Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.17018/portal.2025.11
Monumental Crucifix of the Zagreb Cathedral: Chronology and Context
Matko Marušić
orcid.org/0000-0001-9208-3111
; Institut za povijest umjetnosti
Sažetak
The monumental crucifix of Zagreb Cathedral ranks among the oldest preserved polychrome wooden sculptures in continental Croatia. Despite its historical and artistic significance, it has received only cursory attention in scholarly literature. In the 1970s, Anđela Horvat dated the crucifix to around 1500, highlighting its blend of Gothic and Renaissance elements. This article proposes an earlier dating – specifically, to the first half or middle of the fifteenth century. In fact, the crucifix displays features typical of thirteenth-century sculpture, including the posture of the body, the overlapping of the feet, and the stylised physiognomy. Yet its drapery folds, and the modelling of the corpus, correspond more closely with the late ‘Soft style’ of the mid-fifteenth century.
The crucifix has been relocated several times within the interior of Zagreb Cathedral. Although written records do not definitively establish its original placement, it was likely intended for the Altar of the Holy Cross, commissioned by Bishop Eberhard in the early fifteenth century. By the century’s end, the crucifix had been mounted atop the choir screen – probably soon after its construction in the 1490s under Bishop Oswald Thuz. Positioned in medio ecclesiae, the large crucifix formed a visual and liturgical ensemble with the Altar of the Holy Cross located beneath it, serving as the Cathedral’s lay altar. In the mid-eighteenth century, the canon regular, Juraj Delinić, commissioned a new cross with a silver coating. At this time, the original corpus was likely repainted, and statues of John and Mary were added to either side. Following the demolition of the central section of the choir screen in 1800, the crucifix and its accompanying figures were moved to the remaining portion of the screen in the south aisle. During the Cathedral’s neo-Gothic renovation, this remnant was removed, and the crucifix was relocated once more – this time near the church entrance, now without the side statues. In the mid-twentieth century, it was transferred to the altar of the Chapel of St Stephen in the nearby Archbishop’s Palace, a move that further removed it from scholarly visibility.
The reconstruction of the crucifix’s relocations presented in this article lays the groundwork for considering its return to the space for which it was originally created. Such a return could form part of the comprehensive renovation of Zagreb Cathedral’s interior following the 2020 earthquake. However, this would first require a full conservation and restoration process – an undertaking that may also yield new insights into the crucifix’s complex, and largely undocumented, history.
Ključne riječi
monumental cross; wooden sculpture; Gothic; ‘soft style’; Zagreb cathedral; choir screen; Altar of the Holy Cross
Hrčak ID:
342553
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.12.2025.
Posjeta: 387 *