The Church of St. Jerome

The interior of the Church of St. Jerome in Hum hides valuable frescoes from the late 12th or the early 13th cc. On the triumphal arch is the scene of the Annunciation depicted in front of the architectural background of a city. The angel is in movement, with fluttering robes while the Virgin Mary is seated on the throne, spinning wool. This is an apocryphal motif from the Proto-Gospel of James, popular in the Christian East. The finest representations are motifs of the Deposition of Christ and Entombment of Christ on the northern wall. They show the painter’s great skill. The figure of Joseph of Arimathea with noble old man's features, as well as the draperies of the furthest figure to the left show the full specificity of these works. The impression of physical is achieved by the consistent alternation of light and dark strokes that form the drapery of the figures’ clothes. The hems of clothing are accentuated by light contours,lumeggiature, while the architecture – by white colour. Until the present, Byzantinism was excessively considered a dominant component of this painting. However, recent research has recognized it as a link connecting the Venice-Aquileia and the Austria-Salzburg painters circle. Dominant red, fine hair and attire gradations point to the western chromatic scale, while the architectural and landscape images had been completely neglected, apart from the Annunciation of Mary, of which architecture it is an inevitable element. Apart from frescoes, Glagolitic graffitos were also found on the walls, believed to be written by the priest who had kept records of served masses. As the exceptional quality of these paintings surpasses the abilities of the area and local commissioner, it must have been commissioned by the Aquileian Patriarchate, the mightiest feudal lords of Istria at the time.