Side Altars Research Articles

Funding of 15th Century Altars in St. Mary’s Church in Cracow and Providing for their Upkeep till 1529

The altars described in the article were the last - according to the preserved records – to be funded in the 15th century inside St. Mary’s Church. Procuring a new main altar for the church in Cracow testified, as it were, to the standing that this church gained at the end of the century. There is no doubt whatsoever that Cracow burghers treated the basilica with exceptional care manifested through their generosity when it came to funding altars and providing for ministers at the altars. Unquestionably, the most magnificent of all 15th century altars - and one that was at the same time an expression o f care of all burghers for the interior decoration of the church - was the main altar of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (1477-1489), made by Wit Stwosz. At the end of the 15th century Cracow burghers were able to participate in services held at the main altar or any of the 32 side altars (11 of which were funded in the 14th and 21 in the 15thcentury) or in services in chapels. The altars were religious or votive offerings by Cracowburghers, who provided for the old and made new provisions in their legacies as well asmaintained the existing ones and made provisions for new ministers.

Miraculous Image of Christ Carrying Crucifix in Discalced Carmelites Church in Lviv. From Studies on Reception of Graphic Art in Polish Painting of 17th Century

In one of the side altars in the Cracow church of the Calced Carmelites ‘Na Piasku’ there is a miraculous image of Christ carrying a crucifix, brought after World War II from the Discalced Carmelites church in Lviv. The painting is one of the many examples o f using graphic models by painters as it was painted from a drawing made according to a composition of Peter de Witte, called Candid (born ca 1548 in Bruges, died in 1628 in Munich) by Raphael Sadeler I (born 1561 in Antwerp, died 1632 in Prague).

Ukrainian baroque iconostasis and liturgical structuring of the monastery space

Baroque iconostases of Ukraine with thematic iconographies have repeatedly come to the attention of researchers. This refers to iconostases that did not contain the composition Deesis and other images necessary for the year-round cycle of divine services. Instead of the traditional complex of icons, such iconostases contained images that fully covered the theme of the consecration of the altar. The preserved monuments are described in sufficient detail, but the motives and meanings of implementing such programmes have not yet been convincingly explained. The study offers a new look at the reasons for the appearance and symbolic meaning of thematic iconographic programmes of Ukrainian iconostases of the Baroque era. The meaning of introducing edited iconographic programmes is reconstructed using the hierotopic method. Its application identified that the development of thematic iconographies was based on a spatial iconographic concept in which the programmes of several iconostases interacted. The study showed that thematic iconographies were common in the iconostases of side chapels, while the main iconostasis contained all the necessary complex of images, including the Deesis composition. It is established that the introduction of thematic iconography for the main iconostasis was possible only for the monastery church, which in this case was understood as a chapel relative to the central iconostasis of the cathedral church of the monastery. In this carefully designed image system, the icon complexes of the iconostases of side altars and other monastic churches interacted with the iconographic programme of the iconostasis of the main altar in real space. The implementation of such a project expanded the liturgical space of the main church, covering the monastery complex. Therewith, symbolic meanings associated with the image of the temple in the Christian tradition were transferred to the monastery. The proposed reconstruction explains the lack of practice of creating thematic iconographies for the iconostases of the main altars in parish churches

Daniel Gran und die Anfänge seines Schaffens in den böhmischen Ländern

Paintings by François Roëttiers (1685–1742) delivered in 1732 for the side altars of the Church of St John of Nepomuk in Krahulčí near Telč, whose builders and patrons were Count Franz Anton of Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn and his wife Marie Anna of Halleweil, are the unique contribution in the Czech Lands of this painter of Flemish origin, who later settled in Vienna. However, the artist of the original image on the high altar of the same church, St John of Nepomuk adoring the crucifix, now missing, is not this painter. The original Baroque painting was replaced in 1890 by the current painting by the academic painter and restorer Čeněk Neumann. Contemporary records of his painting refer to it as a copy of the original Baroque painting. However, the distinctive visages of St John of Nepomuk and the attending angels evoke strikingly the work of the famous Viennese painter Daniel Gran (1694–1757), whose first contacts with clients in the Czech Lands are documented in the late 1720s. Apart from several indirect indications, Gran's presumed authorship is significantly supported by the finding of a Baroque graphic sheet with the figure of John of Nepomuk adoring the crucifix, whose very specific rendered face evidently corresponds to the matching part of Neumann's copy of the Baroque original. Johann Ernst Mansfeld (1739–1796), the creator of the graphic transcript, identified Daniel Gran as the author of the original which was used.

A Spatial Iconographic Program of Ukrainian Baroque Iconostasis

The purpose of this article is analysis of the iconographic programs of iconostasis created in the Baroque period in the main church complexes of Ukraine - St. Sophia of Kyiv and Kyiv Pechersk monastery. It found that the iconostasis of the side altars of St. Sophia and Assumption Cathedrals and the iconostasis of other churches located on the territory of the monasteries had thematic iconographic programs related to the dedication. These thematic programs do not include Deisis compositions and other images necessary for the year-round cycle of divine service. Instead, they are intended for a solemn service on the feast day or in memory of the saint to whom the additional altar is dedicated. Such "specialized" iconographic programs were parts of the iconographic program of the iconostasis of the central altar of the main church. In this carefully planned system of images of the iconostasis of the side altars and other monastic temples interacted in real space, expanding the sacred space of the main church beyond its material boundaries. Reconstruction of this spatial phenomenon explains the fundamental differences between the iconography of the iconostasis of additional altars from the iconographic program, which was to be in each iconostasis.

Colour in Church Interiors, Medieval and Beyond

Recent studies of churches of medieval origin in Estonia have shownthat these edifices have long histories of polychrome decorationboth before and after the Reformation. In this article, some aspectsof these colour schemes are discussed. Firstly, the question of thedecoration and redecoration of interiors during the Middle Ages isaddressed, secondly the authorship and technique of vernacularlookingmurals is discussed, and thirdly the geographical spreadof these decorations is analysed. In addition, post-medieval muralsare also examined.This article is based on fieldwork in Estonian medieval churchesconducted over a period of fifteen years by the staff and studentsof the Department of Conservation and Cultural Heritage at theEstonian Academy of Arts. Here mainly the results of work in thechurches at Koeru, Keila and Järva-Jaani is presented. Some otherchurches are also discussed for comparison.So far, medieval painted decoration has been found in around25 church interiors on the territory of present-day Estonia, i.e. inroughly a quarter of the medieval churches. Although the numberis not large, the finds allow us to draw some conclusions regardingthe spread of and networks behind these paintings.We can claim that as elsewhere in medieval (northern) Europe,medieval church interiors included at least some kind of painteddecoration. It seems likely that the first (and possibly in many casesthe only) colour scheme was provided by the builders. Especiallyin rural parishes, where no specialised guilds existed, it mighthave been difficult to employ professional painters, although notimpossible. Almost certainly the decoration was applied at the timeof plastering, when the mortar had not yet set and the scaffoldingwas still available.Historical records, surviving artworks and investigated interiorsdemonstrate that after the Reformation the Lutherans were less radical in transforming churches than were other Protestants: severalCatholic altar retables and statues were preserved, side altars werenot removed, etc. The churches were usually decorated with new,more modern murals and only whitewashed in many cases severalcenturies later.Gradually, church interiors became more monochrome, althoughnot necessarily white, something that has been associated with thespread of Pietistic ideas in the Lutheran church. However, the late 19thcentury brought a revival of colour to at least some churches. Thesecolourful, mainly Gothic revival interiors survived for only a shorttime and disappeared again when they were painted over everywhere.For example, in St Lawrence’s in Kuusalu, wall paintings dating fromthe period of the Gothic revival renovation of the medieval church(1899) were found and uncovered in 2021.

Constructive and artistic features of the iconostasis of the Church of the Transfiguration of Jesus in the village of Pidhirya in Zolochiv district

The iconostasis of the Church of Transfiguration of Jesus was for the first time studied. It was determined that according to the type of construction it belongs to the group of a multilayer, parted over the fixed layer iconostasis. Such a design solution, as well as the absence of a basement layer, was typical of the iconostasis of Eastern Opillia in the middle of the XIX century. The feature of the iconostasis is a clearly emphasized central vertical axis of its composition. The iconostasis consists of four layers: nomadic, festive, apostolic, and prophetic.The fixed lazer consists of large-sized Holy doors with open-type carvings and two fixed icons placed over the deacon’s doors. Two more fixed icons (St. Nicholas and Transfiguration of Jesus) are located in the side altars, which are a continuation of the iconostasis.The apostolic layer is the heaviest, it rises in height to the central icon of Christ the Bishop. On the both sides of the central icon there are two great compositions with images of the apostles (six on each side). The figures are depicted with attributes typical for them and from different angles. The icon of Christ the Pontiff on the open Gospel also includes the inscription 1853 – the date of the iconostasis creation.The artistic features of the performance of the monument of art, consisting of the use of a rich color range, a smooth, light-colored modeling of the body planes and a more contrasting solution to the draperies were also highlighted. The parties of hands and faces are light, the basis is half a ton, the artist does not use sharp graphics. Also, the artist avoids a vivid graphics in the design of clothes. More attention and study was devoted to the icons of the fixed and apostolic layers. Smaller icons of other layers are less examined and graphic techniques in modeling draperies are used to a greater extent. Judging from the manner of performance of the icons, they belong to the hands of one artist (except for the icon of Transfiguration of Jesus from the side altar).The considered monument of art is an example of the use of neo-stylistics in painting and decorative plastics. Paintings are made using neo-baroque styles, carvings – using two stylistics: neo baroque - open-type carvings of stylized acanthous leaves (the completion of the iconostasis) and neo-rococo – flat open-type carvings and rocaille ornaments (Holy doors).Keywords: icon painting, iconostasis, construction of iconostasis, artistic features, stylistic, layer of iconostasis

Saints Gone Monastic: The Dominican Cult of Saints in the Medieval Baltic Sea Region

Unlike several other monastic orders of the Middle Ages, the mendicant orders of Dominicans and Franciscans chose from an assorted list of saints as patrons and patronesses for their friary churches and for their many side altars which were also dedicated to a broad variety of saints. These were not just venerated by the friars internally, but also used in their pastoral connection to the lay public as central figures in sermons, processions, and intercessory prayers. This article identifies a ‘short list’ of particularly popular saints among the Dominicans in the Baltic Sea region, with a comparative look at the local Franciscans as well as the neighbouring Dominican provinces. For both orders an outspoken preference for female saints (the Holy Virgin, Mary Magdalene, St Catherine of Alexandria, and, later, St Anne) can be noted in the region, while devotion to male saints (especially St John, St Nicholas, and St Olav) appears with significant sub-regional variations. Although some veneration of St Dominic and St Peter Martyr can be noted, the Dominican Order never seems to have attempted any major promotion of their own saints in the Baltic Sea region.

Altare contra altare. Dysputa o kształcie ołtarza i o jego wystroju w epoce nowożytnej

Altare contra altare. Dysputa o kształcie ołtarza i o jego wystroju w epoce nowożytnej

Ołtarz „Męczenników II wojny światowej” w Lądzie i utwór „Domius regit me. Psalm 23” skomponowany przez Pawła Łukaszewskiego na uroczystość poświęcenia ołtarza

In 2010, a decision was made to dedicate one of the side altars in the Ląd church (Fig. 1) to the Martyrs of World War II: the priests imprisoned in Ląd and the “Poznan Five”. Between 2011 and 2013, following the concept of Father Janusz Nowiński SDB, a painter and sculptor Janusz Szpyt made new elements of the altar: two new paintings and an antependium (Figs. 2-4). Father Janusz Nowiński commissioned a composer Paweł Łukaszewski to write a musical piece Dominus Regit Me. Psalm 23, whose first performance took place in Ląd on 28 October 2013 (Figs. 5-6). It was composed for baritone and musical ensemble. In 2014, Paweł Łukaszewski incorporated Psalm 23 into the score of the Requiem he was composing for the Welsh Presteigne Festival (Great Britain). Paweł Łukaszewski’s Requiem had its first performance at the Presteigne Festival on 20 August 2014. The score of the Requiem was published in 2014 by the Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne.

KLASZTOR W SUPRAŚLU (OD UNII DO PRAWOSŁAWIA)

The Monastery in Supraśl was founded as an Orthodox one in the late fifteenthcentury. Initially the monks opposed the Union. The Monastery subordinated to theuniate rules in 1635, it then became one of the most significant Basilian centers in theRepublic of Poland. Over time, the Basilians increasingly succumbed to Romanizationand Polonization. Consequently, Latin altars (main and side ones), pulpit, confessional,stoup, instrumental organs and Latin devotional articles were installed in the SupraślOrthodox Monastery. The restitution of the Orthodox Church was preceded by severalyears of preparation. One of the taken measures was the opening of a school in 1834in Supraśl that provided education in the spirit of sympathy for Orthodoxy. The changesto the interior of the Orthodox Church in Supraśl involved the decoration of the altaraccording to the Eastern Greek rite, the removal of the side altars and the prohibitionof instrumental music. Due to the preserved iconostasis the church was quickly adaptedfor the needs to celebrate the liturgy according to the Eastern Greek rite; the choirwas created by the students from the local school. In 1828, the Basilians who camefrom the Latin rite were allowed to return to it. Thirty four monks left the Monasteryin Supraśl, and only eight remained. The Basilian resistance against the restitution of theOrthodox Church was the result of their Romanization and Polonization. In contrast,the position taken by the Basilians from Supraśl reflected the attitude of their superior,Nikodem Marcinowski.

Szesnastowieczne pobizantyńskie freski z Supraśla w świetle dokumentacji konserwatorskiej – historia zniszczeń

The article is dedicated to the history of the unique 16th-century Byzantine frescoes in Suprasl. Here we find an attempt of determining an exact date of accomplishment of the interior wall ornamentation (as well as establishing its authorship) in the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of the Mother of God in Suprasl. The main part of the text contains a description of the successive stages of polychromy degradation that started with the damages caused by new elements of the interior decoration added in the seventeenth century (iconostasis, side altars) and was continued in the 18th century when the large parts of the frescoes were panelled. Later on the profound alteration of the architectural and painting of the presbytery was made. It ended with almost complete destruction of the frescoes during the World War II. The part of the text also mentions the restorative treatments conducted on this monument since the end of the 19th century. Here we can also find the study of preserving the extant fragments of the paintings during the post-war times. The analysis of the conservatory measures and their documentation taken between 1964–1965 (66) as well as in 2012 and 2014 closes the article.

Kościół parafialny św. Mikołaja i św. Doroty w Kwiatkowicach

Kościół parafialny w Kwiatkowicach to przykład świątyni pochodzącej z fundacji szlacheckiej i pełniącej funkcję mauzoleum rodowego fundatorów wzniesionej na początku XVII w. przez Kacpra Puczka i jego żonę Annę z Sarnowa. Walory kościoła stanowią dobrze zachowane nowożytne wyposażenie oraz niewielkie zmiany, jakim na przestrzeni lat podlegały jego formy. W kościele znajdują się trzy ołtarze: główny św. Mikołaja oraz dwa ołtarze boczne – Trójcy Świętej (południowy) i Serca Jezusa (północny) – usytuowane w części korpusu przylegającej do prezbiterium. Ołtarz główny powstał w pierwszej połowie lat 30. XVIII w., najprawdopodobniej z inicjatywy zmarłej w 1732 r. Konstancji Kossakowskiej. Ołtarz p.w. Świętej Trójcy powstał w latach 20.–30. XVII w., stanowi pierwotny element wyposażenia świątyni podobnie jak ołtarz Św. Trójcy. Z początku XVII w. pochodzą także dwie drewniane, polichromowane rzeźby: Madonna Immaculata oraz św. Jan Nepomucen. Omawiany obiekt świadczy o pozycji i zamożności fundatorów, którzy zdecydowali się na budowę świątyni murowanej, wyposażonej zgodnie z panującymi na tym obszarze w początku XVII w. trendami.

The Altar and its Decorations in Medieval Churches. A Functionalist Approach

It is the aim of this article to problematize the concept of the medieval altarpiece or retable. If handbook definitions of a formal nature are followed, many configurations which actually occur in medieval churches remain overlooked. In order to understand the pluriformity of medieval altar decorations, a functional definition seems more helpful, such as ‘any object or depiction on top of or behind the altar that forms a backdrop to liturgical activity on and around the altar’. Altars were sometimes equipped with objects which could adopt the function of an altarpiece, including reliquaries and saints’ sculptures, while others were provided with painted or sculptured backdrops which often blend in with the architecture of the building. In addition, many medieval altar decorations display a fundamentally composite character, with clear distinctions between formal categories such as frontals, altar sculptures, panel retables, tabernacles and shrines being difficult to maintain. To gain a better insight into the true variety of medieval altar decorations, special attention should be paid to side altars. Re-evaluating these fixtures as a basic element of the medieval church interior enables us to form a more realistic picture of the variety of medieval altar furnishings and to better understand the original context of the many loose objects we now admire in churches and museums.

Porušena crkva Rođenja Blažene Djevice Marije u Silbi

Već otprije je bio poznat podatak da se godine 1828. u Silbi porušila stara crkva Rođenja B.D. Marije kako bi se dobivenim građevinskim materijalom dovršila prekinuta gradnja nove župne crkve koja naslijeđuje i njen titular. Prema arhivskim podacima rušenje je dozvolio zadarski nadbiskup Josip Nowak i odredio da se do izgradnje nove crkve kao župna koristi nekadašnja franjevačka Gospe od Karmela. Od čitavog je sklopa do danas sačuvan tek zvonik koji je ostao služiti novoj župnoj crkvi. Prema shematiziranim tlocrtu i dimenzijama porušene crkve, dokumentiranima u danas zagubljenom spisu iz župnog arhiva, razvidno je da se radilo o jednobrodnoj longitudinalnoj crkvi s pravokutnom, od lađe užom sakristijom na začelju, dvjema plitkim kapelama dograđenima uz pobočne zidove, te otvorenim predvorjem (ložom) duž pročelja koje se svojim južnim uglom oslanjalo na ugao zvonika. Crkvena je dvorana osim glavnog oltara prislonjenog uz začelje lađe imala tri para pobočnih oltara. Analiza apostolskih i kanonskih vizitacija crkve, prvi puta spomenute 1579. godine, pokazuje da je još u drugoj četvrtini 17. stoljeća ona bila skromna građevina u kojoj se, radi udaljenosti tadašnje župne crkve sv. Marka od naselja, čuva ulje za bolesničko pomazanje. Ipak, crkva je tada imala pet pobočnih oltara koje podižu ugledniji pojedinci i laičke bratovštine od kojih se isticala ona Gospe od Ružarija po kojoj se i crkva tijekom 18. stoljeća pučki nazivala. Na temelju analize zapisa vizitacije nadbiskupa Evanđeliste Parzaghija iz 1670. godine, zaključuje se da je crkva netom prije njegova pohoda pregrađena, dok se prilikom opisa pojedinih oltara navodi da su u ovoj obnovi mijenjali poziciju. Godine 1678. prvi se put spominje zvonik – kampanel.Komparativnom analizom može se ustvrditi da je crkva Male Gospe u Silbi svojom tipologijom pripadala brojnoj skupini jednostavnih, prostranih, ali prema građevnim oblicima ruralnih crkava, kakve tijekom 17. i 18. stoljeća u seoskim sredinama duž istočnojadranske obale podižu pučki majstori. Njihovu djelatnost na otoku potvrđuju kako suvremene matične knjige, tako i spomenici – prikazi zidarskih i klesarskih alata na nadgrobnoj ploči u crkvi sv. Marka te na nadvratniku kuće majstora Franića Lorencina iz 1660. godine. Analiza katastarskih i topografskih nacrta iz 1824. i 1833. godine pokazuje da južni zid crkve istočno od prigrađene kapele Gospe od Ružarija zasebnim usmijerenjem odstupa od pravca ostalog dijela zida, što upućuje na zaključak da je ovaj dio strukture pripadao ranijem, po svemu sudeći srednjovjekovnom sloju građevine koja bi pregradnjom, dokumentiranoj u vizitaciji iz 1670. godine, bila proširena i produžena prema zapadu. Ovu mogućnost, koju bi trebala potvrditi neka buduća arheološka istraživanja lokaliteta, osnažuje učestalost takvih pregradnji na primjerima crkava XVII. i XVIII. stoljeća na otoku Ugljanu, a posebno situacija na tipološki analognom primjeru crkve sv. Lovre u Lukoranu na istom otoku iz 1632. godine.Otvorena predvorja također su osobitost ovih crkava, s tom razlikom da su na hrvatskom priobalju karakteristične upravo za područja Istre i Kvarnera kojemu otok Silba i zemljopisno gravitira. Silbenska je „lopica“ bila specifično izduženog tlocrta te je na pročelju imala dva simetrična niza od po tri nosača s aksijalnim glavnim ulazom u trijem, odnosno crkvu. Radi neposredne prijetnje od upada turskih gusara trijem vjerojatno nije bio prigrađen prije kraja 17. stoljeća kada ove prijetnje prestaju. Naime, toranj zvonika zasigurno je korišten kao obrambena kula, kojoj bi takva prigradnja umanjivala fortifikacijski značaj i vizualnu kontrolu ulaza u crkvu.Uvidom u arhitektonsku strukturu zvonika zapažena su dva različita građevna sloja od kojih starijem pripada trup zvonika, dok se drugi odnosi na strukturu piramide osovljene na plitkom kvadratnom tamburu. Trup zvonika u svojem izvornom obliku zatvorenog je volumena s po jednim lučno zaključenim otvorom u središtu stranica dvaju završnih katova kojih stilski nedefinirana morfologija karakterizira skromnije zvonike od kraja 16. do 18. stoljeća na ovom području. Nekadašnja je piramida 1858. godine radi trošnosti uklonjena te je izgrađena sadašnja s ovalnim otvorima po sredini svake stranice tambura u njenom podnožju. Ova je struktura gotovo identična vršnom dijelu zvonika crkve Gospe od Ružarija u Preku na otoku Ugljanu podignutom 1844. godine.Na temelju arhivskih podataka u radu se utvrđuje da je radikalno preslikana pala glavnog oltara sadašnje župne crkve - „Bogordica s Djetetom, sv. Markom i sv. Matejem“ - u svom ostakljenom dijelu izvorno sadržavala brojne zavjetne darove, te da joj je prilikom umetanja u nišu mramornog retabla Ćirila M. Ivekovića iz 1898. godine skraćen format čime su uklonjeni dijelovi s ostala dva evanđelista. Prema sačuvanom ugovoru i nacrtu donji je dio oltara 1860. godine podigao vodnjanski altarist Giovanni dalla Zonca, a na njemu su bili postavljeni i do danas sačuvani drveni kipovi sv. Petra i Pavla koji prema stilskim karakteristikama datiraju iz sredine 17. stoljeća. Zaključuje se da su čašćena slika i kipovi preneseni s glavnog oltara porušene crkve.

Fray Juan Ricci, Mateo Cerezo the Younger, and the Commission to Complete the Retrochoir of the Cathedral of Burgos

The final expense report for the construction and decoration of the new retrochoir of the cathedral of Burgos contains an inconsistency that may reflect conflicting opinions among the early modern clergy concerning religious imagery displayed in a public setting. The Benedictine artist and architect Fray Juan Ricci was one of the artists involved in this important commission: Ricci was awarded 5,5151/2 reales for a series of six paintings destined for the side altars, a series that included The Ecstasy of St Francis, one of his most powerful celebrations of visionary experience. Yet soon after Ricci's series was completed, two canons, Diego and Manuel de la Moneda, purchased an additional canvas of St Francis from a local artist, perhaps as a replacement for Ricci's version of the miraculous event. The possible controversy surrounding Ricci's painting provides an opportunity to examine the role of devotional painting in seventeenth-century Castile.

Titian's three‐altar project in the Venetian church of San Salvador: strategies of self‐representation by members of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco

In the Venetian church of San Salvador there are two altarpieces by Titian, the Transfiguration and the Annunciation. A third altarpiece by him, a Crucifixion, was also planned, but never erected. Together they were supposed to display a christological programme. The paper argues that the three altarpieces were co‐ordinated by Titian and the patrons of the two side altars. These patrons were non‐noble merchants, involved like Titian in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. Many members of this lay confraternity desired a tomb or an altar in San Salvador, an important church near the Rialto. A history of the commissions for these altars and tombs reveals how cittadini acted in an area traditionally dominated by patricians. Their strategy of adapting to Venetian traditions on the one hand, and of developing their own modes of representation on the other, is most evident in Titian's patrons. A closer examination of Titian's Annunciation demonstrates how the painter and the patron dealt with such a crucial theme for the myth of Venice. Titian affirmed the traditional iconography of the Annunziata, but provided it with highly innovative features: the open brushwork and the unusual physicality of the holy figures express the incarnation of the divine Word.

Nuevas noticias sobre las pinturas de Vicente Carducho para el convento de Trinitarios Descalzos de Madrid

This article presents new information regarding Vicente Garducho's paintings for the high altar and side altars of the Madrid Monastery of the barefoot Trinitarians as well as his twelve paintings of the Life of St. John of Mata, the founder of the Trinitarian order. Carducho's sources for the latter paintings are shown to be a series of prints of scenes from the Life of St. John of Mata published in Paris in 1633, one year before the painter signed his contract with the Trinitarian Monastery of Madrid to paint his series. The article also offers news facts regarding the fortunes of Carducho' s paintings after the Disestablishment of the Monasteries in 1835.

Slave Confraternities in Brazil: Their Role in Colonial Society

One of the most important colonial institutions which joined church and society in the Brazilian cities were the lay confraternities which were attached to churches, convents and monasteries. These voluntary associations of laymen and women joined people of all classes and races in common religious activities and social works of mercy. In colonial Brazil there were separate lay associations for different races, although these racially suggested societies might parade together during religious festivals and share side altars in a common church. Free blacks, mulattoes and slaves joined separate religious associations since the white confraternities were very exclusive and discriminatory towards the poorer non-white population. The slave confraternities of the cities of 18th century Brazil were the only lay religious associations in that society which were open to all people regardless of class, race, sex or ethnic background. However as the century wore on some of the black brotherhoods tended to differentiate among themselves according to tribal distinctions, language, social condition and the extent of assimilation in Portuguese America. The larger slave confraternities like the Rosary brotherhood usually had a more diverse membership of free and slave brothers, mulattoes, Creoles and tribal Africans, blacks and whites.