Erdvės įprasminimas programiniuose retabuluose. Švč. Mergelės Marijos Ėmimo į Dangų altoriai
The bestowal of meaning to space in baroque retables. Altars of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Summary/Abstract: The nature of the article is interpretative, and its aim is not to publish new sources but to discuss the typology of schemes of staging space and providing a symbolic meaning to the space of altars in the period after the Council of Trent (1545–1563). Analysis is given to the altars of the Assumption and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In order to visualize the dynamics of the triumph of the Virgin Mary and to reveal the relation between the earthly historical sphere and the supernatural theological sphere, the composition of the altar had to become multi-plan, also incorporating the surrounding space of the church interior. The methods of staging the theme of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in this space influenced the development of the general post-Tridental tradition of retables. Such schemes rapidly spread from churches of Italy and particularly of Germany and Austria to the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania. A typical example from the 18th century of staging the altar of the Assumption and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the programme of the high altar of the Prienai church of the Epiphany of Christ. Only a few of the 17th–18th century retables of this title have remained unchanged in Lithuania. Like in the rest of Europe, the violation of the authentic baroque programmes occurred for various reasons. One of the reasons is that the modern beholder does not perceive anymore the importance of the spatial structure of the retable in conveying the contents of the theological programme.

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