Niche with a Relief of St. Helen - a Contribution to the Romanesque Style in the Town of Hvar

Romanički, srpasti luk koji je sekundarno upotrijebljen kao niša za reljef sv. Jelene Križarice na kući Novak-Koga jedan je od rijetkih sačuvanih detalja stambene romanike u gradu Hvaru. Sekundarna upotreba romaničkog detalja potkrepljuje pretpostavke o široj rasprostranjenosti ovog stila na stambenoj arhitekturi grada. Srpasti luk niše je naknadno goticiziran, što pokazuje jedan od načina prodora gotike u stambenu arhitekturu.The niche on the house of Novak-Koga family in the town of Hvar, with a relief of St. Helen the "Cross-Finder", is a secondarily utilized Romanesque "sickle-like" arch. The relief itself goes back to the second half of the 15th c. Exceedingly scarce Romanesque elements in the preserved house architecture of this town give special meaning to the arch here described. Its secondary reusage confirms the supposition of a far wider presence of that style in the past than it could be inferred from its actual scarcity. The same can be said in regard of the typological diversity of Romanesque remnants. The sickle-like arch of the niche in question has been Gothicised in the manner that its inner tip was later sharpened, while its upper outer end was reshaped in mortar into a pointed form, thus giving to the whole of the niche a new, Gothic character. A similar "sharpening" can be observed on some other semi-circular Romanesque arches in the house architecture of Hvar, which probably means that they have been Gothicised in the same way