Report about the architectural survey of the Parish Church of the settlement of Sanvignes-les-Mines (original) (raw)
Related papers
Report about the Architectural Survey of the Parish Church of the Settlement of Chiddes
2014
The partly medieval church of Chiddes in the South of Bur-gundy had been surveyed and researched in 2010 by students of architecture from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The survey was part of a 20-year long campaign by the French organization CEP (Centre International d’Etude des Patremoines Culturels) for the inventory of Romanesque churches and chapels in the Charolais-Brionnais region. The result of the survey and the research is introduced, and the find-ings are summed up in the form of a hypothetical relative perio-dization of the church.
As you can see from the title of my contribution, I give as granted that architecture-for example, a Romanesque church-is to be considered as an art-object. Despite that, in the Middle Ages, architecture was listed among the mechanical arts and despite the role of medieval architects (both are very debated issues 1), it cannot be doubted that a medieval church can be judged as equal to a work of art. We know well that from Renaissance times, and from studies on architectural aesthetics, a work of architecture can be regarded as a work of art in large. Therefore, as an art-object, it requires classification and cognitive approach which relies on specific, always updated tools. This is obviously a vast theme. Nevertheless, despite the brevity of my contribution, I wish to discuss how an art historian should nowadays approach an architectural work, or better a historian of architecture, including one with a historical-artistic background (therefore not just necessarily an architect). I am not interested in a competition between art historians and architects , and which of these two categories are better related to the history of architecture. What interests me is the methodology to apply and its results. The contribution of architecture helps to make a building known in all of its expressive potential, as a whole organism. Besides the aesthetical value, it involves the recontruction of the history of the building, the commissioners, the planning stages, its functions, the organization of the liturgical areas which encompass its religious and political-cultural significance. The technical aspects related to the building methods such as materials used, strategies and building site management, training, and organisation of the craftsmen are also very important. We are dealing with a very complex work of research and analysis, which often requires the partnership of other professionals, such as archaeologists, architects, and restorers. This particular teamwork is the most important aspect of the historical-architectural research and what makes it as such. With regard to Romanesque architecture, recent international and Italian historiography has displayed an attentive consideration and a renewed interest in Romanesque issues, particularly in its origins, between the 10 th and the 11 th centuries 2. A number of interesting projects 1 With regard to the Romanesque period I refer in particular to []. An updated summary about the results of the studies that are dedicated to the Romanesque one in Italy is [44].
In the paper the results of architectural research of the late‑Romanesque brick church of the Norbertine nuns in Cracow, which has never been the subject of research recognition so far. On the basis of the research results and measurements virtual reconstructions of the mass of the church and its interior were made from around in the middle of the 13 th century. The research provided a lot of important data concerning the church's functional – special plan as well building technique. They also allowed to advance some theses on enabling the analysis of the architecture of the Norbertine nuns' church against the background of Cracow's and Malopolska's art.
Over the past three decades, the Department for History of Architecture and of Monument Preservation has elaborated architectural surveys of monuments on different scales, from settlements to small-scale historic architectural objects, to train students and to provide research material for larger monument preservation measures. One of the scholarly leaders of this activity was Tamás Guzsik (1947-2002), who published several scientific articles on the methodology of village church research in Hungary, focusing on medieval architecture. By commemorating and evaluating his scientific heritage as a school founding scholar, the paper presents the conceptual opportunities and the extension of some of his principles in a Lutheran church survey programme involving the whole country. The results of this survey can be classified into a typology, which contributes to a better understanding of late Baroque architecture in Hungary and to the typology of Protestant church architecture.