Location
Croatia, Zagreb County, Kloštar Ivanić
Parish Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Župna crkva Uznesenja Blažene Djevice Marije)
Artwork
Right Side Altar of St George of the Parish Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kloštar Ivanić
Type
Side altar
Dimensions
Height: 425 cm, width: 300 cm, depth: 60 cm
Inscriptions
- SUREXI EX PIA MANU / PRAEDIALIUM IVANICHENSI / 17 UM 62 (in cartouche above the painting)
- Sv. / JURAJ / moli za nas! (in a cartouche above the painting until 2004; the cartouche is now on the altar of St Joseph, but the text was removed in the restoration)
- RENOVATUM /18 EST 56 (in a cartouche covered by Ins. 1 until 2004, then moved to the altar of St Joseph, now overpainted.)
- SV. AUGUSTIN (on the base of the sculpture of St Augustine until 2006, when the repolychromy was removed)
- SV. AMBROZ (on the base of the sculpture of St Ambrose until 2006, when the repolychromy was removed)
Critical History
The right side altar dedicated to St George is a counterpart to the left side altar of St Joseph. It was built in 1761 with funds from local praediales nobiles,1 and polychromed in 1762 (Ins. 1). The altar architecture is similar to the side altars in the parish church in Vugrovec, while the statue of St Ambrose is identical in pose and is of similar size as the one in the church in Vugrovec. The sculptures were attributed to Franz Anton Straub by art historian Doris Baričević. 2 Repolychromy from 1856 (Ins. 3) was attributed to Caspar (Gasparus) Milavc based on similarities to his work on other altars.3 The author of the repolychromy from 1903, Petar Rutar was mentioned in the parish chronicle. The renovation in 1903 was commissioned by the High Royal Land Government, Department of Religion and Education.4 Petar Rutar also repainted both the paintings.5
Construction / Execution
The side altar is situated on the right side of the triumphal arch. Just like its counterpart, the left side altar of St George, its altar architecture is somewhat conservative, with pairs of columns and pilasters flanking the central painting, together with sculptures of Saint Augustine on the left and Saint Jerome on the right. Volutes with large rocaille ornaments outline the attic with a painting in the middle.
The statue of St Augustine has a flat back side. Wood added to the rear to make the drapery and the left hand is not levelled on the posterior with the part that forms the body of the statue.
Components
- Carpentry
- Author: Franz Anton Straub (Wiesensteig 1726 – Zagreb ca. 1774)
- Completed: 1761
- Patron(s): Praediales nobiles, noble
- Technique(s): sawing, wood carving
- Material(s): softwood, wrought nails
- Sculpture
- Sculpture and ornamentation
- Author: Franz Anton Straub (Wiesensteig 1726 – Zagreb ca. 1774)
- Completed: 1761
- Patron(s): Praediales nobiles, noble
- Technique(s): wood carving
- Material(s): wood
- Painting
- St George
- Completed: 1761 – 1762
- Patron(s): Praediales nobiles, noble
- Technique(s): oil on canvas
- Material(s): linen canvas, linseed oil
- Painting
- St Martin
- Completed: 1761 – 1762
- Patron(s): Praediales nobiles, noble
- Technique(s): oil on canvas
- Polychromy
- Polychromy
- Completed: 1762
- Patron(s): Praediales nobiles, noble
- Technique(s): oil, oil gilding, tempera, water gilding
- Material(s): gold leaf, silver leaf
- Polychromy
- First repolychromy
- Author: Caspar Milavc
- Completed: 1856
- Polychromy
- Second repolychromy
- Author: Petar Rutar (Cerkno pri Idriji 1856 – Osilnica 1948)
- Completed: 1903
- Patron(s): High Royal Land Government, Department of Religion and Education, government
- Technique(s): oil gilding, stencil ornamentation, water gilding
- Material(s): aluminium leaf, brass leaf, gold leaf, silver leaf
Comment
The repolychromies from 1856 (Ins. 3) by Casparus Milauc and from 1903 by Petar Rutar were removed in restoration. The restored polychromy from 1762 is visible. The green marbling of the frame of the painting of St Joseph was painted on the silvered surface. Two types of gesso are present in the polychromy stratigraphy from 1762.6
Conservation-restoration
- 1993–2002
Strategy: removing dirt, removing one or several historic repolychromies, removing partial repairs, removing patina, removing varnish
Approach to the presentation of losses
Reintegration of lacunae – mimetic: total
Reconstruction of losses: total
Materials: acetone, ammonium salts, Bologna chalk, demineralized water, gold leaf, gold powder, gouache, limewood, mastic resin, oil colour, Pappina Fiorentina, Paraloid B-72, PVA adhesive, rabbit-skin glue, red bole, silver leaf, silver powder, wood powder, wooden pins, yellow bole
Treatment Description
In 1991, due to the Homeland War, all the sculptures and some of the ornaments were dismantled and stored in the Holy Sepulchre under the bell tower where, in the following years, they deteriorated because of high humidity. Several parts were restored from 1993 to 1997 at the Conservation Institute of Croatia and the majority of the works were carried out between 2004 and 2006 at the Croatian Conservation Institute. The restoration included removal of both repolychrome layers, exposing the 18th-century polychromy. Conservation works were led by Vesna Šimičić and Iva Koci. The painting of St George was restored by Vjeran Potočić in 2004. 6
Images
- Side altar of St George (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Goran Tomljenović, 2018)
- Side altar of St George (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, 2001)
- Sculpture of Saint Augustine (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Goran Tomljenović, 2018)
- Sculpture of Saint Ambrose (Croatian Conservation Institute Photo Archive, photo by Goran Tomljenović, 2018)
Catalogue entry prepared by Ksenija Škarić and Martina Ožanić
Recommended citation: Ksenija Škarić and Martina Ožanić, Right Side Altar of St George of the Parish Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kloštar Ivanić, in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 19/10/2025) URL
