Sculptural Decoration Research Articles

Gli angeli zaratini a Ceregnano: una proposta per Gregorio Morlaiter

Nella piccola cittadina di Ceregnano, non lontano da Rovigo nel XVIII secolo venne costruita la chiesa parrocchiale di San Martino.1 I testi delle visite pastorali del vescovo di Adria Giovanni Soffietti (1733 - 1747) riportano che il vecchio edificio sacro era troppo piccolo per poter accogliere il crescente numero di abitanti e per tale motivo si decise per la costruzione di una nuova chiesa che nel 1739 però non era ancora terminata.2 La relazione della visita pastorale, compiuta a fine secolo nel 1792, dal vescovo Arnaldo Speroni degli Alvarotti (1766 - 1800), riferisce che l’altare maggiore era intitolato al Santissimo Sacramento, i quattro altari laterali erano dedicati alla Santa Croce, alla Madonna del Rosario, a Sant’Antonio e alla Madonna del Carmelo. La chiesa a navata unica e con l’abside a pianta semicircolare fu radicalmente rinnovata sia nel corso del XIX che del XX secolo. Tra le decorazioni scultoree della lineare facciata ad intonaco si evidenziano due statue in pietra collocate in nicchia. A sinistra San Bellino di Padova, vescovo dell’omonima città e patrono della diocesi di Adria e Rovigo, a destra la statua di San Martino vescovo di Tours cui è intitolata la chiesa. Entrambe le opere sono senza dubbio da attribuire a Giovanni Bonazza (Venezia 1654 – 1736, Padova) e lo stile esecutivo le colloca cronologicamente attorno al 1700.3 Ciò indicherebbe che molto verosimilmente vennero prese dalla vecchia parrocchiale e collocate sulla facciata del nuovo edificio.

From Reconstruction to Analysis. Re-use and re-purposing of 3D scan datasets obtained from ancient Greek marble sculpture

The paper describes two related research projects concerning the sculptural decoration of a well-known classical Greek monument, the temple of Zeus at Olympia. Both projects are based on the same dataset, i.e. the 3D scans obtained from the original pieces of marble sculpture, but they are used for two completely different purposes. In the first section, a summary is given of the results concerning the virtual 3D reconstruction of the east pediment, the second part describes another research question, the identity of the so-called Olympia master and a new analytical method, which makes use of the possibilities offered by the digital datasets and may open up new perspectives for the traditional art historical analysis. Beside the re-using and re-purposing of the raw data, the 3D models are not the final output of the project, but they are used to enhance our knowledge in a new way, which would be hardly feasible with traditional methods.

Kościół bernardynów w Rzeszowie. Mistagogia przestrzeni prowadzącej do wnętrza świątyni

W latach 1610–1629 z fundacji Mikołaja Spytka Ligęzy wzniesiono w Rzeszowie na miejscu objawień Matki Boskiej kościół, nad którym opiekę powierzono bernardynom. W związku z jubileuszem 500-lecia owych objawień, przypadającym w 2013 roku, w kościele dokonano szeregu prac renowacyjnych. W kruchcie, która zajmuje dolną kondygnację wieży, na osi na wprost prezbiterium odkryto wejście, zamurowane prawdopodobnie wkrótce po wybudowaniu kościoła, i przebito je ponownie, zgodnie z pierwotnym założeniem. Pomieszczenie kruchty w przyziemiu wieży zajmuje przestrzeń na planie zbliżonym do kwadratu, przykrytą sklepieniem krzyżowym. W każdej ścianie znajduje się otwór wejściowy wypełniający wnękę w grubości muru zamkniętą łukiem odcinkowym. Dwie pary dwuskrzydłowych drzwi z brązu, obustronnie rzeźbionych, prowadzą do wnętrza kruchty z zewnątrz, natomiast kolejne drzwi, również pokryte dekoracją rzeźbiarską, oddzielają to pomieszczenie od nawy. Ich częściowe przeszklenie sprawia, że w kształt pola obrazowego zostaje wpisane całe wnętrze bogatej, manierystyczno-barokowej budowli, tworząc przestrzenny układ scenograficzny, rozwijający się w głąb, aż do tabernakulum i ołtarza głównego w prezbiterium. Z natury rzeczy ruchomy układ skrzydeł pozwala tworzyć zmienne konfiguracje o zróżnicowanym przesłaniu, rozwijającym się w czasie i przestrzeni. Obrazy z historii lokalnego objawienia i postaci miejscowych świętych poprzez przedstawienia i cytaty biblijne stopniowo prowadzą widza do tajemnicy wcielenia. Przestrzeń kruchty, łącząca umiejętnie przekaz ikonograficzny z symboliką i ekspresją formy (m.in. symbolika światła i symbolika materiału) stanowi znaczący element, a zarazem metaforę wtajemniczenia mistagogicznego, dokonującego się podczas przekraczania granicy pomiędzy profanum a sacrum.

Analogia ad legendum. Funkcja znaczeniowa, użytkowa i kompozycyjna dwóch ambon w kościele oo. Dominikanów w Lublinie

W kościele dominikanów w Lublinie odnajdujemy nietypowy przykład znajdujących się we wnętrzu sakralnym dwóch ambon usytuowanych vis-à-vis na łuku tęczowym. Są one dziełem rzeźbiarza Sebastiana Zeisla, który wraz z warsztatem w latach ok. 1756–1761 wykonał rokokowe wyposażenie dla tej świątyni. Rzeźbiarska dekoracja ambon buduje odniesienia do ich funkcji kaznodziejskiej, jak również do duchowości dominikańskiej. Rozwiązanie to formalnie wydaje się zainspirowane modelem kompozycyjnym ambona–antyambona, który był wynikiem rozwinięcia posoborowej koncepcji symetrycznej (kulisowej) organizacji wnętrza sakralnego. Jego znajomość przez wykonawcę mogła być wynikiem inspiracji lokalnej (np. kościółem św. Anny w Lubartowie) bądź wcześniejszego środkowoeuropejskiego doświadczenia artysty, w tym jego edukacji odbytej prawdopodobnie w kręgu artystów wiedeńskich. Jednak budowa dwóch dominikańskich ambon, spośród których obie były użytkowane (żadna z nich nie jest pozorna), świadczy o tym, że prócz kompozycyjnej pełniły również inne funkcje. Wydaje się, że na ich powstanie miały wpływ indywidualne potrzeby lubelskiego zakonu dominikanów, przede wszystkim praktyka kaznodziejska. Dotychczasowy stan wiedzy pozwala domniemywać, że budowa dwóch ambon ma związek z ich rolą podczas liturgii, a mianowicie prowadzeniem kazań polemicznych przez Braci Kaznodziejów w Lublinie.

THE MAIN PORTAL OF THE CATHEDRAL OF MONREALE: FIRST GEOMETRIC ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETIVE ASSESSMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES

Abstract. Nowadays, 3D documentation of architectural assets is becoming a demanding task for the valorisation of Cultural Heritage especially after a restoration project. The 3D documentation can be used for detailed analysis of specific elements, for monitoring the state of conservation and for valorisation actions. The paper describes the results of the 3D close-range photogrammetry survey of the main portal of the Cathedral of Monreale (Palermo, Italy). The Cathedral is one the most important monumental complexes in Sicily that, for its high historical and artistic importance has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List since 2015. The main portal of the Cathedral has been recently restored. The restoration work has given the opportunity to evidence small details of the sculptural decorations and to carry out new interpretative analysis of the bas-reliefs. The main purpose of the work is to obtain a detailed 3D model and a high-resolution ortophoto of the entire portal and of some architectural details. The study was used to evaluate the most appropriate technical solutions for the 3D survey and to define the most suitable parameters for image acquisition and data processing.

The Sanctuary of Aphrodite and Ares (Paus. 2.25.1) in the Periurban Area of Argos and Temples with a Double Cella in Greece

The object of this study is the analysis of the sanctuary with a double cella or double temple (ἱερὸν διπλοῦν) dedicated to Aphrodite and Ares in the periur­ban area north-west of Argos. Within the context of studies on Greek architec­ture, a specific analysis of the typology of cult structures with a double cella is still lacking, since the attestations have hitherto been considered too limited. The present study, still ongoing, has uncovered a complex situation and the archaeological attestations recovered are not as limited as thought in the past. Hitherto, around twenty examples have been collected, without considering uncertain cases, for which the limited data available have rendered a precise interpretation impossible. The only direct source on the Argive sanctuary of Aphrodite and Ares is the short description provided by Pausanias (2.25.1), whilst its location, ground plan, elevation, chronology and architectural and sculptural decoration remain essentially unknown. New observations may help clarify some of the issues that remain unresolved. The closest archae­ological parallel, at least from the point of view of the ground plan, in the absence of information on the dimensions of the monument, is without doubt the temple of Venus and Roma in Rome, built by the emperor Hadrian (AD 117-138), with which the Argive temple also shares the same east-facing ori­entation of the cella dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite-Venus.

Le décor sculpté du pavillon royal de Marly

La richesse des gisements archéologiques du site du château de Marly est tout aussi intéressante que frustrante. Les nombreux fragments exhumés confirment les textes d’archives et les descriptions quant aux techniques employées pour la construction des pavillons et pour leur décor intérieur. En revanche, à quelques rares exceptions, l’identification des éléments d'architecture et leur localisation dans les intérieurs demeurent souvent difficiles en raison de leur petitesse et de leur manque de caractéristique. La destruction systématique des bâtiments pendant le Premier Empire explique sans doute ces menus morceaux.

Carthage Imagined. From Giovanni Pastrone’s Cabiria (1914) to Game of Thrones (2012)

The purpose of this paper is to present the historiophotic image of Carthage and Carthaginians and also to demonstrate what made-up stories take from the image of antiquity present in our collective consciousness, what motifs were an inspiration for the creators of both the film and the TV series (hictorical motifs but also architecture – very important for the background, e.g. Punic temple of Moloch in Cabiria or frequent Egyptian borrowings – and 19th century paintings by J.M.W. Turner), how ancient code was used to discuss politics of the day (in Cabiria, the fights between pacifists and nationalists calling for the conquest of Africa), whether D’Annunzianism had any impact on the film and how Cabiria fits into the historical-Roman trend. Antiquity presented and imagined as above were analysed on two levels – philological and archaeological (including architectural elements building up urban structures, decorative sculptures, interior decoration, everyday objects and clothing).

Sculptors and Design Reform in France, 1848 to 1895: Sculpture and the Decorative Arts

One reason I was excited to use in my classes Petra ten-Doesschate Chu’s Nineteenth-Century European Art , now in its third edition, was that the inclusion of decorative arts, albeit limited, gave a more complete picture of art production in the long nineteenth century. 1 The incorporation of the decorative arts into this mainstream college textbook also seemed to be a clear signal that the time was ripe for further integration of the decorative arts into academic discussions of sculpture, painting and architecture. Claire Jones’ Sculptors and Design Reform in France, 1848 to 1895: Sculpture and the Decorative Arts , which examines multiple facets of the relationship between sculpture and the decorative arts in the second half of the nineteenth century, is an example of the benefits of such scholarly investigations. In her Introduction, ‘The False Separation of Fine and Decorative Sculpture: Problems with the Rodin Scholarship for the Study of French Sculpture, 1848–1895’, Jones rightly underscores the central role that research on Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) has played in the contemporary interpretation of nineteenth-century sculpture. She suggests that his consecration as the ‘father of modern sculpture’ (p. 3), as well as the prevalent ‘artisan to artist’ (p. 3) narrative about his career, has undermined a more nuanced understanding of the fluid relationship between ‘decorative’ and ‘fine arts’ sculpture in that period. Jones also notes the importance of ‘financial matters and economic imperatives’ (p. 5), which led sculptors to have various vocational identities related to ‘high’ and/or ‘low’ art. In fact, the recurring discussions of pecuniary decisions made by artists are one of the book’s greatest contributions. Less consistently successful, however, is her enumeration of ‘industrial art (1848–1870), decorative art (1870–1892) and objet d’art (1892–1895)’ as ‘discrete yet interrelated and nonexclusive dominant trends in design reform’ (p. 12).

Review: En el principio: Génesis de la catedral románica de Santiago de Compostela—Contexto, construcción y programa iconográfico, by José Luis Senra

Jose Luis Senra, ed. En el principio: Genesis de la catedral romanica de Santiago de Compostela—Contexto, construccion y programa iconografico Santiago de Compostela: Teofilo Edicions, 2014, 239 pp., 117 b/w illus. €20.80, ISBN 9788494208683 Commenced in the 1070s and consecrated in 1211, the Romanesque cathedral of Santiago de Compostela furnished the Galician shrine of Saint James the apostle with a building in the forefront of European experiments with structural engineering, architectural design, and programmatic sculptural decoration, suiting the shrine's preeminence as a pilgrimage center. English-speaking medievalists and architectural historians will be familiar with the great architectural and sculptural campaigns under Bishop Diego Gelmirez (1100–1140), Master Mateo's late twelfth-century west porch (Portico de la Gloria), Kenneth Conant's monograph, and his notion of the “pilgrimage church,” which associates Compostela with churches of similar design at Tours, Limoges, Conques, and Toulouse.1 En el principio , a book of five essays, treats a phase of the cathedral's history less prominent in recent North American scholarship: the conception and initiation of the project during the episcopate of Diego Pelaez (1070/71–88) and the construction completed before the consecration of numerous chapels in 1105. The first two chapters sketch the historical context of ecclesiastical reform and the promotion of Saint James's see and cult. The next three amply illustrated studies closely analyze construction, masons’ marks, and iconography. Together, they explore the circumstances that led the bishop to undertake a church of unprecedented scale and foreign design; trace the chronology and extent of the first campaigns through scrutiny of the building fabric, its sources, and contemporary texts; and assess the legacy of those earliest accomplishments. In the first chapter, Jose Andrade introduces Diego Pelaez's episcopate and reviews controversial issues: a supposed royal assembly in Compostela (1075) and its relationship to the Romanesque cathedral; the Concordia de Antealtares (1077), the bishop's agreement with monks who tended the shrine, arising from the planned construction; and Diego's deposition by Alfonso VI (1088). Charting the bishop's place in royal documents, Andrade defends the prelate's importance …

What is “Folk” about Synagogue Art?

This publication is a tribute to the memory of the outstanding folklorist and ethnographer Dov Noy, who passed away in 2013. In the scholarly discourse that classifies folklore by modes and media of transmission, synagogue art—as distinct from folk narrative and behavioral lore—is commonly categorized as “visual folklore.” This paper examines the approach of classifying murals and sculptural decoration in east and central European synagogues from the late seventeenth century until the Holocaust as “folk creations.” It suggests a revision of pre-established definitions in the field, in general, and in the analysis of representative folk narratives relating to synagogues, in particular. The position of academic research into traditional Jewish visual culture, at the seam of art history and folkloristics, challenges predefined divisions of this integral cultural phenomenon into the conventional categories of separate disciplines. In the discourse classifying folklore according to the ways and media of its transmission, synagogue art—in distinction to folk narratives and behavioral lore—commonly falls into the category of “visual folklore,” defined as the visual domain of folk art and material culture. Jewish “folk art” is often attributed generally to “folk artists” and “craftsmen,” without a clear distinction between the two groups. This paper holistically examines the approaches to the murals and sculptural decoration in east and central European synagogues from the late seventeenth century until the Holocaust as visual folklore, craftsmanship, and artistic work, and outlines the part of oral lore in the programming and interpretation of synagogue art. Finally, it proposes to re-approach folk synagogue art as a medium that creates a visual environment for liturgical activity and predicates its viewers’ responses to the challenges, trials, and tribulations of daily life.

Study of the deterioration products, gilding, and polychromy of the stones of the Scuola Grande Di San Marco's façade in Venice

The Scuola Grande di San Marco is one of the most outstanding Renaissance buildings in Venice. Destroyed by fire in 1485, the Scuola was reconstructed between 1487 and 1495 by Pietro Lombardi (and sons), together with Giovanni Buora and Mauro Codussi. The façade is considered one of the finest and most original exteriors of Venetian buildings and in particular features refined sculptural and painted decorations and a remarkable pictorial effect created by the extensive use of polychrome marbles and the false perspective view between the pilasters of the lower order. Most of the stone materials (Istrian and Verona red limestones, nero di Roveré, pavonazzetto toscano, Carrara marble and various reused antique marbles) present evident decay phenomena such as scaling, exfoliation, powdering, fissuring, salt efflorescence, black crusts, and artificial patinas of various kinds. The present study reports the results of petrographic and chemical laboratory analyses carried out in preparation for the conservation treatment of the building, in order to characterize the main micro- and macro-morphologies of decay and to identify the causes and mechanisms of deterioration as well as the nature and application technique of the polychromy, gilding, and patinas present on parts of the monumental Renaissance façade.

Symbiosis and Civil War: The Audacity of the Arch of Constantine

The Arch of Constantine is one of ancient Rome’s best-known monuments, famous for its use of spolia and its status as emblem of the religious and political changes that occurred under Constantine. Yet one of its most ground-breaking aspects is its explicit depiction of Constantine’s civil war against Maxentius. This study examines the historical context for this revolution in Roman art. By analyzing the Arch of Constantine’s topography, architectural form, sculptural decoration, and epigraphy in the context of similar imperial monuments, it argues that Constantine and the Senate intentionally subverted the longstanding norms of an imperial triumphal arch, transposing the implications of the Roman triumph onto Constantine’s civil war victory over Maxentius. It argues further that the two parties worked jointly to design the arch’s unprecedented representations of civil war because of a symbiotic desire to reject the Tetrarchy: Constantine sought to pursue sole power while the Senate hoped to reclaim Rome’s—and its—centrality in the empire.

Palmyra and Palmyra: Look On These Stones, Ye Mighty, And Despair

Palmyra and Palmyra: Look On These Stones, Ye Mighty, And Despair MARY BERGSTEIN On 18 august 2015, the Syrian archaeologist Khaled al-Asaad, keeper of the remains of ancient Palmyra, was murdered by command of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. He was beheaded and his body strung up with his own head at his feet, the epitome of cruel revenge for one whose profession was conserving Syria’s ancient past. At the same time, the temple of Baalshamin, already in ruins, was detonated by explosives , shelled, shot at, and destroyed, together with the temple of Bel and other Palmyrene monuments and their figurative and decorative sculpture, even as the museum at Palmyra was rather unsystematically looted by various interests. The practices of archaeology and its sometime opposite, iconoclasm, have always been keenly allied to geopolitical interests, but the assassination of Khaled al-Asaad was a shock that seemed to defy our bleakest expectations.* Judaism and Islam prohibit figurative art (especially sculpture ) depending on time, place, and interpretation. One need only think of the Jewish Tetragrammaton (“YHWH”) to remember that the Hebrew deity is not to be represented pictorially , nor his name even written or spoken. The Quran specifically condemns idolatry, if not all pictorial art, and Islamic cultures are given to abstraction in the thought and representation of spiritual ideas. Anatolian carpets of abstracted flowers, the mosaic or tile qibla walls and mihrab niches at mosques, and medieval Quranic manuscripts are objects frequently used as comparanda with regard to the art of the West. Students of visual culture learn early on that the muscular art of the GrecoRomans is historically sui generis. The heroic nude in sculpture, arion 24.2 fall 2016 as we know it from Polykleitos (Doryphoros), the Hellenistic bronze statues at Riace, and Michelangelo (David), is only characteristic of Classical culture as shaped by the West. At Palmyra, however, the soldiers of the Islamic State were as fervent in their destruction of decorative, abstract art as they were in the funerary sculpture of the long-defunct semiHellenized ancients and the images of their deities. And the carved stones these Islamists destroyed were from at least three centuries before the foundation of Islam (AD 610)—fifteen centuries before the present. The Algerian journalist Kamel Daoud’s observation in The New York Times on the first of this year (2016) that the Islamic state “seeks to negate and destroy any evidence of the passing of time, in Palmyra and elsewhere,” is particularly resonant. ISIS, he stated, “tries to extend the desert’s domain: to replace walls with sand, to flatten out landscape, to return to a vacuum so as to start history all over again.” The passion of the Islamic State for destroying pre-Islamic monuments is therefore not so much aniconic as it is nihilistic. war photography at palmyra one of the ways I learned about present-day Palmyra, inflicted with warfare and atrocity, was from the work of the awardwinning war photographer Joseph Eid. Born in Beirut in 1976, Eid studied political science, history, and photography, and then joined the Lebanese Broadcast Corporation International. He joined the photo department of Agence France-Presse in 2006, where he was picture desk editor in Baghdad until 2008. Since 2009, he has been AFP’s photo-coordinator and photographer for Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. As a visual reporter, Eid has a brilliant eye. His photographs of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are powerful statements of the plight of fugitives currently walking and swimming the Mediterranean in search of safety. He has also photographed the ruins of Palmyra. I first noticed his photograph of a window of the shelled Temple of Bel with a view to some devastated Corinthian columns (fig. 1). Contemporary palmyra and palmyra 14 Fig. 1. Joseph Eid, Window at the Temple of Bel, Palmyra 2015. Credit: Getty Images. Mary Bergstein 15 terrorism has deliberately mutilated, if not destroyed, the Classical building forms of this temple and the other architectural remains at Palmyra. Eid’s palette is exacting and beautiful; and the rosy patina of the exterior limestone wall, shattered down to its friable white—tracing the “spray” of gunfire and explosion—is painterly to the beholder...

„Temporibus domini Iohannis episcopi..." – o počecima predromaničke skulpture u Boki kotorskoj

U izlaganju se obrađuje niz predromaničkih fragmenata iz Kotora, Bijele, Tivta, Vijećeg Brda te s otočića Gospe od Milosti i Gospe od Škrpjela u Boki kotorskoj, te ih se pripisuje produkciji kvalitetnog klesarskog ateliera s centrom u Kotoru, za koji se predlaže naziv Klesarska radionica iz doba kotorskog biskupa Ivana. Njihove zajedničke stilske karakteristike, repertoar motiva i visoka razina klesarske obrade u kvalitetnom mramoru ukazuju na rani postanak u doba početaka formiranja predromaničkog stila na istočnoj jadranskoj obali, nastalog na matrici mediteranske ranokršćanske umjetnosti. Temeljem kronoloških odrednica što ih daje trostruki spomen prvog, u povijesnim izvorima sigurno potvrđenog kotorskog biskupa Iohannisa definira se okvir za njihovo datiranje u posljednju četvrtinu 8. i rano 9. stoljeće. Dotični biskup, naime, sudjeluje na posljednjem ekumenskom saboru u Niceji 787. godine zajedno s biskupima Ivanom iz Splita, Lovrom iz Osora i Ursom iz Raba, a svoje ime nam je ostavio uklesano na ostacima liturgijskog namještaja nekih od najstarijih crkvenih građevina u Boki. Na području svoje biskupije možemo ga, dakle, smatrati pokretačem crkvene obnove koja se u to vrijeme još nije očitovala gradnjom novih crkava, već isključivo obnavljanjem postojećih ranokršćanskih, i to unošenjem novih liturgijskih instalacija - oltarnih ograda i ciborija.U radu je posebna pažnja posvećena usporedbi sa srodnom skulpturom što je u to vrijeme ukrašavala katedrale i drugih dalmatinskih i istarskih gradova, poglavito Zadra, Osora, Raba i Novigrada. Analogije se sastoje u gotovo isključivom korištenju kvalitetnog mramora, monumentalnim dimenzijama katedralnih pluteja, u jednakom načinu klesarske obrade te u korištenju istih kompozicija i motiva, kao što su sinusoidne vitice s krupnim trolistima ili virovitim rozetama, učvorene kružnice s nazubljenim listovima te specifična inačica geometrijskog prepleta. Radi se o motivima koji su ograničeni isključivo na urbane lokalitete i na razdoblje kraja 8. i ranijeg 9. st. kada, gotovo u istom valu, dolazi do obnove starih ranokršćanskih katedrala, što govori u prilog činjenici da je u ovim središtima djelovala grupa majstora koja se služila istim predlošcima. Iz njihovih djela progovara onaj isti likovni jezik kojim se inspirirala i Klesarska radionica iz doba kotorskog biskupa Ivana.Nagla pojava ovako kvalitetne skulpture upućuje na pretpostavku da prvotni impuls i poticaj za razvoj predromaničke skulpture u Boki kotorskoj treba tražiti u dolasku putujućih majstora iz nekog sjevernijeg jadranskog središta, koji su po narudžbi očito crkvene elite dolazili i radili u dalmatinskim gradovima. Oni će, pak, školovanjem mlađih generacija umjetnika, utjecati na formiranje lokalnih klesarskih radionica tijekom 9. stoljeća, kada dolazi do konačnog sazrijevanja predromaničke skulpture u našim obalnim gradovima, a vrlo brzo i do njezinog prodora u zaleđe, među novopokršteno slavensko stanovništvo. Tako nam i slika geneze i razvoja predromaničke umjetnosti na našoj obali Jadrana postaje cjelovitija, skidajući barem s druge polovine 8. stoljeća onaj neugodni epitet „mračnog“ doba.

La posible iglesia rural altomedieval de La Solana I (Móstoles, Madrid). El carácter central de su emplazamiento y sus vínculos con el poblamiento aldeano

El hallazgo de diversos elementos de escultura decorativa altomedieval cerca del arroyo de El Soto (Móstoles, Madrid) da pie a plantear la existencia de una construcción monumental en el paraje de La Solana. La interpretación del edificio como una iglesia rural parece la hipótesis más parsimoniosa. El estilo de las piezas se corresponde con el de un conjunto de sitios de la provincia de Toledo, al Sur del Tajo, fechable entre finales del siglo VII y el siglo VIII d.C. A escasamente un kilómetro al Este de ese edificio prosperó desde al menos el siglo XIII la aldea de Arroyo de Viñas, aunque parece probable que ya estuviera despoblada a finales del siglo XIV. Su ermita de San Marcos constituyó un polo de atracción muy estable para un grupo de aldeas vecinas hasta inicios del siglo XIX.

Ezra Pound: Poet; A Portrait of the Man and His Work, vol. 2, The Epic Years, 1921–1939. A. David Moody. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Pp. xvii+421.

<i>Ezra Pound: Poet; A Portrait of the Man and His Work</i>, vol. 2, The Epic Years, 1921–1939. A. David Moody. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Pp. xvii+421.

Ecological Environment and Traditional Craft: Taking Huizhou Three Carvings as an Example

Traditional craftsmanship is an important part of traditional culture. The Huizhou three carvings (stone, wood and brick carvings) refer to decorative sculptures of architectures of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in the ancient Huizhou area, which are excellent representatives of Huizhou traditional handcrafts. For effective protection and the inheritance of Huizhou regional culture, it is of critical importance to identify and improve the influencing factors of cultural-ecological environment. This paper deals with a factor analysis for 16 cultural- ecological environment attributes in nine cities and counties, including Huangshan City, Wuyuan County, and Jixi County by using the principal component analysis method. It discusses the effect of the influencing factors of cultural-ecological environment on handcraft inheritance inclination of the Huizhou three carvings, through logit regression analysis. The results show a significant positive correlation among the four influencing factors of cultural-ecological environment of natural, social and economic development, policy and system, transportation and income as well as interaction between tourism and aesthetics, and the inheritance inclination of traditional handcrafts. Accordingly, the guiding ideas and methods, which influence the inheritance of traditional craftsmanship are proposed.

Museum of Light: The New Acropolis Museum and the Campaign to Repatriate the Elgin Marbles

It is almost half-a-dozen years since the New Acropolis Museum in Athens was inaugurated in June 2009, following a gestation period of over three decades. Before, during and after the construction of the building, the importance of natural light was frequently emphasised by the Museum’s Swiss-French architect, Bernard Tschumi, as well as many Greek government officials, archaeologists, and other heritage professionals. The manner in which the same bright sunlight illuminates both the Parthenon and the temple’s decorative sculptures which are now on display in the Museum, is also routinely referenced by campaigners advocating a return of those sculptures that were removed from the Athenian Acropolis on the orders of Lord Elgin between 1801–03 and subsequently shipped to London. Following the purchase of the collection by the British government in 1816, the Marbles of the Elgin Collection were presented to the British Museum, where they are presently on display in Room 18, the Duveen Gallery. However, for more than two centuries it has been maintained that the sculptures can only be truly appreciated when viewed in the natural light of Athens. Even before the completion of the New Acropolis Museum there were bitter attacks on the manner in which the Marbles are displayed in the British Museum, and the quality of the illumination afforded to the sculptures in the Duveen Gallery. The aesthetics of the Attic light has therefore taken its place as one of the principal weapons in the armoury of Greek officials and international campaigners seeking the return of the Marbles removed by Lord Elgin. Nonetheless, this paper will argue against the accepted orthodoxy that the New Acropolis Museum replicates the original light conditions many of the sculptures from the temple experienced when on the Parthenon. Indeed, this article will dispute the goal of many architects, politicians, and heritage professionals of the need ensure that, when on public display, all of the Parthenon sculptures are bathed in bright natural light. The ability to display the Marbles in the sun-drenched gallery of the New Acropolis Museum forges a powerful link binding the environment of Classical Athens with the present-day capital of Greece, offering politicians and activists seeking the repatriation of the Elgin Marbles a potent weapon wielded to great effect. However, the politically motivated design parameters laid on the museum, requiring the building admit vast amounts of natural Attic light, has destroyed the architectural context the Marbles were displayed in when originally affixed to the temple in the fifth century BC.

Античная тема в архитектурно-пластическом убранстве российских парусных кораблей

The present study focuses on the analysis of the décor of Russian sailing fleet during the period of the18th ‒ first half of the 19th centuries, namely using stories, motifs and heroes of ancient mythology. The author describes ships in terms of art history. In Russian art history ancient images in the ship’s decor have not previously been studied, though over a century and a half they were always in demand both in the titles and in the decoration of the ships. On Russian ships the main semantic accent was expressed in the decor located on the stern. The most popular subjects taken from the myths of ancient Greece are considered in the article. The sculptural compositions placed on the surface of the ship can tell us about the events taking place at that time in Russia. The author traces how the images of ancient heroes, ornaments were dependent on the prevailing art styles — baroque and classicism — and changed over one and a half century of sailing fleet history. On the basis of the historical and cultural analysis the prerequisites for the appearance of sculptural decor on Russian ships were traced and the influence of historical and cultural processes taking place in Russia on the features of development of the storylines in the architectural and sculptural decoration of the ships were determined. The comparative-descriptive method was used in analyzing and identifying the specific properties of the ship’s decor artistic expression. The research methodology is based on the study and systematization of theoretical and illustrative material, the analysis of the documents of Russian State Archive of the Navy, the collection of drawings, models of ships, models and authentic decor from the funds of the Central Naval Museum. Ancient stories were a great source of inspiration for the artists who decorated Russian sailing ships. The study of the ship’s décor allowed us to expand our knowledge of Russian applied arts of the 18th ‒ first half of the 19th century.