On the southern exterior wall of the nave, a smaller crowned figure wearing a mantle is painted on the left side, at about the height of the lower part of St Christopher’s body. At first glance, it appears that this mural was painted on a different plaster, but it is adapted to the image on the right. The same earthy tones as in the case of St Christopher predominate in this part of the mural: ochre yellow and a somewhat darker red, while the main difference is the use of black drawing. Once again, the entire composition is set against an empty background, with the central figure portrayed strictly frontally. The silhouette of the body and the shape of the head reveal that this is undoubtedly a female figure. The woman holds her mantle with half-lowered arms, beneath which we can discern several small human faces – it is Mary, wearing a tight yellow garment without a belt or any special decoration. Her legs under the garment are indicated with just a simple vertical line. The mantle with a brownish-red upper part and bright lining is draped over her shoulders, with a few parallel folds above her arms. Above the mantle, an unusual white bordure runs alongside the Virgin’s arms. A broader band of white, probably representing a hood, is painted around her shoulders. Only a few strokes representing her head have been preserved, indicating a round face and fair hair falling freely on her shoulders. Mere fragments of the other parts of the face with the eyes, nose, and mouth have survived. Mary wears a white crown with three prominent leaf-shaped spikes, while a simple dark red halo, surrounded by a double stripe, is behind her head. On each side underneath her mantle, about ten small figures are raising their arms in prayer. On both sides, we can see at least a few figures wearing white headdresses, reminiscent of what married women used to wear at the time.
Almost the entire scene portraying the Virgin of Mercy with her mantle has been preserved, with only the lower part of the figure next to Mary’s feet missing. The mural was severely deteriorated. The photographs taken before the last conservation and restoration intervention indicate that the preserved colour layers were also heavily damaged, partly also because the murals had been without any protection for several decades.[1] Thus, the mural was heavily retouched during the 1991 restoration.[2]
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[1] See the Restoration and renovation interventions section.
[2] HÖFLER 2004, p. 257.
Like St Christopher next to her, the Virgin of Mercy with the mantle shows typical characteristics of the High Gothic linear style (referred to as the Early Gothic drawing style in the older literature). The composition is characterised by an emphasis on the lines, which partly also suggest plasticity, while the coloured parts come across as exceedingly flat. This is particularly noticeable in the case of the tunic, where the painted textile pattern does not correspond to the plasticity of the body. However, given the relatively poor preservation of the colour layers, it is possible that the potential modelling has not been preserved.
Since the depiction of the Virgin of Mercy with the mantle was probably added next to St Christopher at some later point and as it reveals an even rougher execution, it is probably a slightly more recent work from the middle of the 14th century.[1]
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[1] ZIMMERMANN 1996, p. 87; HÖFLER 2004, p. 258. Cf. the Technical analysis section.
The Žiče Virgin of Mercy with the mantle was painted by an anonymous painter, though probably not the same one as in the case of St Christopher. Due to heavy damage and subsequent retouching, it is difficult to pinpoint the painter’s stylistic foundations, though he clearly had access to a high-quality iconographic template. Like in the case of St Christopher, the Virgin of Mercy with the mantle was probably painted by a local painter in the middle of the 14th century.[1]
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[1] ZIMMERMANN 1996, p. 87; HÖFLER 2004, p. 258.
According to Lev Menaše’s research, the depiction of the Virgin of Mercy with the mantle is one of the earliest examples of this iconographic type in Slovenia. Menaše points out that since it was painted in the first half of the 14th century, the Žiče mural was completely up to date with the European developments of the time. The motif in question first appeared and established itself in the monastic setting: it is said that in 1218, St Dominic experienced a vision of the Virgin of Mercy with the mantle, who would protect his brothers. Later that century, the motif transformed into Mater omnium – the patroness of all humanity. This transitional phase was mainly characterised by the independent role of the crowned Virgin Mary, related to the legend – without Jesus and with all the estates mixed under her mantle. In Žiče, all of these characteristics can be observed. Later, in the 15th century, the added figure of Jesus and the division between the sacral and secular estates established itself.[1]
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[1] MENAŠE 1994, pp. 131–132. The fact that the people under the mantle are not separated by their estates, which is characteristic of the earlier stage in this motif’s development, has also been pointed out by HÖFLER 2001, p. 257.
Robert Peskar and Tanja Zimmermann interpret the addition of the Virgin of Mercy with the mantle as an equivalent complement to St Christopher’s function as a patron saint.[1] In her latest publication, Mija Oter Gorenčič underlines that a juxtaposition such as the one that has been preserved in Žiče – i.e. the Virgin of Mercy with the mantle next to St Christopher – is by no means common and that the mural and the time of its creation could be associated with a plague outbreak. The Virgin of Mercy with the mantle is one of the typical iconographic motifs related to the struggle against the plague, while St Christopher is one of the plague saints. The combination of these two motifs in Žiče and the time of their creation thus suggest that the mural could have been painted in relation to a plague outbreak.[2]
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[1] PESKAR 1995, pp. 312–313; ZIMMERMANN 1996, p. 87. Due to what was still a more general dating of both parts of the mural at the time, Robert Peskar’s interpretation is also relatively unspecific.
[2] OTER GORENČIČ 2024, pp. 105–106.
Given the amateur quality of the depictions, it is less likely that the Žiče Charterhouse commissioned them. According to the archival information relevant to the building’s architectural history, it is possible that the murals were commissioned by either the Lords of Sannegg or the Slovenske Konjice parish priest, though the local religious community cannot be excluded, either.[1]
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[1] Gašper Cerkovnik’s opinion.
See entry in Stage 1.
The murals stand out especially because they are among the earliest depictions of the Virgin of Mercy with the mantle in Slovenia.[1]
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[1] About the earliest depictions of this motif in Slovenia, see Ana LAVRIČ, Bratovščine na Slovenskem pod zavetniškim plaščem Marije in svetnikov, Patriae et orbi. Essays on Central European Art and Architecture/Študije o srednjeevropski umetnosti. Festschrift in Honour of Damjan Prelovšek/Jubilejni zbornik za Damjana Prelovška (edd. Ana Lavrič, Franci Lazarini, Barbara Murovec), Ljubljana 2015, pp. 482–484.
Žiče, Parish church of St Peter, Phase 2 (Žiče), 2025 (last updated 18. 2. 2025). Corpus picturarum muralium medii aevi, https://corpuspicturarum.zrc-sazu.si/en/poslikava/phase-2-zice/ (19. 9. 2026).
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