COLOANA MARIEI IMMACULATA DIN CLUJ. UN TIP DE MONUMENT CENTRAL-EUROPEAN ÎN TRANSILVANIA BAROCĂ
THE MARY IMMACULATE COLUMN IN CLUJ. A TYPE OF A CENTRAL-EUROPEAN MONUMENT IN THE TRANSYLVANIAN BAROQUE

Summary/Abstract: The Mary Immaculate Column in Cluj. A Type of a Central-European Monument in the Transylvanian Baroque. The Immaculata-column of Cluj represents one of the most significant works of the Transylvanian baroque sculpture, and at the same time stands as the first public monument of the city. Its importance has been long recognized by specialists interested in the baroque sculpture topic. Our research is based on the newly found document, the contract of September 15, 1744 between Kornis Antal and the recently settled sculptor Anton Schuchbauer. The contract constitutes an accurate depiction of the project, which would have incorporated a grandiose central monument surrounded by fifteen saints statues, nine angels making allusion to the angels’ choir, and three lying unicorns, representing the patrons’ heraldic animal. From this original arrangement only the center piece of the composition have survived until today. Our study present the formal precedents of the Mary-column in Cluj, by analyzing different variations and changes of the Central-European Mary-columns. The examination of the newly located contract of 1744 reveals not only the importance of the workshops organizational aspects, but emphasizes the significance of the patron’s role in the developmental stages of the monument. The examination of the essential role of the patron is relevant in the case of the Mary-column in Cluj, since the benefactor requests the utilization of his heraldic representations, already used on other monuments with his sponsorship in the city of Cluj (ex: Franciscan Church, Loretto Chapel). We emphasized the presence of different forms of the cult of Virgin Mary in the life of the patron or his family.

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