Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.17018/portal.2023.4
Chapel of Sts Fabian and Sebastian in Letovanić – historical and design features, and approach to renovation
Anđelko Pedišić
orcid.org/0009-0002-5807-7898
; Croatian Conservation Institute, Division for Branch Departments 1
Teodora Kučinac
; Croatian Conservation Institute, Department for Architectural Heritage
Bernarda Ratančić
; Croatian Conservation Institute, Department for Documentation of Immovable Heritage
Abstract
The chapel of Sts Fabijan and Sebastijan is located in the centre of Letovanić, right next to the main road, which follows the curve of the River Kupa. The church is one of a group of Baroque wooden churches typical of the traditional architecture of the Pokuplje region. Wood panelling with numerous historical depictions and a Baroque altar have been preserved in the interior of the church. Conservation and restoration research on the chapel was an interdisciplinary project based on the cooperation of a large number of specialists with various areas of expertise in order to combine the results into a unique proposal for conservation. Architectural documentation of the existing condition was created in 2016 as a starting point for all further preventive conservation. In contrast to the usual conservation and restoration research methods, which include the creation of stratigraphic probes to identify previous painted layers, research into wood panelling on the walls and vault of the chapel in Letovanić was based on a detailed visual analysis and comparison with historical templates. The research defined the basic elements of the composition, design details and the colour of the three phases of the wood-panelling paintings. The oldest phase is the wood panelling in the entrance to the chapel under the choir. Graphic documentation of the panelling in that area was created to unify the preserved parts of the composition and establish the visual integrity of the painted pattern. Graphic reconstructions of two historical layers of paintings were made using photographs of the panelling before conservation overlaid on the wall and vault mantle in the nave and sanctuary. Conservation and restoration research of the Baroque altar was carried out in the same year. The following year, laboratory analyses (stratigraphic analysis of microsections of surface layers, and research on pigments from the panelling) and a structural engineer’s report on the state of the load-bearing structure were added to the research in the chapel. The results of the interdisciplinary research were summarized in the survey and represent a contribution to the study of the value of religious folk architecture in Pokuplje in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as an incentive to current and future specialists in the field of protection and preservation of cultural heritage to review conservation research standards and the impact of conservation in the context of future reconstruction.
Keywords
wooden chapels; traditional construction; Baroque painting; Pokuplje; Baroque altar
Hrčak ID:
312359
URI
Publication date:
29.12.2023.
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