Original scientific paper
Nicolo Bambini in Barban
Višnja Bralić
; Hrvatski restauratorski zavod, Zagreb
Abstract
Altarpiece of St. Nicholas with St. James and St. Anthony Abbot at the main altar of the parish church in Barban has usually been dated as belonging in the period of late Venetian mannerisim and Palma's circle of followers. The archive research, however, show that in 1659, at the time of a pastoral visit, the altarpiece was not yet in the church and the guilded main altar was decorated by the statues of saints. The rennovated church and the marble main altar were consecrated in 1701 and the altarpiece commissioned. By means of a comparative analysis, the painting has been attributed to Venetian painter Nicolo Bambini (1652-1736.). Starting from the baroque painting in the tradition of tenebrism, adapting and combining the inf luences of the 17th century baroque classicism of Rome and Bologna, and Padovanino's classicist idealizations of the Venetian neocinquecento, Bambini evolved towards a decorative, neo-Veronese trend in Venetian painting, charting the path for a full affirmation of rococo in Venice. The Barban altarpiece, although conventional in composition, reveals a similar blend of tradition and various influences in Bambini's evolution. The soft, translucent chromatism of the sky in the background, as well as the immediacy of the figures, indicate a prevailing Venetian tradition. On the other hand, soft forms and summarily shaped draperies on the Barban painting recall »The Adoration of the Magi« (1704-1708) in the church of St. Zaccaria and the supraportas in the library of the Archibishop's Palace in Udine (1711), while in terms of typology the figure of St. Nicholas is closest to St. Matthew, from the same cycle in Udine.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
166676
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2001.
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