Pigments: white lime, yellow ochre, red earth, green earth, lead pigments
Techniques: OM, XRD, XRF
The mural was once heavily hammered to facilitate the application of a new layer of plaster. In the hammered areas, it is visible even with the naked eye that the plaster consists of lime and sand. It was difficult to take samples because of its extraordinary hardness, which may have been caused by subsequent restoration processes. It might also have been this hard originally, as the sample cross-sections reveal a plaster rich in lime (binder), while the aggregate content appears much more modest. The aggregate grains are large and angular, mostly translucent or red (Figs. 1–3). The XRD analyses of samples taken on both sides of the triumphal arch reveal a very similar plaster, confirming that both sides belong to the same painting cycle. The plaster consists of a lot of binder (calcite, dolomite) and quite a bit of aggregate, mostly quartz, though there may also be some crushed calcite and/or dolomite. The noteworthy, considerable content of impurities – especially feldspars as well as some illite/muscovite – indicates poorly washed aggregate. The plaster also contains clinochlore, probably due to chloride salts and moisture in the wall. Due to the fragmentary preservation of the mural and especially because of its position behind the two side altars, which cannot be moved away from the wall due to their poor condition, it is impossible to tell whether the painter worked according to the system of daily plaster applications (giornate).
The painter mainly used natural inorganic pigments suitable for painting on fresh plaster. Based on the chemical elements specific to certain pigments, XRF analysis has revealed the use of white lime (calcium), yellow ochre (iron), red earth (iron), and green earth (potassium, manganese, iron). Some lead pigment (lead) has also been detected, which, however, cannot be precisely identified with this technique – it could be lead white, yellow massicot, or red minium, but, of course, the painter could have also used all three. The presence of a certain lead pigment is indicated in the case of the halos belonging to Jesus and St John the Baptist in the Baptism of Christ scene, as both are partially blackened. Perhaps the painter used minium or massicot to create a more vivid red or yellow colour. As the halos are inaccessible, it was impossible to take samples. Since no copper was detected in the green colour sample, the painter did not use malachite, while the blue background was probably created by mixing white lime and some organic black, perhaps with a bit of red earth. Again, no samples could be taken from this spot. Given the simplicity of the mural, we can assume that the artist did not have these expensive copper pigments in his palette. The binder is lime from the plaster, but as the upper layers were definitely applied al secco, the pigments must also have been impregnated with some organic binder (egg yolk, animal glue, or casein).
The basic surfaces were undoubtedly applied al fresco, as they are mostly still well preserved, while the cross-sections of the acquired samples reveal lime passing from the plaster into the colour layer (Figs. 1, 2b). It is clear that in some places (e.g. in the case of the bordures), the plaster was already drying at the time of the painting, as the boundary between it and the colour layer is no longer so blurred, while in some areas, it is already possible to detect the crusting that occurs during the lime carbonation process (Fig. 3). The basic colour modelling was also applied al fresco, but as it had to be completed on already dry plaster, i.e. al secco, most of it has not been preserved. The lime technique has not been detected.
The halos are neither incised nor decorated with pouncings. The only incisions that can be detected are very thin and barely visible horizontal (perhaps also vertical) bordure lines, for which a ruler must have been used (Fig. 4). The underdrawing was applied in a light red colour, which can still be clearly seen, especially in the modelling of the faces of the figures under Mary’s mantle. In some spots, the darker final contour painted over it is still visible (Fig. 5). There are no underpaintings: the broad uniform colour surfaces are in fact the basic colour tones of the floor, the background, and the draperies, on which the painter subsequently applied the modelling. The facial features of the main figures are mostly blurred. The manner in which the painter modelled the faces is best seen in the secondary figures of people huddling under Mary’s mantle in intercession. They indicate a less skilled folk painter who conceived of elongated but slightly rounded faces with broad round chins (Fig. 5). The eyes are relatively small and narrow, and in some places, only a slightly lighter red shading of the upper eyelid can still be discerned. The eyebrows are set high, slightly semicircular and drawn with the same broad line as the eyes. The nose, which continues from the inner eyebrow, has a rounded tip and is somewhat “potato-shaped”, featuring wide, casually shaped nostrils, further defined by an inner line. The mouth has mostly been preserved only as a central line, rounded upwards with accentuated corners, creating a slight smile. Characteristically of this painter, the figures on Mary’s right side feature three lines, starting from a point under the chin and diverging towards the neck. The hands are extraordinarily narrow and long, featuring thin parallel fingers, so they look rather unnatural. The supporting figures may be the work of an assistant, as Mary’s face, painted frontally, looks somewhat more elegant despite its poor preservation: it is more elongated, with a low forehead and a long nose that opens into wide nostrils (resembling a three-feathered clover), while the eyebrows are thin and set high above the narrow and elongated eyes. The preserved red colour indicates fleshy lips. Remnants of colour modelling with darker layers can be discerned around the eyes, along both sides of the nose, around the chin, and along the outer line of the face, while especially the forehead, the nasal ridge, and the cheekbones are brighter and thus stand out. On Mary’s hands, it is still possible to see the basic ochre layer with darker reddish modelling, applied in broad strokes along all the fingers and the upper part of the palm at the sleeve (Fig. 5). Colour modelling has also been partly preserved in the Baptism of Christ scene on the southern side of the triumphal arch. For both Jesus and St John the Baptist, the painter used the same pinkish-ochre basic tone as for Mary’s carnation. However, the shading appears darker in places (especially on John’s left cheek), which is otherwise characteristic of male carnations. The painter used a broad brush to apply shading along the outer edges of the torso, arms, and legs, leaving the central parts brighter. In this manner, he designed a three-dimensional body, though somewhat clumsily. However, despite the modelling, Christ’s body in particular comes across as schematic due to the awkwardly shaped ribs, drawn only as parallel horizontal lines almost reaching the waist; the painter was obviously not well-versed in anatomy. In both scenes, the figures are concluded with a strong and broad reddish-brown contour. The modelling of the draperies has only been preserved in the case of Mary, who wears a red-green dress and a red mantle with white lining over her shoulders. Her slim and long figure is presented en face, and she has broad round shoulders, so she appears disproportionate and stocky despite her slimness. The red and green colours were applied with a broad brush, while the additional modelling of the skirt’s folds can now barely be seen, as only the remnants of broad dark-green vertical strokes are still visible (Fig. 5). They were obviously applied to the plaster when it was already dry. The painter used broad brushes, and no fine modelling can be found.
Tupaliče, Succursal church of St Clement, Stage 1 (Tupaliče), 2024 (last updated 2. 10. 2024). Corpus picturarum muralium medii aevi, https://corpuspicturarum.zrc-sazu.si/en/poslikava/phase-1-tupalice/ (14. 10. 2025).
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