Stage 2 (Piran)

Corpus » Church of St Francis of Assisi

Interactive drawing

Art-historical analysis

In 1975, a fresco of the Crucifixion with Mary and St John the Evangelist was uncovered and removed from the refectory.[1] It depicts Christ on the cross against a blue background. The figure to the left of Christ is portrayed with his arms folded and is preserved only to the waist, while the figure to the right is visible in its entirety. Behind it, the lower part of the background is preserved, appearing as a stringcourse painted in a pinkish hue and articulated with lines drawn in dark pigment to give it volume. The motif is outlined by a border consisting of a red line and a broader white stripe with a cosmatesque ornament, followed by another red line. The painting is in extremely poor condition, having been removed in the 1970s and subsequently mounted on its current support without any urgently-needed further restoration works. The fragment was deposited at the Koper department of the Inter-Municipal Institute for the Protection of the Natural and Cultural Heritage of Piran.[2] Currently, it hangs on the wall of the Minorite monastery staircase leading to the archives.

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[1] Cf. Mira LIČEN, Frančiškanski samostan Piran. Poročilo po obdelanih sondah, Piran 19 September 1975; LIČEN KRMPOTIČ 1995. A sinopia has been preserved underneath it, which has remained in situ but is not visible today.
[2] HÖFLER 1997, p. 111.

Poor.

The condition of the fresco is too poor for a precise stylistic analysis. Based on its composition, the use of pigments, the partially preserved drapery of the right figure, and the border with the cosmatesque ornament that frames it, it can be stylistically associated with Italian painting of the late 14th or early 15th century.[1] The stringcourse of sorts, depicted in the lower part of the background behind the right figure, is an interesting element. Unfortunately, however, no similar elements have yet been found for comparison.

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[1] Cf. HÖFLER 1997, pp. 111–112.

The late 14th or early 15th century.[1]

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[1] Cf. HÖFLER 1997, pp. 111–112.

The fresco depicts the iconographic motif of the Crucifixion with Mary and St John the Evangelist.

Technical analysis

Pigments: presumably white lime, yellow ochre, red earth, azurite or malachite, some organic black, a lead pigment (?)

Analytical techniques: OM

The sample cross-sections reveal a bright plaster made of lime as the binder and angular, mostly translucent aggregate grains, some of which are also darker yellow or dark brown (Figs. 1–2). The translucent grains could be crushed quartz, calcite, or marble. The plaster has not been chemically analysed. The thickness of the original plaster is unknown, as the painting has been removed and transferred to a new support.

The colour palette can be inferred based on the preserved colours and cross-sections. For the scene’s bordure, white lime and red earth were used. The painter probably also used red earth for the wall and perhaps for the coat of the figure on the right side of the scene, while the tunic seems to have been yellow, i.e. painted with yellow ochre. The left figure wears a green tunic painted with malachite or perhaps degraded azurite, which may transform into (para)tacamite due to moisture and chloride salts. This can be assumed because of the slightly turquoise fine angular grains visible in the relevant sample cross-section. The colour layer also contains a bit of yellow ochre (Fig. 3). This figure’s coat (or at least its folds) was probably red, as can be discerned from the cross-section of the sample taken from the preserved fold (Fig. 2, layer 2). In both the tunic sample (Fig. 3) and coat sample (Fig. 2), we can see a black colour layer on top of the green and red colours. The painter might have used some black pigment, or these could also be residues of a lead pigment that has degraded and darkened. In the case of the red colour on the coat (Fig. 2), it is not entirely clear whether we are looking at two layers of colour or whether the surface of the red colour has degraded. If this is an example of surface degradation, the pigment in question could also be cinnabar. It appears that the dark background is merely a mixture of white lime and some organic black – perhaps carbon or bone black, which are the two most commonly used black pigments in Slovenian medieval painting (Fig. 1). It may also be a dark underpainting for a dry application of azurite, which could have fallen off, although there are no traces of it in situ or in the relevant sample cross-section. We should also note the darkened colour of the carnations on the faces; the painter might have used a lead pigment which has blackened. A similar phenomenon can be seen in the figures on the triumphal arch in the succursal church of the Virgin Mary on Kamen in Vuzenica.

As we can assess based on the cross-sections and the mural’s state of preservation, the work is a combination of painting on fresh and dry plaster, albeit in an unusual sequence. The red-and-white bordure (Fig. 4) was clearly painted al fresco, as the lime from the plaster obviously permeates into the red colour layer. The blue sky and the red wall in the background were also applied to a still slightly damp plaster, which, however, had already started to dry: the boundary between the plaster and the colour layer is wavy and slightly blurred, yet a crust, resulting from carbonation, can already be seen forming on top of the plaster (Fig. 1). The figures were mostly portrayed on already dry plaster, i.e. al secco. The drapery samples reveal a clear line between the plaster and the colour layer (Fig. 2–3).

As the mural is severely damaged, it is difficult to discern the elements of the painting process with any certainty. The halos appear to be incised with a very thin line, noticeable on the halo of the left figure (the one closer to Christ). It also seems that the colour layers did not follow this shape precisely, as the black colour of the background extends over the line, while the yellow colour for the halo begins about a millimetre beyond the line (Fig. 5). It is also likely that the underdrawing was painted with a red colour, which can be seen on the poorly preserved arms of the right figure next to the cross. This is particularly interesting on Christ’s left arm, along which a red line can be traced. The latter could represent the original position of the arm, which the painter then raised slightly or extended upwards (Fig. 6). A red underdrawing can also be discerned in certain parts of Christ’s right arm, where the painter followed the original shape. Two parallel lines are visible above it, made by stamping a string dipped in black colour (Fig. 5). We can conclude that the painter used this procedure for the straight lines of the cross – in this case, its initially envisioned lower edge. However, apparently, he later lowered its position or extended it downwards, as the lines do not coincide with the actual position of the horizontal part of the cross. The stamped string could also have been used for the bordure, but the lines are nowhere to be seen; they may be well hidden under the colour layers. The colour modelling has not been sufficiently preserved to reveal how the painter worked. The left figure seems to have a slightly rounder face, while the face of the right figure is more elongated. The left figure also has almond-shaped eyes with prominent upper eyelids ending in an elongated corner. The shape of the upper lip suggests a fleshy mouth. What little has been preserved of the colour modelling suggests applications with a brush about a centimetre thick and a progression from light to dark. The figures are finished with a final dark brown contour.

Gallery

Virtual 360° view

Piran, Church of St Francis of Assisi, Stage 2 (Piran), 2024 (last updated 7. 1. 2025). Corpus picturarum muralium medii aevi, https://corpuspicturarum.zrc-sazu.si/en/poslikava/5253/ (3. 4. 2025).

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