Original scientific paper
Visual Identity of Stephen III Frankapan of Ozalj in The Church of »Blasena Dywa Maria na Zmolcha Warhu«[Blessed Virgin Mary at Zmolcha Peak]
Ivan Jurković
; Department of History, Faculty of Philosophy, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Pula, Croatia
Abstract
Renovation of the Pauline church of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Svetice, conducted by the employees from the Conservation Department in Karlovac, revealed many frescos that were repaired. Among these frescos, there were representations of Gregory the Great and St Jerome who were »positioned« near windows on the eastern wall, just below coats of arms that – later – were recognized as coats of arms of the Frankopan family. The author believes that the choice of these two saints and their position just below the coats of arms was intentional and unambiguous! Namely, with such a visual composition Frankapans wanted to recall and emphasize »their« family (Gregory – Frankapan) and their homeland (Jerome – Dalmatian) origin. Still, one fresco in the church with the representation of an unknown saint – St Stephen (deacon) – was not renewed. Namely, some historians who have dealt with the history of the Frankapan family thought that Krsto Frankapan commissioned these frescos, although other researchers rightfully noted that these frescos could not be painted before 1541, while Krsto Frankapan has died already in 1527. Thus, there must be that these frescos were commissioned by Krsto’s nephew Stephen III and his sister Catharine (before she married Nicolas Šubić of Zrin and Sziget in 1543), similarly, they together commissioned the decoration of the chapel of St Anthony the Great in Zadobarje (1539). Namely, likewise as in the Church in Svetice, in this chapel on the right side of the eastern wall, below the representation of the Annunciation, there is a fresco with the representation of the »Stoning of St Stephen«, the saint who directly points towards donor – Stephen III Frankapan of Ozalj.
Keywords
Frescos in Svetice; Stephen III Frankapan of Ozalj; visual identity; symbolic communication; (self)promotion; 16th century.
Hrčak ID:
219433
URI
Publication date:
23.12.2018.
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