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Ivan Krstitelj Ranger's Allegory of the Gift of Speech and the Gift of Silence in Krapina: Inscriptions and Visual Exegesis
Sanja Cvetnić
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Sažetak
Ivan Krstitelj Ranger's wall painting of the Allegory of Speech and the Allegory of Silence on the western wall of the sanctuary of the Franciscan church of St. Catherine in Krapina was recognized as Ranger's work by Artur Schneider in 1939. It is provided with seven inscriptions which were not transcribed, so, consequently, its iconographic content has never been explained. The painting links together the gift of speech granted to the famous Franciscan preacher, St. Anthony of Padua, and the gift of silence which led to the martyrdom of St. John Nepomuk, a post-Tridentine prelate of Prague. Reliquaries with painted images of the tongues of the two saints were used as allegorical symbols. The inscription "Tempus Loquendi" (Time to Speak) is directed toward a reliquary containing the tongue of St, Anthony, identified by an inscription without a band: "Lingua S: Ant: Pad:." Confronted there are two other inscriptions: "Tempus Tacendi" (Time to keep Silence) surmounted by a reliquary with the tongue of St. John Nepomuk, underneath which we read:" Lingua S: loan: Nep:." The band underneath the reliquary of St. Anthony carries an inscription which may be reconstructed as a part of the Psalm 38: "Locutus sum in lingua mea. Ps. 38 v. 5," literally pointing to the gift of St. Anthony's linguistic comprehensibility even when he preached to peoples of other tongues, and is not quite retained in the Croatian translation of that verse of David's psalm ("Progovorih svojim jezikom"— I spoke up in my Tongue). Underneath the reliquary of St. John Nepomuk we read: "Non est
sermo in lingua mea. Ps,138. v. 4." The quote is taken from David's 138 (139) psalm, and it refers to the hagiographic detail about the silence St. John Nepomuk kept to protect confession secrecy: "The word has not yet come to my tongue." The last inscription on an illusionist band underneath the angels' feet at the bottom of the painting, is a quote from the hagiography of St. Anthony: "O Lingua benedicta, quae Deum— semper benedixisti et alios/benedicere facisti, nune manifeste —apparet quanti meriti extitisti apud Deum" (O, the blessed tongue, which
always praised the Lord and taught others to praise Him, now it is clear what your merits with the Lord are!"). This sentence in praise of the tongue of St. Anthony was spoken by St. Bonaventura on April 8, 1263, on the occasion of the transfer of the Saint's body from the church of Santa Maria Mater Domini to the newly built Basilica in Padua. Here, in Ranger's painting, it may also refer to the tongue of St. John Nepomuk, which was especially venerated for its miraculous state of preservation during the inspection of the relics (Only in the second half of the 20 century was it established that it was a piece of brain tissue, not a tongue), and for the generally accepted cause of his martyrdom —persistent silence to protect theconfession secrets.
As of 1685 the Franciscan monastery of Krapina was visited by lectors in philosophy, rhetoric, and moral studies. This learned atmosphere most likely stimulated Ranger to show his own talent for exegesis of theological ideas by creating the Allegories of the gifts of speech and silence. Its post-Tridentine iconography defends sacraments (confession in particular), the cult of saints, and the pious veneration of their relics. The painter commented through inscriptions on the ways parts of the body (in this case, tongues) had acquired celestial fame —by speech and silence— the texts themselves being supported by hallowed authorities — David's psalms and a quotation from St. Bonaventura.
Ključne riječi
Ioannes Baptista; alegory; fresco painting; Krapina
Hrčak ID:
148733
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.12.2005.
Posjeta: 868 *