Interior, the nave triumphal arch, southern side: St Erasmus

Numerous deep and wide incisions were used: for the halo decorated with ray-shaped pouncings (perhaps originally gilded), the mitre and the outline of Erasmus’s head, the collar of the headdress, and for the decorative cross-formed belt running down his body. The latter was also decorated with applications: semi-precious stones or coloured glass were probably used, but these have all been lost, leaving only recesses in the plaster. The bishop’s staff and the ribbon hanging from Erasmus’s left hand were also incised. Further incisions are also noticeable in the architectural elements. Judging from the number of incisions, the underdrawing was limited to the figure exclusively. We cannot see it clearly anywhere: perhaps the painter painted it in yellow, which he also used for much of the modelling. On the other hand, one of the samples (Fig. 2) suggests a possible black underdrawing. The painter was well-versed in creating light and shades as well as the transitions between them, which he achieved with a combination of broad and thin brushes. Much of the basic colour layers on Erasmus’s face have been preserved, mostly in ochre shades, with some redness on the right cheek (Fig. 3). His head is elongated, while his eyes are large and almond-shaped with a prominent dark brown upper eyelid margin and narrow under-eye bags. Above the eyes are slightly arched long eyebrows, under which the painter applied shading with a darker ochre colour, which is very characteristic of him: otherwise, such a feature is not often seen in other painters. The irises are yellow: the final colour (blue?) may have fallen off. The nose is straight and long, protruding from the inner eyebrow, but it is impossible to see how it concluded because of the damage. The mouth has not been preserved, as this part of the mural is also damaged. Erasmus’s head is adorned with a neatly shaped hairdo with curls in the middle of the forehead and below the ears, shaped in the same way as his beard and moustache – i.e., with lighter and darker ochre strands. His figure is exaggeratedly long yet slender and elegant, clad in a green coat and an ochre tunic. The painter modelled the latter with broader and thinner brushes, which he used to apply shades of various intensities, the darker ones being deeper in the folds. The modelling of the coat has not been preserved. The artist in question was a skilful painter who was even able to incorporate optical perspective into the architectural elements.

Exterior, the western façade: Navicella and the female saint with a donor/votive image

The painter used a double parallel line to incise the edge of the circular halos, and thin incisions are also discernible on the sail in the Navicella (Jesus walks on the water) scene. The figures were outlined with a red underdrawing, which is clearly visible because the entire colour layer or at least the modelling has fallen off in several places, especially on the faces. The underdrawing was made with a firm stroke and a line approximately five millimetres wide. The modelling of the faces is identical to St Erasmus, suggesting the same painter or at least his assistant (the workmanship does not appear to be of such high quality as that of St Erasmus): an elongated face with a somewhat prominent cheekbone in a three-quarter profile, large eyes with accentuated narrow under-eye bags and a stronger line for the edge of the upper eyelid, large irises with a pupil that adheres to the upper edge of the circle, only slightly arched long eyebrows, and a nose that protrudes from the inner eyebrow and, in some cases, is a bit upturned towards the tip. The ochre shading of the space between the eyebrows and eyelids, which is the same as in St Erasmus and very specific for this painter, is an important detail. The mouth is large, with two prominent tips on the upper lip and a broad, fleshy lower lip (Fig. 6). Some of the carnation is still preserved on the face of the female saint in the votive image, where we can see a rather competently painted pink shading, going from lighter to darker hues. The modelling is also revealed by the cross-section taken from this face, which reveals a thick base pink layer made of white lime and red earth, with a thin darker layer of shading on top (Fig. 4). The hair is mainly styled on a yellow base and with strands outlined with a red contour in the colour of the underdrawing. The modelling between light and shadow is less detailed in comparison with the hair and beard of St Erasmus, suggesting an assistant may have painted it. The broad hands with thick parallel fingers seem somewhat clumsy and are mostly preserved only as the underdrawing. The colour modelling is almost completely gone from the entire mural, though the primary colour layers of yellow, red, green, or grey-blue, applied with broad brushes, have been preserved.