Gospa od Škrpjela, Crna Gora / Our Lady of the Rocks, Montenegro

Gospa od Škrpjela

JA slide show
 

The painting of Our Lady

gospa-lovroOn the altar, in the crevice under a marble canopy, lies the miraculous painting of Our Lady, painted on a cedar plank. It was painted by Lovro Marinov Dobričević from Kotor in the mid-1460s. Mary is represented on a thin primed plaster surface. The Madonna is presented sitting on a young yellow moon, whose edges are seen in the bottom corners of the painting. In her right arm, she is holding baby Christ, clad in a white gown with bluish-grey contours and a golden collar. Turned towards his mother, he is blessing us with his right hand, while holding a roll of gray parchment in his left hand. Mary has gently lowered her head, and is looking at her son, while pointing at him with her left arm at the same time. She is wearing a bright red dress trussed un­der her breasts by a light-red belt, with gold buckles and holes. She is draped in an azure blue cloak with a light-blue lining and gold stars on her shoulders. Over her head, under the cloak, she has a sheer veil with bluish contours, through which locks of dark brown hair on her forehead can be seen. Gold halos, decorated with colors and texts, circle Mary and Jesus' heads. Christ's halo contains the letters OΩN ("He who is"), while Mary's contains the beginning of the prayer: AVE MARIA GRATIA PLENA D(OMI)N(U)S TECUM BENEDICTA TUI MULIERIBUS ET BENE... Behind the figures, a bright red, masterfully modeled drapery is painted, hemmed with white ermine fur. Above Christ's head in yellow lettering, his abbreviated name, IC XC, is written in Greek, while above Mary's head, in the same lettering, is her name: MHR Θ(Y). To the right is a votive plaque, a gift by the citizens of Perast following their victory over the Turks, on May 15, 1654. The relief on the plaque represents Perast, to islands, and Verige. The sea and its waves are beautifully crafted, as well as the islands, and the city itself. Turks attacking Perast can be seen on three sides above the city.

At the foot of a wooden footstool are four canvas paintings: The Mystery of Jesus, the Birth of Jesus, Mary's Appearance in the Temple, and Immaculate Conception. They are believed to be works of the Genovese School.

The chapel walls display maids' garlands weaved from artificial white flowers, which are worn by brides in Perast and the vicinity on their wedding day, and are placed in front of the Madonna after the ceremony.

In 1724, Captains Luka Bačević and Vicko Smeća donated red damask with gold fringes for the apse.

 

Our Lady of the Rocks

Oh, console us, you powerful
Lady of the Rocks,
From the rock on which
You desired a temple to shine
Hail the Queen
Of the Boka sea
You are the red dawn,
The shield of our faith.

From the hymn "Our Lady of the Rocks"

About the website

This internet presentation has been realized by the non-governmental organization EXPEDITIO from Kotor, within the project “Museum Treasure of Perast” and in cooperation with Don Srećko Majić,  parish priest of Perast. The photographs were taken by Stevan Kordić.

The project is co-financed by the Government of Montenegro from the Fund for distributing part of the revenues from games of chance in 2009.

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Material for the website has been taken from the guide "Our Lady of the Rocks" published by the Turistička naklada, Zagreb and NIP "Gospa od Škrpjela", Perast, 2007


 


EU_flagRealization of this site is part of the Sostenuto project, conducted in partnership between EXPEDITIO and
organizations from France, Italy, Slovenia and Spain, through the MED programme of the European Union.