Academic thesis

Angela Weyer: Studies on the non-figurative stuccowork of the early medieval monastery of Disentis. The finds from the excavations of 1891-1934. Back
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Idealized reconstruction drawing, © Angela Weyer, 1989
Abstract: The stucco fragments preserved in the monastery of Disentis (CH) form the largest and most important stock of architecture-bound Carolingian stucco sculpture known to date. The stuccowork is made of lime mortar and is predominantly freely applied, many of them are painted with a well-preserved secco painting and - apart from their fragmentation - have been preserved almost unchanged with a few exceptions. They came to light together with remains of a mosaic floor and wall paintings during excavations between 1891 and 1934; only a few were assembled in 1989, and only a small part was published.
Of the approximately 3,700 surviving pieces, most of which are coloured, this master´s thesis is the first to describe the approximately 1,200 non-figurative, sparsely painted fragments with all the very different traces of the work, to document the main part on a 1:1 basis by means of photographs and drawings, to integrate them into idealised reconstruction drawings, and to classify the peculiar wealth of motifs in the ornamental repertoire of art history that is close in time and place.
Through the intensive analysis of all objects, not only was the previously known treasure trove of ornaments significantly expanded, but the rough order of the non-figurative stucco sculpture found was clearly differentiated. Finally, 16 arches of different sizes, 8 frieze ornaments, 4 surface ornaments as well as more than 20 capitals over turned or smooth, half- and three-quarter-circular column shafts and 2 different crocket crowns could be reconstructed. The many documented engravings and pre-drawing traces also led to new considerations about the work process in the Carolingian period.

A small essence of the work was already published in the Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 49, issue 4, in 1999. The full text, which is rich in topics, and the extensive catalogue of all the pieces have been available both at the monastery and at the Federal Commission for the Preservation of Monuments since completion and are now made available here to the worldwide research community, because this detailed knowledge is significant for many complexes of topics.

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Keywords: Disentis, stuccowork, stucco, architectural articulation, lime stucco, arches, friezes, early Middle Ages, secco painting, wall decoration, application technique
 
Surface ornament of lime stucco, © Angela Weyer, 1989
Details:
  • academic institution: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
  • kind of theses:  Magisterarbeit
  • main Tutor:  Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Stopfel
  • assistant Tutor:  Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Schlink
  • date:  1990
  • Language:  German
  • pages:  178
  • pictures:  150
 
Contact:
 
Angela Weyer
aweyer1102@[Diesen Teil loeschen]gmail.com

 
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full-text thesis  academic theses in german
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Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 Germany License.
DOI (Digital Object Identifier) 10.5165/hawk-hhg/470
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