Color in Medieval Castle Architecture in Present-Day Poland and Czech Republic

Arts

Dagmara Adamska¹  Przemysław Nocuń²  Tomasz Ratajczak³  František Záruba⁴ 

[1] Faculty of Historical and Pedagogical Sciences, Institute of History, University of Wrocław, 50-139 Wroclaw, Poland;Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, 31-007 Krakow, Poland;Institute of Art History, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-874 Poznan, Poland;Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 190 00 Prague, Czech Republic;

关键词: castles;    paintings;    colors;    decoration;    Poland;    Bohemia;   

DOI  :  10.3390/arts11010028

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Colors were ubiquitous in the medieval world, and castles were no exception. While in the eyes of most people their rich color schemes manifested power and wealth, some could also read the more nuanced messages these colors conveyed. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the use and role of color in the interiors of castles of medieval Bohemia and Poland. The picture is complemented by the analysis of color decorations of defensive residences of the Teutonic Order. The discussion takes into account the varying states of preservation and draws from the available written accounts. To present the most complete picture possible, we discuss royal residences, for which unfortunately limited data are available, as well as the better-preserved castles of dukes and knights. We discuss the identified iconographic programs and their chivalric, heraldic, and hagiographic motifs. Within the scope of our discussion are late forms of floral decorations, known as “green chambers”. The numerous examples presented in the paper prove that color was an important tool of visual social communication in castle architecture: it complemented the symbolism, and sometimes carried an independent message.

【 授权许可】

Unknown