Original scientific paper
Bishop Teodor Diedo (1611–1625) and the Artistic Heritage of Korčula: New Perspectives on the 400th Anniversary of the Prelate’s Death
Damir Tulić
; Katedra za umjetnost ranog novog vijeka, Odsjek za povijest umjetnosti, Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Rijeci
Abstract
In 2025 we commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of one of the most influential bishops of Korčula, the Venetian Teodor Diedo (1571–1625). During his relatively brief but highly effective fifteen-year episcopate in Korčula, beginning in 1611, Diedo played a pivotal role in the implementation of the decrees of the Council of Trent. This study examines the bishop’s tenure in Korčula from the perspective of art history. Alongside a reassessment of established facts concerning Diedo’s activities as a patron of the arts, the article introduces a series of new observations based on archival sources and on a comparative analysis of apostolic and canonical visitation records dating from the 16th to the 18th century. The bishop commissioned an altarpiece from Leandro Bassano depicting the Holy Trinity with the Apostles for the eponymous altar in the Cathedral of Korčula, which also includes his donor portrait. For the parish church in the village of Čara, he likewise commissioned a wooden altar with the painting The Incredulity of
Saint Thomas from the same master. Both works were produced in the second decade of the 17th century; the latter is here proposed to be dated to 1612 or 1613. The stone altar for Leandro’s painting in the Cathedral was executed in 1620 by the Korčula stonemason and sculptor Ivan Pomenić. In the workshop of this master – who died in Korčula in 1667 – a replica of the forementioned Cathedral altar was most probably produced in 1658 for the parish church in the village of Smokvica. The article further offers the first in-depth analysis of the form, function, and placement (as well as subsequent relocation) of a new type of baptismal font introduced in the Cathedral during the first decade of the 17th century. This font became the model for others in the parish churches of the island of Korčula, and Bishop Diedo played a crucial role in the dissemination of this type, as evidenced by the surviving examples in Čara and Smokvica, both of which bear his inscription on their bases.
Keywords
bishop Teodor Diedo; Korčula; Čara; Smokvica; Lenadro Bassano; stonemason Ivan Pomenić; altar; baptismal font; 17th century
Hrčak ID:
345520
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2025.
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