The Eagle and the Sun Symbolism in the Emblems of the Album of the Ljubljana Noble Society of St Dismas
The paper provides an analysis of the hand-painted emblems with the motifs of the eagle and sun in the Album of the Ljubljana Noble Society of St Dismas (the Archive of the Republic of Slovenia, ref. AS 1073, I/1). These have so far barely received any iconographic interpretation, nor have there bee...
| Published in: | Ars & Humanitas |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | Slovenian |
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Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete / Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/arshumanitas/article/view/9777 https://doi.org/10.4312/ars.14.2.181-210 |
| Summary: | The paper provides an analysis of the hand-painted emblems with the motifs of the eagle and sun in the Album of the Ljubljana Noble Society of St Dismas (the Archive of the Republic of Slovenia, ref. AS 1073, I/1). These have so far barely received any iconographic interpretation, nor have there been any serious attempts to identify the potential sources or models. A short introduction points to the original form of the Ljubljana Album as a memorial book with individual emblems created for the members of the Society of St Dismas between 1689 and 1801. The focus of the article is on the iconological analysis of ten emblems with the motifs of the eagle and the sun (the Ljubljana Album, fols. 119r, 161r, 229r, 234r, 238r, 264r, 287r, 294r, 306r, 369r) in the context of European emblematics. The author draws attention to the iconographic specifics of each individual emblem, as well as to the basic symbolism of the eagle and sun which is common to all of them. While the common iconography of the motif in the selected emblems in the Ljubljana Album regularly relates to the Christological contexts of the eagle and the sun symbolism as developed in the biblical exegesis, Physiologus, the medieval bestiaries and various theological writings, the individual allegorical message depends on the complex interaction of visual and textual components of each emblem. The traditional Christological topics of renewal through strong faith and repeated purification of body and mind, the ascending of the Spirit into higher realms, the salvation of the soul in Christ and the eternal life in Heaven, are often completed with themes which originate in Classical mythology and ancient animal lore. Some motifs that combine both Christian and Classical symbolism of the eagle and the sun appear to have been particularly appreciated among the members of St Dismas Society: the eagle looking unblinking into the sun, the eagle flying towards the sun, the trial of eaglets gazing at the sun, and the eagle teaching eaglets to fly. The iconographic particularities of each emblem show the erudition of the patrons as well as their knowledge of European books of emblems. The analysis of the assorted emblems goes beyond mere presentation of their rich content and complex structure, their various models and influences; it also brings an in-depth look at the patrons’ active involvement in the creative process which, in the case of the Album of the Ljubljana Noble Society of St Dismas, has not yet been dealt with properly. It furthermore draws attention to the role played by the two leading miniaturists Andrej Trost and Simon Tadej Volbenk Grahovar, who occasionally advised the patrons on both visual and iconographic components of the emblems, thus acting not only as illuminators but also as creators of the emblems. Avtor v svoji študiji analizira ročno slikane embleme z motivom orla in sonca v Spominski knjigi ljubljanske plemiške družbe sv. Dizma (skrajšano: Dizmova kronika), hranjene v Arhivu Republike Slovenije (ref. AS 1073, I/1), ki so z ikonografskega vidika skoraj povsem neraziskani. Kratkemu uvodu, v katerem je predstavljena Dizmova kronika kot izvirna oblika emblemske spominske knjige, ki je nastajala v Ljubljani med letoma 1689 in 1801, sledi ikonološka analiza desetih emblemov z motivom orla in sonca (fols. 119r, 161r, 229r, 234r, 238r, 264r, 287r, 294r, 306r, 369r) v kontekstu evropske emblematike. Avtor najprej opozori na ikonografska izhodišča motiva ter opredeli osnovni vsebinski okvir, ki je skupen vsem emblemom z motivom orla in sonca v Dizmovi kroniki. Gre za večinoma kristološko ikonografijo, ki izhaja iz biblijske eksegeze, Fiziologa in srednjeveških bestiarijev, največji razcvet pa doživi prav na področju emblematike v zgodnjem novem veku. Skupno vsebinsko jedro oblikujejo motivi preroda, odrešenja in večnega življenja ter simbolične predstave o sledenju Kristusovemu nauku in odličnosti duha, ki se dviga v nebeške višave. Analiza pokaže, da imajo ključno vlogo motivi, ki izvirajo iz antike, a so v krščanstvu dobili nove, precej bolj kompleksne vsebine: orel, ki nemoteno zre v sonce, orel, ki leti proti soncu, preizkušnja mladih orličev z gledanjem v sonce ter orel, ki uči mladiče leteti. Raziskava se osredotoča na ikonografsko specifiko vsakega posameznega emblema, v kateri sta razvidna inventivnost naročnikov in njihovo poznavanje evropske tradicije emblemskih knjig. Analiza izbranih emblemov ne razkriva samo njihovega vsebinskega bogastva in kompleksne strukture, različne zglede in neposredne vplive, ampak hkrati celoviteje osvetljuje dejaven pristop naročnikov v procesu njihovega nastajanja, ki doslej v primeru ilustracij v ljubljanski Spominski knjigi ljubljanske plemiške družbe sv. Dizma ni bil deležen ustrezne pozornosti. Ob tem avtor opozarja tudi na vlogo vodilnih miniaturistov Andreja Trosta in Simona Tadeja Volbenka Grahovarja, ki nista bila zgolj iluminatorja, temveč sta aktivno sodelovala pri sami ikonografski zasnovi emblemov, s čimer odpira nov vpogled v dinamiko odnosov med umetnikom in naročnikom. |
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