High Altar of Split Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Technological and Chronological Analyses

Multidisciplinarna studija o temi naslova počela je u sklopu konzervatorsko-restauratorskog zahvata koji je izveden in situ 2006. - 2011. godine, a razvijala se postupno i slojevito gotovo deset godina. Polazna kompleksnost shvaćanja i daljnjeg objašnjenja današnje kompozicije oltara seže duboko u povijest katedrale, dotičući i pitanje prvog arhitektonskog koncepta svetišta u vrijeme pretvorbe antičkog mauzoleja u crkvu posvećenu Uznesenju Blažene Djevice Marije. To dugo razdoblje rekonstruirano je promatranjem i bilježenjem povijesnih tragova na raznorodnim materijalima u svetištu, njihovim Tehnološkim i kronološkim analizama, kao i obradom do sada otkrivenih povijesnih izvora i radova niza autora koji su istraživali pojedine aspekte povezane s tom temom. Naposljetku je prikupljeni materijal strukturiran kronološki kao prikaz konstrukcije oltara i njegova povijesnog razvoja, opsežan onoliko koliko je to moguće u ovom trenutku. Članak je nastavak prethodnoga rada iste autorice iz 2014. godine, u kojem je obrađen povijesni razvoj istočne niše s oltarom i svetišta s drvenim korom, i to multidisciplinarnom obradom tragova na materijalima koji su bili polazište i uporište istraživanja, dakle dokazi predložene kronologije razvoja cjeline. Zamišljeno je da zajedno tvore bazu tehničkih i povijesnih podataka koja će se preispitivati, redefinirati i dopunjavati na temelju novih otkrića. Istraživanje se nastavlja prema istom modelu, obuhvaćajući tehnološke analize drvene građe, konstrukcije, obrade i polikromije naslona romaničkih sjedala koja su danas u koru katedrale, te monumentalne romaničke vratnice, čija se izvorna faza i povijesne preinake dovode u vezu najprije s romaničkim izgledom svetišta, a onda u svim kasnijim fazama njegova razvoja, do suvremenih izazova očuvanja i prezentacije.The multidisciplinary study of the subject originated from a conservation treatment conducted in situ from 2006 to 2011 and has developed gradually and across the board over the course of almost ten years. The initial complexity in how the existing composition of the altar was understood and interpreted has extended, in almost the same way, deep into the cathedral history, touching upon the question of the first architectural design for the sanctuary at the time the Roman mausoleum was being transformed into a church dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This long period has been reconstructed by observation and the recording of historical traces on the diverse kinds of materials in the sanctuary, the technological and chronological analyses of them, as well as by consulting published sources and works by many authors who researched individual aspects of this subject. Finally, the collected material was structured chronologically into a timeline of the altar’s construction and historical development, in the extent possible at this stage. This article is a follow up to an earlier one by the same author. The 2014 article discussed the historical development of the east niche with the altar and of the sanctuary with the wooden choir through a multidisciplinary analysis of traces on the materials. These were the starting point and basis for the research, therefore proofs for the proposed chronology of development of the ensemble. It was envisaged for the articles to together form a basis of technical and historical data that would be further questioned, redefined and supplemented with new discoveries. The research continues according to the same model, encompassing technological analyses of the wooden material, structure, carving and polychromy of the backrests of the Romanesque choir stalls that are presently located in the cathedral choir. Also under way is the research of the monumental Romanesque doors whose original phase, along with their historical alterations, is first brought into connection with the Romanesque character of the sanctuary and then, through all subsequent phases of it development, with the contemporary challenges of protection and presentation

POVIJESNI RAZVOJ GLAVNOG OLTARA SPLITSKE KATEDRALE

Izneseni rezultati istraživanja dio su multidisciplinarne studije nastale tijekom konzervatorsko-restauratorskog zahvata na drvenom svodu, ciboriju, tabernakulu i mramornoj menzi glavnog oltara splitske katedrale što ga je autorica sa suradnicima provela in situ 2006.-2012. godine. Okosnica istraživačkog procesa bila je čitanje, analiziranje i interpretiranje zatečene konstrukcije i tragova povijesnih izmjena na kamenu, mramoru, polikromiranom drvu i slikama Matea Ponzonija, kao i romaničkim naslonima korskih sjedala. Na temelju interpretacije tragova izvedena je kronologija izmjena antičke niše u kojoj je smješten glavni oltar, zatim pojedinačnih elemenata oltarne cjeline te na koncu utvrđena njihova međusobna povezanost i međuodnos. Rezultati su sagledani u relaciji s povijesnim izvorima i dosadašnjim istraživanjima te je na temelju svega iznesena interpretacija povijesnog razvoja oltara s drvenim korom u razdoblju od 13. do 20. st

Gothic polyptych from the Church of Our Lady by the Sea, in Trogir, and contextualisation of its scattered inventory

Poliptih iz predromaničke čiovske crkvice Gospe pokraj Mora, koji se atribuira krugu Dujma Vučkovića, svjedoči o prostornom, povijesnom, umjetničkom i tehnološkom kontekstu svojega nastanka. Izvorno je stajao na glavnom oltaru unutar skošene kvadratne apside crkve. Nakon restauracije 1974. godine, muzealiziran je unutar Zbirke crkvene umjetnosti trogirske katedrale sv. Lovre. U tekstu se reinterpretiraju poznati i donose novi izvori o izvornom izgledu interijera crkvice Gospe pokraj Mora, u nastojanju da se rekonstruira, doduše imaginarno, njezin nekadašnji inventar, danas rasut po čiovskim crkvicama, trogirskoj katedrali i samostanima. Prvotni prostorni kontekst toga inventara i Vučkovićeva poliptiha zauvijek je nestao „obnovom“ crkve 1997. godine, koja nije uvažila nijedan povijesni sloj. U fokusu teksta se u osnovnim crtama analizira povijesnoumjetnička atribucija slike krugu Dujma Vučkovića iz 1974. godine, a u kontekstu novijih spoznaja koje uključuju rezultate tehničkih ispitivanja uz analogije (u različitom opsegu) s istraženim djelima 15. stoljeća u Dalmaciji, koja se s tom slikom u povijesnoumjetničkoj literaturi dovode u vezu. Daje se također i kritički osvrt na prethodne restauratorske postupke te se opisuje model i tijek dovršenih konzervatorsko-restauratorskih radova provedenih u Hrvatskom restauratorskom zavodu od 2011. do 2016. godine, u kojima su istražene tehničke značajke slike, rekonstruiran izvorni oblik i oslik poliptiha koji je bio među najoštećenijim takvim djelima našega kasnosrednjovjekovnog slikarstva.The polyptych from the pre-Romanesque church of Our Lady by the Sea is dated to the 15th century and attributed to the circle of Dujam Vušković. Even though decontextualised, as is the rest of the inventory from the church, it tells us about the spatial, historical, artistic and technological context of its creation and duration as if it were still embedded in the high altar of the church inside the bevelled square apse for which it was made. The polyptych was removed from the altar in 1974 due to a number of factors that threatened it, and since then has become part of the permanent exhibition of the Collection of Ecclesiastical Art of St. Lawrence’s Cathedral, Trogir. Taking into account known sources, as well as discovering new ones, that mention the church and its inventory in relation to their properties today and focus on links to the polyptych and its historical modifications, we have discovered a large part of the historical context of its creation and duration. It now seems that, through every detail, it is still an integral part of the high-altar apse in the church. This is the only place it can reclaim the dignity and meaning it recived when it was made, and which survived during the long and turbulent history of the church and its inventory, first described in 1579, and today scattered in Čiovo’s churches and monasteries, as well as the cathedral. Nevertheless, the restoration of the church did not respect any historical layer, so the real spatial context of the inventory and the painting has been lost forever. The integrity of its interior is evoked in reverse: by analysing the traces on the polyptych and other sporadic, scattered clues that include the initial gathering of historical inventory records, finding and recording its condition today, and its imaginary contextualisation using photographs taken before the restoration. In this way, we add the model of the reconstruction of complete historical stages in the interior of one of the many medieval churches with a similar story, with this particularly important and famous little church as a place where legends, votive prayers and miraculous healings are interwoven. In particular, the art-history attribution of 1974 to a painter from the circle of Dujam Vušković is analysed in the context of recent discoveries, including the results of technical studies, with analogies to analysed artwork from the 15th century in Dalmatia, and which can be linked to this painting. Furthermore, an overview and critical review of the conservation carried out on the painting in the 20th century is presented, and the model and course of a completed five-year conservation-and-restoration project investigating the technique and reconstructing the original form and painted layer of the polyptych, a work of art of Croatian medieval painting with the most extensive damage to its structure and surface, is described

Christus triumphans - The Painted Crucifix from St. Andrew\u27s Church on the Island of Čiovo

Integrira se kronološki pregled povijesno-umjetničkih obrada slikanog raspela iz crkve Sv. Andrije na Čiovu s opisom i komparativnom genezom nekih elemenata prikaza, oblika i konstrukcije raspela te korištenih materijala i slikarske tehnologije. Pronalaze se poveznice unutar dalmatinskog i talijanskog slikarstva te utvrđuju analogije u umjetnosti Bizanta, i to obradom povijesnih izvora o upotrebi pigmenata i tehnika korištenih na raspelu kao i obradom literature o povezanim temama. Opisuje se kronologija povijesnih intervencija na raspelu, koje se dovode u vezu sa spoznajama o promjenama smještaja raspela u crkvi te se predlaže njegov izvorni smještaj. Opisuje se metodologija i materijali korišteni u konzervatorsko-restauratorskom zahvatu izvedenom 2000. - 2006. te se argumentira model prezentacije raspela.The conservation on the painted crucifix of Christus triumphans from the church of St. Andrew on the island of Čiovo, dated to the first quarter of the 14th century was conducted from 2000 to 2006, under the supervision of the Conservation Department of the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Split. The paper brings forth for the first time the results of a comprehensive conservation research of this crucifix, perplexing in terms of its style and authorship, together with a chronological overview of previous art-historical interpretations. New insights into the historical alterations to the crucifix are presented, in part chronologically associated with a redesign of the St. Andrew’s Church interior. Based on the assumption that the crucifix had originally been commissioned for the Trogir Cathedral, a digital reconstruction was made of its position on the triumphal arch. The text brings out a series of technical details about the Čiovo Crucifix, with a description and a comparative genesis of certain elements of its design, form and construction, as well as the materials and painting technology that was used. Reconstructions are given of the axial sections of the bars, their type and structure, the manner of carving, tool traces, the mode and manner in which the segments of the structure were bind together, as well as the modifications to the original design and a model of the stencil used. Analyses of the painting technique are complemented with micro-sections of the samples with details about the number and the thickness of the layers, the types of pigments and binders, the way they were mixed and the sequence of applying the paint layers. Based on the analyses conducted, ties are drawn from within the Italian and Dalmatian painting to the origins and analogies in the Byzantine art. The choice of procedures and materials for the reconstruction is discussed in detail, with the technique of their execution described, and accompanied by a digital reconstruction of the original painting

IIC - Hrvatska grupa: upitnik Rizik za uspješnu pripremljenost, procjenu i upravljanje rizicima u hrvatskim muzejima

U svjetlu potresnog iskustva koje smo prošli i dočekali nespremni, u novoj Muzeologiji objavili smo i rezultate istraživanja Rizik o spremnosti hrvatskih kulturnih ustanova na različite vrste rizika, koje je odmah nakon potresa provela IIC – Hrvatska grupa (V. Ljubić Tobisch, M. Pavić, J. Širec i Ž. Matulić Bilač)

Splitska romanička ikona Gospa od Žnjana: analitička mapa srednjovjekovnog slikarstva u Dalmaciji

Although historical inventories and visitations to Split\u27s medieval churches suggest that the 13th century, its golden age, furnished a large number of their altars with panel paintings, only three icons and three painted crucifixes have survived to the present day. One of them is Our Lady of Žnjan, a large icon and one of the most enigmatic of Croatian Romanesque paintings. During the 1965 restoration, it was discovered that it contained three depictions of the Virgin and Child, which was later confirmed analytically. After the restoration, it was revealed to be a work of the so-called Split school of painting. However, the chronology, complete outlines and painting techniques of these depictions were not investigated, nor was the original location or the historical trajectory of the painting. The conservation project that the author developed and carried out at the Split Department for Conservation of the Croatian Conservation Institute encompasses a double spectrum: restoration of the icon and the creation of an analytical map of complete historical depictions, since none of them was removed during restoration. The cleaning processes, which included the removal of the restoration layer of 1965 and the remains of the historical layers of the 18th and 19th centuries, were meticulously carried out with a stereomicroscope and several light sources. Optical surface analysis, layer mapping, targeted sampling, and a series of in situ instrumental analyses and targeted analytical procedures were also carried out in cooperation with several laboratories in accordance with the author\u27s suggestion and proposal, and consulting with a number of experts from several fields. At the same time, through art-history collaborations, the iconography and properties of the form and stylistic features of the depictions were analysed, which were then visualized virtually. Since it was determined that the depictions were created between the 12th and 16th centuries, special attention was paid to determining their age. In doing so, research was done into the binder, technical properties and possible genesis of pigments and barcodes of complete layers, and age analysis was done on selected elements of the painting. The depictions were also explained using art history, palaeography and history, completing the missing components of the analytical map. A variety of documentation was carried out, and a presentation model of the results was conceived, so that the icon, a monument of medieval painting continuity in Dalmatia and the source of many important development components for its understanding, would become available to fellow professionals and the public. At the same time, the results of the research on the other 19 examples of paintings and wood sculptures from that period in Split and Dalmatia were collected, and new targeted analyses are being performed. The resulting technical base should, in the foreseeable future, unite the scattered results of the work of a number of colleagues in different professions over the course of almost an entire century, as well as the history of conservation and restoration of paintings. Further key issues have been resolved, and a future model of multidisciplinary work planned out.Gospa od Žnjana jedna je od najzagonetnijih hrvatskih ikona i jedno od nekolicine djela najstarijeg splitskog slikarstva. Iako je otkriveno da u svojoj slikanoj stratigrafiji nosi tri prikaza Bogorodice s Djetetom – njihova kronologija, sheme i slikarske tehnike nisu bile istražene. Projekt je obuhvatio restauriranje ikone te izradu analitičke mape skrivenih ikonografskih prikaza. Otklanjanje slojeva mlađih od 16. stoljeća provedeno je pod mikroskopom, kao i optička analitika, mapiranje, uzorkovanje i instrumentalno analiziranje slike in situ, dok su složeniji analitički postupci izvedeni u laboratorijima. Budući da je razlučeno da su prikazi nastali između 12.i 16. stoljeća, ikona je spomenik srednjovjekovnog slikarskog kontinuiteta u Dalmaciji. U radu se donosi kontekst istraživanja dalmatinskog slikarstva

RIZIK – a risk management survey for Croatian museums geared towards the better assessment, prevention and reduction of risk

Purpose. The aim of the survey on risk management in Croatian museums was to collect comprehensive data on the preparedness of Croatian cultural organisations for various risks in order to better assess, prevent and reduce risks. Approach and methodology. Against the background of the devastating damage caused by the March 2020 earthquake to cultural heritage in Zagreb, Croatia, the International Institute for the Restoration of Historical and Artistic Works, IIC-Croatian Group, conducted a national survey under the name of RIZIK. The online survey included 73 questions divided into four categories: general information about the institution, the property including buildings and collections, followed by questions on finances and audience. Questions on safety and regular maintenance, work and business plans, essential emergency services in case of danger, possible hazards and risks affecting the buildings and the collection, along with questions on measures that can help prevent or minimise risks and damage to the collection, the building, staff, and visitors, are part of the survey. Findings. As many as 188 museums were invited to participate in the survey, more than 100 responded, although some answered the questions only partially. This paper shows a cross-section of the general situation in Croatian museums, addresses the problem of modernising exhibition and depository spaces, describes the idea behind the survey, and discusses its results and possibilities for enhancement. Originality/value. The RIZIK survey is the first risk management survey sent to all museum institutions in the Republic of Croatia. The collected data are an important first insight into the current state and standards in Croatian museums, galleries and collections. Based on the results obtained, the survey participants can identify areas where they can strengthen or change their work practices, organisation and further planning