Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.22586/ss.21.1.14
Wall Paintings in the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in Koprivna – Analysis of Iconography, Style and Patrons in the Context of the Art of the Military Orders
Iva Papić
orcid.org/0000-0002-8397-6273
; Ministarstvo kulture Republike Hrvatske, Uprava za zaštitu kulturne baštine, Konzervatorski odjel u Osijeku
Abstract
The subject of this paper are wall paintings in the fresco technique, discovered in 2007 in the sanctuary and in the lunette of the portal of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in Koprivna. This medieval church, originally dedicated to St. George, Lelja Dobronić associated with the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem and interpreted it as the only remnant of their architecture on their medieval estate called Dopsa. Tibor Rostás, on the other hand, does not mention Dobronić's thesis about the Hospitallers' origin of the church in Koprivna and he connects the origin of the church and paintings in it with the Ják family from the middle of the 13th century. The text analyzes the historical written sources, as well as iconography and style of paintings in the sanctuary and the lunette of the church with the aim of giving a well-founded proposal about the original builders of the church and the patrons (sponsors) of these paintings.
Koprivna is not mentioned directly as part of the Hospitallers estate of Dopsa, but the analysis of written sources from the 13th to the 15th century, which touch upon the estates in the immediate vicinity of Koprivna, supports the assumption that Koprivna, according to L. Dobronić, was originally part of the Hospitallers estate Dopsa in the 13th century, so that in the middle of the 14th century Koprivna was owned by the noble Korogyi family.
In the analysis of paintings in the sanctuary, the Byzantine painting tradition was detected, which influenced the iconography of the individually depicted figures - especially the depiction of the Virgin Mary of the Nykopoia type and St. George in a standing frontal position - as well as the iconography of the entire preserved composition. Stylistic analysis of the paintings affirmed similarities with the probably simultaneous Italo-Byzantine style of the Italian trecento. The similarities are visible in the design of the volume, folds, wings of the archangel and the throne of the Virgin. A comparative analysis of paintings from Koprivna with related European Romanesque murals showed that the choice of iconographic types and compositions, the choice of saints for painting within the sanctuary and, finally, the stylistic characteristics of the depicted characters can be interpreted in the context of knight crusaders' art.
Based on the established similarities of wall paintings from Koprivna with examples of Templars' and Hospitallers' art from Italy, France, Greece and the former Holy Land, it is proposed that Knights of St. John were builders of the church in Koprivna and also patrons of paintings and prescribed iconography in the church sanctuary. The presented proposal is in accordance with the assumptions of earlier historians about the Hospitallers' origin of the church.
Keywords
Koprivna; wall paintings; Mother of God on the Throne; saint George; military orders
Hrčak ID:
266543
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2021.
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