The Earliest References of Artists in the Slovenian Language

The Ljubljana Register of Banns 1737–1759 as a Source for Slovenian Art History

Abstract

The paper analyses the earliest references of painters, sculptors and other artists in the Slovenian language. In Slovenian texts and dictionaries, Slovenian titles for professions are attested to since the second half of the 16th century, however, they are not directly referenced to specific persons. Based on the fact that written Slovenian was a language that was rarely used in the secular sphere until the Enlightenment, a larger number of such references can be found only from the middle of the 18th century. An extensive register of banns of the St Nicholas’ parish in Ljubljana from 1737–1759 represents a valuable source for such references. The Slovenian expressions for the discussed professions, which can be found in the book, were entirely adapted from German. Painters are designated as malar or maler, sculptors as pilavar, pildtaver and bildtaver, painters of cards as kartenmalar or kartenmaler, gilders as faser and fergulder or ferguldar, and the only master builder as paumaster. The book is not only a rich source of information about Slovenian professional terminology of the 18th century, but also a treasury for researching individuals’ microcosms.