The article focuses on cross references between the pictorial and scriptural systems of the Klosterneuburg enamel work by Nicolaus of Verdun. The way in which the dedicational inscription characterizes the typological program of its... more
The article focuses on cross references between the pictorial and scriptural systems of the Klosterneuburg enamel work by Nicolaus of Verdun. The way in which the dedicational inscription characterizes the typological program of its images is termed „rhyming“ (consona). In the inscription, the pictorial narratives of the Old and New Testament are described as sacra consona that are carved, or „trenched“ (peraratum), thus referring to the enamel technique of the Champlevé. Former research on the typological program of the enamelwork that ornamented the ambo in the church of the monastery Klosterneuburg has neglected the original layout of the dedication. A virtual reconstruction rendered by the author, however, shows that originally the verses were positioned in absolute order: each of the four inscription lines on the panels concluded with the last word of a verse. The two smaller panels thus contained four verses, the middle panel eight verses. In 1331 the enamelwork was inserted into a wooden triptych with foldable wings. The enamel work of the middle panel had to be enlarged, making it in turn necessary to alter the layout of the inscription. Since then, the verses cover the inscription line without cohesion between the space of the panel’s lines and the order of the verses. Verses, even words had to be cut to be divided between the end of one panel and the beginning of the next line on another panel. Not only were the verses much easier to read in the original layout, but the whole rhyming structure participated in the typological „rhyming“ system of the images. Additionally, the reconstructed layout reveals that the rhyming word pairs are very often key words to the whole work’s semantics, including cross references not only to the images but also to further inscriptions such as the image tituli. In this work, pictorial and scriptural systems are not designed to fulfill different and distinct tasks; instead, they form a hybrid medium in which meaning and impact results from linked pictorial and scriptural processes. To better describe these processes the author proposes the terminus „Konmedialität“ (conmediality) instead of „Intermedialität“ (intermediality).
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