Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.17018/portal.2025.12
Remnants of Renaissance Furnishings in the Zagreb Cathedral
Daniel Premerl
orcid.org/0009-0007-5257-4291
; Institut za povijest umjetnosti
Sažetak
This article provides an overview of the current knowledge regarding the remnants of the Pannonian Renaissance in the present-day cathedral, accompanied by critical commentary and new observations.
Passion of Christ triptych: A triptych with the Passion of Christ (1499) is located in the sacristy chapel within a Neo-Gothic altarpiece designed for it during the restoration between 1880 and 1883. It consists of a central painting, Crucifixion, transferred from wood to canvas in 1913, and side panels on the inner wings of the altarpiece: Carrying of the Cross on the left and Resurrection on the right. The outer panels contain paintings by Hans Georg Geigerfeld (?–1682) – Nativity and Circumcision of Christ – which were added later. This restoration intervention follows the previous iconographic arrangement. A visitation record by Bishop Vrhovac (1792–1794) reveals that the outer wing panels originally featured a cycle of four paintings depicting the early life of Christ.
In the first half of the 17th century, Rafael Levaković wrote that the triptych was located on the altar of Ss Gervasius and Protasius in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, beneath which lay the tombstone and epitaph of Mihael Vitez, canon and provost of the Zagreb Cathedral Chapter, who commissioned the triptych in 1499. Mihael Vitez was the son of Petar Vitez of Komarnica and earned a doctorate in canon law from Padua in 1487, linking the triptych’s acquisition to his time there. He was a member of a prominent family whose members included notable figures of Hungarian humanism: Ivan Vitez of Sredna and Janus Pannonius. In the late 17th or early 18th century, the altar was still in its original location, and Pavao Ritter Vitezović wrote that the Crucifixion painting was created by Albrecht Dürer. By the late 18th century, the triptych was no longer an altarpiece (as the altar no longer existed) but was preserved as a historical artefact (according to Vrhovac’s visitation). At the beginning of the 19th century, the triptych was moved to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It remained there until the 1880 earthquake, when it was sent to Vienna for restoration and then placed on an altar in the sacristy, where it is still located.
Art history considers the triptych an imported work that blends German and Italian stylistic elements of the late 15th century. Željko Jiroušek attributed the central panel, Crucifixion, to a young Albrecht Dürer, dating it to 1495, the year Dürer spent in Venice. However, this attribution has not been accepted by Dürer experts. Nonetheless, we agree with Jiroušek that the triptych is the work of a Northern European master, created in Northern Italy. This serves as a guide for future research, potentially addressing the assimilation of Italian Renaissance influences visible in the facial depictions.
Four stalls: The cathedral currently houses four Renaissance stalls which can be divided into two groups based on their original function and typology. One group consists of two stalls with a voluminous crown moulding and a storage space behind the backrest – originally altar stalls placed with their backs against the cathedral pillars, facing the altar positioned by the next pillar. These include the stall from the altar of St Emeric (now located near the north entrance), and the stall from the altar of St Barbara (now located near the south entrance). These two stalls are similar, but were made in different workshops (but likely restored in the same workshop). They remained in their original location until the 1880 earthquake, when they were removed along with their altars to clear the space around the pillars. The second group includes two stalls with less voluminous crown moulding and no storage space behind the backrest. These were likely part of the Renaissance choir stalls in the Chapel of St Ladislaus and are now located to the left and right of the Baroque altar of St Luke. These two stalls are very similar, indicating they were made and restored in the same workshops.
Before examining them, we should note that all four stalls were restored in unknown renovations before 1880, when new elements were added. They were likely also restored after the 1880 earthquake, but at that time the inlays were not refurbished; old photographs after the earthquake show the inlays in a deteriorated state. We know that they were restored during the 20th century, but the process was not recorded. Future conservation and archival research may provide more answers.
Two altar stalls: Stall from the Altar of St Emeric (near the north entrance). This stall is the best-documented, thanks to two Latin inscriptions on its frieze. In our opinion, it also has the best-preserved Renaissance elements. The inscriptions reveal that Canon Ladislaus de Gersenche commissioned it in 1520 for the altar of St Emeric, crafted by Petrus pictor et sculptor and Nicolaus carpentarius. Nothing is known about these masters, but it is believed that they were Italians who, during the Jagiellonian dynasty, continued the tradition of Renaissance art that had been brought to this region by the Hungarian-Croatian king Matthias Corvinus. The most striking feature of this stall is its prominent crown moulding, composed of a doubled beam. The high backrest also retains original elements distinct from other stalls: inlaid borders around the panels and pilaster capitals. The panels once featured inlaid figures of St Stephen, St Emeric and St Ladislaus, but they were removed during the restoration after the 1880 earthquake. These three saints of the royal Arpadian line are typical of the iconography of the Zagreb church. The stall’s kneeler front was added later, which we conclude on the basis of the style (the rhombus being filled with inlaid acanthus that seems to be from the last quarter of the 17th century) and the fact that it was clearly cut from a longer bench. It was likely repurposed from choir stalls made in 1674–1675 by carpenter Matthias Erlman (? –Zagreb, 1687). These choir stalls remained in use until 1801, when Bishop Vrhovac replaced them, likely reusing their fronts for the repair of Renaissance stalls.
Stall from the Altar of St Barbara (Stall of the Four Evangelists, south entrance). This stall emulates the stall of St Emeric (see the reliefs on the crown moulding) but exhibits less skilled carving. It was long believed it was made shortly after the stall of St Emeric, but our research suggests it was actually crafted in 1690 as a copy of the stall of St Emeric. This conclusion is based on the 1690 contract for the stall of St Barbara, which states that it was made by master carpenter Sebastijan Tačker (who made a lot of the furniture for the cathedral that has not been preserved). In addition to the contract, a further argument for dating it to 1690 is the Evangelist inlays, which we believe belong stylistically to that period. As for the Renaissance intarsia patterns (eight-pointed stars and zigzag motifs), we believe that the master carpenter borrowed them from Renaissance furniture. This use of Renaissance motifs in the last quarter of the 17th century is also visible on the sedilia of Bishop Mikulić of 1687 and the kneeler fronts (around 1675), which we believe were built into these two stalls in 1801.
Two stalls from the Chapel of St Ladislaus? (Stalls near the Altar of St Luke): These benches are believed to have been parts of choir stalls in the Chapel of St Ladislaus (now lost), made by Florentine legnaiolo Ioannes Nicza in 1507. Nicza is recorded in sources about the Zagreb and Eger cathedrals and had a workshop in Buda. However, these stalls underwent a significant restoration in the late 17th century (by Erlman or Tačker?), so Renaissance elements are primarily present on the entablature (excluding the frieze) and in the overall concept.
Ključne riječi
painting; woodcarving; inlay; Renaissance; 17thcentury art; Italy; Hungary; Zagreb; altar stalls; Petrus pictor et sculptor, Nicolaus carpentarius; Matthias Erlman; Sebastijan Tačker; Ioannes Nicza
Hrčak ID:
342555
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.12.2025.
Posjeta: 365 *