Zprávy památkové péče 2020, 80(3-4):313-329 | DOI: 10.56112/zpp.2020.3.08

Renaissance extruded stucco on the example of heritage properties at the Czech/Moravian/Austrian border

Zdeněk Kovářík, Zdeňka Míchalová, Renata Tišlová

Fakulta restaurování Univerzity Pardubice

Extruded stucco is a unique technique that was widely used to decorate the Renaissance interiors of heritage properties. The technique was used to decorate rich decorative frames (systems) often in connection with other decorations with figural stucco, wall and panel paintings, or sgraffito. More often, however, in Renaissance properties, extruded stucco is used in simpler formats, in terms of richness and typology, only as it closely connects with the architectural division of the property's space. These properties were usually the work of anonymous stucco workshops that operated in a certain geographical area or, for example, on structures that connected the property owner or a client. Example of this phenomenon are certain Renaissance heritage properties at the Czech/Moravian/Austrian border; here, the connection was proven by interdisciplinary research based on connecting restoration and scientific research with the results of art/historical and archival research. In this case, the connection was specifically made with the author of the Renaissance stucco decoration of the two Jindřichův Hradec churches of St. Wenceslas and the Holy Trinity with the Langer House and the church of St. Peter and Paul in nearby Lodhéřov. In the second monitored area, centered around Schwarzenau, Austria, a connection was found between the decoration of the castle in Slatina and the Church of the Holy Trinity in Běhařovice in the Znojmo region and the defunct Church of St. Wenceslas in the former village of (Starý) Bítov. Probably the most complete group, both property and ornamentally connected with Schwarzenau, is the decoration of the old castle in Uherčice and the vestibule of the churches of St. John the Baptist in Dešná and the Virgin Mary in Raabs an de Thaya.
On specific buildings, the genesis of the printed Renaissance ornamental decorations and their current condition and damage were described and documented, as were previous restorations and other corrective modifications. Based on historical literature, material/technological research, and testing, a part of the Renaissance decoration could be replicated using the original technologies, thus allowing for a detailed description of the procedures for creating printed stucco. This part of the research is particularly important in connection with previous interventions and the current state of the stucco works. A knowledge of the original technique and materials makes it possible to avoid problematic interventions and unprofessional repairs to Renaissance stucco works, for which the use of gypsum as a repair material is typical. Another crucial aspect is the thorough examination of the character of the surface of stucco and subsequently the polychromy which forms an integral part of the created work as understood in its entirety. All indicated aspects are a necessary basis for heritage protection and care for such works.

Keywords: stucco decoration, extruded stucco, Renaissance heritage at the Czech, Moravian, Austrian border

Published: September 1, 2020  Show citation