Journal ARS 35 (2002) 1-3

Štefan ORIŠKO

K počiatkom románskeho kameňosochárstva na Slovensku (Najstaršie pamiatky, problémy výskumu)
[The Beginnings of Romanesque Stonemasonry in Slovakia (The Oldest Monuments and Research Problems)]

(Summary)

So far, views of the general situation in the area of Romanesque stonemasonry have considered and presented this discipline negatively and skeptically; either as a marginal, inessential and not autonomous subject, or as a no longer existing phenomenon. However, the reality seems to be just the opposite: among the Slovak monuments there are all the basic types of stonemasonry from the Romanesque period - from architectural sculptures, to various types of stonemasons' works forming part of church interiors. This was influenced by the fact that this region belonged to Romanesque, Christian Europe within whose framework the typological and functional extent of stonemasons' works was created. It is also important that we do not find among Slovak artifacts only finished, the so-called "final" solutions, belonging to the context of the high Romanesque layer, but here evident traces indicating the degrees of their preparation and formation can be found. This can be seen in the development process of creating the significance and forms of the portal: its operation as a part of sacred building, starting from the emphasized and limited area of the tympanum and continuing to relief or other iconographic expression. Some of them can be studied only indirectly on the basis of fragments and the meaning in the context, particularly in the structure of the buildings, some are visible as sketches of the development process. Owing to direct evidence we are more complexly informed on the 13th century monuments, which are not only much more numerous, but can be placed among the more coherent development tendencies, as indicated by the literature dealing with this subject. Unlike these, the earlier monuments are less "sure" and lonelier and at the same time more problematic.

The oldest stonemasons' evidence from the 11th century (fragment from Bíňa-Apáti, several fragments from Nitra) indicate gradual penetration of building sculpture - a significant innovation of the period - into building structure. In the functional typology of stonemasons' fragments representing the first evidence of building sculpture in our country, we can assuredly find architectural components. Such are the fragments from Nitra, which were found by several researchers in various places (three lateral capitals with tongue-shaped leaves, a fragment with painted impressed stripe discovered by B. Puškárová in the building of the castle church, and even today a missing palmetto fragments known from an impression in a find from the beginning of the 20th century). These were connected with the division of architecture and the important building sites where they were used as column capitals or pillars etc. The small number of fragments of Nitra architectural sculpture is connected with building activity carried out probably after the renewal of the bishop's residence at the end of the 11th century.

Another fragment, coming from Bíňa-Apáti, was a piece of small interior architecture - the choir parapet. It is among the rare evidence of so-called "palmetto" style, used after the mid 11th century not only in the court environment, but also additionally to direct royal orders and funding (in Bíňa probably in the construction of the Hunt-Poznans' monastic church). The principle of decoration was characteristic of the stonemasons' competence in the early Romanesque period. The ornamentation whose variations can be seen in the stonemasons' works drew on the transformed heritage of the ancient and Byzantine art and was essentially of international character and its variants in differing workshops and development phases are difficult to separate. It seems that the architecture itself of the period was influenced by stimuli from the south. We cannot say on the basis of the works preserved whether those influences were the only ones or dominant in the 11th century.

The standard of the stonemasons' architectural tasks, which were the main if not the exclusive sculptural or plastic duties in the general artistic effort, were relatively uniform. Exclusive works are missing. We cannot speak of the sculptors' standard in any case. The orientation and approach of the period were principally of the craftmens' or stonemasons' character. This statement is true not only of some of our rare preserved monuments but of the stonemasons' production in other regions of Europe, also fragmentary only. The stonemasons' artifacts are known only from the buildings of special importance and purpose from Nitra, which was the bishop's residence, and from Bíňa, as there was probably there a family monastery. We do not have more palpable evidence of the general spread of stonemasons' work in the 11th century. In this respect also our local monuments correspond with the situation in other regions in Central Europe.

Apart from fragments of the stonemasons' works we can see mainly the parts of stone buildings which were connected with monumental decoration - such as the portal zone connected with the facade and transept. We know example of this type only from the groundplans of the western two-spire facade in Hronský Beňadik (built perhaps already in the last quarter of the 11th century).

Apart from the monastery churches it is the portals of village churches which have always maintained and preserved the forms of development coming from the higher stylistic levels. In the portals of village churches we can follow the basic degrees of the transformation of the church entrance, from its expression and the separation of the tympanum as a special field above the door frame to the first iconographic expressions above the entrance. Each of these degrees can be illustrated by examples: the entrance arrangement in Kalinčiakovo (Varšany) is among the early forms of architectural expression of the portal with tympanum, the same can be said of Klížske Hradište. In the portal in Kalinčiakovo the tympanum area is built with a relieving arch while the church entrance in Klížske Hradište has a semicircular depression instead of a tympanum. The (older) portal in Boldog is one among the oldest iconographic solutions. It has three Greek crosses cut in the lintel above the threshold, and comes perhaps from the second half of the 11th century. However, the examples mentioned representing various degrees of portal development in the broader area of village buildings are not successive chronologically: they indicate that there existed in parallel more conservative and more progressive types of the form.

The village churches form a greatly differentiated phenomenon, determined by the traditional character of building types which, however, were enriched in their decorations by more topical elements. From this aspect, if we take into consideration the absence of artifacts from important centers among the preserved monuments, the village churches yield us at least the reflection of the more demanding achievements. At the same time there is a chance to learn something about the development process which took place then, but cannot fully substitute for the losses and gaps which exist in this area. On the other hand we must say that the modest standard of the monuments from a village environment not only complements the picture of the style layers but is its integral component. The standard contains transformations and variations of stylistic expression and references to forms which have not been elsewhere preserved. The existing artifacts from the village environment cocreate this picture and also determine the variety in the standard in which individuality hierarchy and quality were not always clear. In the Romanesque architecture in Slovakia stylistic elementarism and rustic forms are characteristic, not only for "marginal" works. They can show in the works of opposite character - the difference between them varies, is not fixed and often is minimal.

Stonemasons' work could be used also for moveable objects and at the same time they participated in providing for the needs of liturgical items (e.g. baptismal fonts). Monumental stonemasons' work did not develop in this area and the stonemasons' participation in the creation of the movables still corresponded to the artistic ideals of the pre- Romanesque period: in some types of architecture they preserved the older models.