Studiu de parament la biserica ortodoxă „veche” din Galda de Jos

Authors
Lóránd Kiss
Abstract

In 2013, during a recent restoration project carried out at the old Orthodox church from Galda de Jos, several stratigraphic samplings of the wall surface were executed (Fig. 1, a-b). The examination led to the conclusions that the church has a medieval (before 1500) quadrangular nave, with a semicircular apse and a narthex erected in the modern times. The wall of the iconostasis with two entrances is also medieval, bearing a layer of medieval, good quality, painting. The painting was executed during the first half of the sixteenth century at the latest and necessitates a complete uncovering in order to be rapidly introduced in the scientific circuit (Fig. 6-8). The examination of the wall facing allowed the conclusion that the iconostasis is medieval and the inscriptions on the inner side were Slavonic, thus proving that this is an extremely valuable remnant of an Orthodox church made of brick and stone. The changes of color observed on the medieval layer of painting may suggest that sometimes from sixteenth to eighteenth century the church burnt. Then, in the eighteenth century a renovation took place when another projected altar was erected, the walls were heightened and wider windows were placed on the southern wall of the nave. In 1757 the church was painted anew, samples of which are visible on the western side of the nave (towards narthex) on the iconostasis and within the entire apse.

Keywords
medieval painting, a secco, a fresco, eighteenth century painting, orthodox church.