Ce culoare are Moartea? Răspunsuri ale iconografiei religioase românești (sec. XVIII-XIX)
What colour is Death? Answers of the Romanian religious iconography (18th-19th centuries)

Summary/Abstract: The present study has as central subject Death as a character transposed into an image. The concept and the way of representation of this symbol built around an irrepresentable figure bring into discussion numerous unknown aspects, as the reasons which determined the artists to include these images in their works but especially the way in which they transposed into image the death spectre (the appearance, the gender or the colour of Death) depending on the area and the historical context they lived and created in. The answers were sought within the Romanian religious iconography of the 18th-19th centuries, especially in various areas from the North-West and the centre of the country. Iconographical patterns were identified following a fascinating periplus through the eschatological iconography; these were perpetuated between 1750 and 1830 creating a sort of coherence and visual identity regarding the macabre characters, and the itinerant nature of the painters’ work contributed to the translation of certain images from one religious monument to another and to the creation of patterns. The details’ analysis regarding the colours in which Death was imagined could prove useful for understanding the context in which it made felt its presence and the way in which the painters from different areas proposed versions to certify their vision and to relate the routes that were travelled and the influences they felt.

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