatened by the Turks the building activity expanded again in the 17th century. Old Franciscan monasteries were repaired, and new ones built in the province of St. Ladislas as, for example, at Čakovec, Krapina, Remetinec, Koprivnica, and Križevci. The Ivanić church and monastery with the inner court yard and a well were also gradually rebuilt and expanded between 1630 and 1784. Retaining the Gothic plan in the time of Baroque did not diminish the quality of this phase of artistic activity marked by numerous Baroque altars, construction of the vaults and the singing choir, and the painting of the main facade. It was painted red with architectural elements marked in soft white. The painted niches enclose the figures of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, and St. John the Baptist. According to documents in the archive of the Franciscan monastery, and a detail of the painting by Isaiah Gasser on the altar of St. Florian, the facade arrangement is datable to 1743. Given the conditions and potentials of the Baroque arrangement of the church in Kloštar, one should emphasize the conscious desire on the part of both the artists and the patrons to reconcile the existing forms with the new elements of the Baroque style.
In comparison with other Franciscan churches in this part of Continental Croatia, the church of St. John the Baptist stands out thanks to its historical and artistic importance, and should be counted among the most significant monuments of both the Late Gothic and Baroque.
Unfortunately, the church has been standing roofless for decades, and its furnishings were either destroyed, or they have been misplaced or moved elsewhere. The facades are in poor state, covered by plants and moss. The floor has been damaged too, and the crypt collapsed and is buried. Recent restoration works leave open the question of the buildings presentation and its function as it has no current users.
Keywords
Franciscan church; late gothics; barozue; wall figure; facade
Hrčak ID:
167789
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2006.
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