Zackenstil#

Zackenstil ("Zig-zag Style"), also "Zackbruechiger Stil", transitional style between Romanesque and Gothic in book illuminations, murals, and stained glass; developed in the 1st half of the 13th century from Byzantine and western European/German roots (first rudiments in Thuringia, along the Central Rhine river and in Regensburg book illuminations), reached its height after the mid-13th century in Austria. Important works of this style have been preserved in Vienna, Lower Austria and especially in the Carinthian-Styrian area. A characteristic feature of the Zackenstil is the jaggedly broken arrangement of lines of cloth folds and contours with the traditional Romanesque forms being kept to a large extent. The style's late phase is characterised by elaborate linearity.

The Zackenstil is thought to have started in book illuminations; characteristic examples are the Seitenstetten Evangelistary (around 1247-1250, Pierpont Morgan Library in New York), based on Bavarian models, and the Zwettl Psalter (1st half of 13th century, Zwettl Abbey), probably originating from Bohemia. The main work of the style in Austria is the cycle of frescoes on the western gallery of Gurk Cathedral (around 1220, restoration and extensions after 1260), which is the largest and best preserved fresco cycle in the German-speaking world from that time. Another important work of late Zackenstil is the Wimpassing Cross (around 1270/80). Further examples: frescoes in Goess (around 1280), in Seckau (around 1270/80) and in Krems an der Donau (around 1280), and stained glass in Gurk (after 1260) and Friesach (around 1270/80).

Literature#