Original scientific paper Painting a rosy picture: female saints in illuminated Glagolitic manuscripts is written by full professor Sanja CVETNIĆ, PhD (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences), collaborator on the FEMIGLA project.

The paper is published in Colour in written heritage – multidisciplinary research Conference Proceedings (ed. A. Dragojević, Hrvatski državni arhiv, Zagreb, 2025), pp. 15–32.

It available HERE.

Summary

In addition to iconographic description and narration, artworks convey information about the stylistic features of the artistic school in which an artist was trained and operates. This can also be observed in the illuminations of Glagolitic manuscripts from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Stylistic affiliation is divided into schools, each distinguished by its emphasis on specific formal means and solutions.

However, images of sacred themes from this period remain standardised in their iconographic descriptions. Such standardisation enables faster and broader visual communication and includes colour symbolism. This is closely linked to liturgy, theology, and hagiography, as exemplified by the choice of red tones for the garments of martyrs – a tradition adopted in liturgical vestments for services on their feast days.

Some colour choices for female saints – who are the primary focus here – are well known, such as the depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who, in various iconographic scenes such as the Nativity, the Visitation, the Crucifixion, and Pentecost, stands out among the apostles and holy women due to her blue mantle over a red or pink robe. The colour chosen for her mantle also reflects theological interpretations of the role of the Mother of God (Greek: Θεοτόκος / Theotokos) in the Salvation, and her glorification as the Queen of Heaven (Latin: Regina Caeli).

Less well known is the origin of the green and dark red tones in depictions of the early Christian martyr St Margaret of Antioch. Her green mantle in Western Christian iconography recalls the hagiographic episode of her miraculous escape from the belly of a dragon (Satan) – a green beast that had swallowed her. As with other figures, in representations of female saints, colour contributes to immediate recognition and clear visual narration.