Thèmes iconographiques et images dévotionelles dans la peinture murale médiévale tardive de Transylvanie (deuxième partie du XVe siècle-premier quart du XVIe siècle)

• Main Author: Dana Jenei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Publishing House of the Romanian Academy 2014-12-01
• Series: Revue Roumaine d'Histoire de l'Art : Série Beaux-Arts
• Subjects: mural painting; iconography; devotional images; Middle Ages; Transylvania
• Online Access: http://www.istoria-artei.ro/resources/files/RRHA_2014_Art_02.pdf

The Transylvanian Late Medieval churches, like those in the west, were not integrally painted, with disparate votive or devotional images taking the place of the old hagiographic cycles, reflecting the indulgences and tradition of the Catholic Church. In this context, only a number of chapels preserve coherent ensembles: Hărman, Mediaş and Biertan. The program from Hărman stands as a mark for the iconography with the themes: Jesus in the midst of His Church with Apostles and Prophets bearing verses from the Creed (to the east), the Last Judgement (to the west), the Glorification of the Virgin Mary (in the center). Other ensembles including the Apostles’ Creed were also depicted in Mediaş (both church and chapel), Sânvăsii and Suseni (now lost). The Last Judgment, the most spread theme of the time is completed inside the chapel in Hărman with the Works of charity and the Parable of the poor Lazarus. Fragments are also preserved on the triumphal arch of St. Nicholas church of the same architectural ensemble above the later vault, in Mediaș (St. Margaret church, exterior), Apold, Chimindia, Bâra, Cetatea de Baltă, Sighișoara (with the personifications of the capital sins and the Limbo of the Children), Băgaciu (with a Purgatory prison). The Parable of the Ten Virgins, painted in the inner splay of the entrance from Hărman, is a further argument for the iconography of the chapels reproduced, in general terms, the iconography of the sanctuary of the churches, as in Sânvăsii, Suseni (known from the watercolour copies and old photos) and, in the earlier ensembles from Apold or Nemşa. The association of the Last Judgment, as «the end of time» with the «beginning of time», illustrated by scenes from the life of Virgin Mary, is represented in Biertan (Annunciation, the Adoration of the Magi) and Hărman (Annunciation, Defensorium Mariae, Crowning, Dormition). In Braşov and Bratei, the scene of the Annunciation was depicted too. the Evangelist – was also painted on the exterior at Delniţa and Mediaş chapel, with the donor), while individual Passion scenes, inspired by the “Seven Falls” of Christ, are preserved at Târgu Mureş and Sântimbru-Alba. The main themes of the late Transylvania murals show that beyond the changes of the artistic means of expression contamined by the Renaissance, the art of the voivodate remains even after 1500 faithful to the traditional iconography, reflecting the medieval thinking and mentality.