A Closer Look at Painted Beehive Front Panels. A Slovenian Phenomenon

Abstract

Ob bogatem raziskovalnem izročilu panjskih končnic so obravnavni elementi, ki so omogočili motivne prilagoditve obliki panjskih končnic (nesorazmerni širina in višina deščice, tj. 30 cm x 12,5 cm). Avtor se ob tem dotakne tudi drugih, že raziskanih vprašanj (vzroki za poslikave, ustvarjalci, izviri in predloge cerkvenih in posvetnih motivov, zgradba upodobitev). Za posvetno motiviko je pomembno vprašanje o presevanju socialne strukture – iz panjskih končnic je mogoče razbrati mizogine podobe, hierarhizacijo poklicev, karikaturo in satiro vsakdanjega življenja, večkrat predstavljenega v živalskih podobah (t. i. »narobe svet«). Prenašanje motivov s predlog je ustvarjalni dosežek poslikovalcev, ki so npr. moralne poante upodobili v značilnih kompozicijah (simetrična dvo- ali tridelna struktura) ali v bolj pomenskem podajanju.

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Beehive front panels have been researched by a number of authors. This study examines motifs that could be adapted to the rather unusual size of beehive panels (disproportionate width and height of the panel measured 30 centimeters by 12, 5 centimeters respectively). Addressed are some additional questions that have already been the topic of research: possible reasons for these paintings, their creators, sources, structure, and religious and secular motifs that served as a model for them. Secular motifs depicted on the panels reflect the social structure of the period in which they originated: misogynist images, professional hierarchy, and satirization of everyday life, often presented through animals (the so-called “topsy-turvy world”). When translating these motifs on beehive panels their crea­tors had to display a large amount of ingenuity. They depicted themes such as moral lessons, for example, in characteristic compositions (symmetrical twopartite or tripartite structure) or by presenting their meaning in a different manner.