Original scientific paper
A Contribution to the Santa Croce Workshop
Ivana Čapeta
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Splitu Odsjek za povijest umjetnosti
Abstract
At Pakljena on the island of Šipan there is a polyptych in five units within a carved and gilded
frame (total 204 x 140 cm. Recently (in 2003) it was thoroughly restored although the work
had been presented to the public in the exhibition The Golden Age of Dubrovnik, 15th and 16th
century, in the Muzejski prostor in Zagreb and in the Rector’s palace in Dubrovnik in 1987.
A study of the work from close quarters together with the recent restoration work have led to a
new views and evaluation of the painting, and its more precise stylistic definition.
In the center panel there is a Virgin with a baby Jesus and St. John. At the place of honor to
Her right there is St. Thomas Apostle, and above him there is a half-figure representation of St.
Nicholas. At the other side there is the figure of St. Vlaho, the protector of Dubrovnik bearing a
bishop’s insignia, and above him a half-figure representation of St. Anthony. The figures of the
central and side panels are shown in front of an open landscape, whereas the half-figures stand
in front of a blue sky with scattered white clouds. The altar reveals features of an expanded
version of a Paduan triptych with four pilasters in the lower section and adorned with the
arabesque. The lunette has not been preserved.
Although there is no written documentation, the specific iconography honoring the names
of the male members of the donor family under the protection of their name saints, the family
coat-of-arms at the lower register, and the local tradition testify that one should look for the
patron among the members of the Krivonosović family, i.e. Toma Antunov or his son Antun.
They were members of a distinguished Šipan family which had enriched itself by shipbuilding
and overseas commerce. The members of the family were also in charge of purchasing art works
for the churches of the island, and the most intense period of their cultural activity coincides
with the 1550ies. The polyptich was probably commissioned at that time, as opposed to Đurić’s
suggestion of the 1530ies, or an even earlier date suggested by Gjukić - Bender. Vojislav Đurić
was the first to bring the work to the scholarly attention around 1950 attributing it to Vincenzo
Catena (Venice, ca. 1480 – Venice, 1531), whereas Vladimir Marković has assigned it
to an anonymous Venetian painter while accepting Đurić’s dating of ca. 1530. Gjukić-Bender
also attributes it to Catena proposing a date of 1510 for the central field, and 1515 for the rest.
Based on a stylistic comparison with a number of works from the Santa Croce workshop,
intensely present in the Eastern Adriatic as it is well-known, we have attributed the polyptych
to that specific workshop active throughout the 16th and the first two decades of the 17th
century. Furthermore, comparing our work with the works of Francesca da Santa Croce, a
younger member of the shop (Venice, 1516 – Venice, 1584), one can point out many analogies
in particular with his Noli me tangere and Christ with the Samaritan Woman in the Museo Borgogna at Vercelli.
Keywords
Francesco da Santa Croce; painting; altar painting; 16th century; Krivonosović family; Šipan
Hrčak ID:
105257
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2008.
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