Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/y26keclv29
Sculptor Giovanni Depaul from Trieste and the bust of Paško Bakmaz at the City Cemetery of Zadar
Bojan Goja
; Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Conservation Department in Zadar, Zadar, Croatia
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The City Cemetery of Zadar was built in 1820 after the Austrian Government passed a law prohibiting traditional burials in tombs located inside and around city churches, and the first burials in the new cemetery were carried out already in January of the following year. In the meantime, the cemetery was extended and expanded. In 1922, a memorial chapel was built for Italian soldiers who died in the First World War (Sacrario Militare). In 1926, a new portal was built to enter the old part of the cemetery. After the extension from the north side in the direction of the old cemetery, annexes with the necessary rooms were built in 1934, along with a new monumental portal in the form of a triumphal arch with an attic and three openings. Over time, the area of the cemetery was filled with numerous chapels, tombs, sculptures and tombstones of exceptional artistic quality and cultural and historical value. Two neo-style connected chapels belonging to the Perlini and Bakmaz families were built along the eastern part of the wall surrounding the oldest part of the cemetery. The chapels have facades shaped in the same way using and combining architectural and decorative motifs taken from the Romanesque style. In the interior of the chapel, along with other components of the sepulchral theme, the marble bust of Paško Bakmaz (1820 - 1887) stands out primarily for its artistic value. A native of Mratov (Promin), Paško Bakmaz acquired a large fortune in Zadar as a merchant and landowner. He is known primarily for his entrepreneurial and charitable activities, and a major cultural and educational donor. The author’s signature is engraved on the back of the bust: “G. DEPAUL,” indicating that the author of the bust is the famous Trieste sculptor Giovanni Depaul (1825-1919). Among the sculptors active in Trieste during the second half of the 19th century, Giovanni Depaul holds a prominent place primarily as the author of grave portraits and public sculptures. He is one of the first Trieste sculptors to assert himself on the Italian national sculpture scene. In accordance with his academic education, he creates works inspired by classical forms, which are perfect in their technical performance and realistic in their depiction of reality. This particularly comes to the fore in portraiture, where he approaches the anatomical shaping of characters and their psychological characterization in a naturalistic way. The described skill that Depaul mastered in creating realistic portraits can also be recognized on the
bust of Paško Bakmaz, who is shown as a man in his mature years. A wrinkled forehead and an aquiline nose stand out on a bony face, while a moustache and long sideburns complete the physiognomy. He stares into the distance with his living eyes open and he is dressed in a suit, waistcoat and shirt with a high collar with a bow tied around his neck. It could be argued that the sculptor managed to depict not only the fashion of that time but also the spirit and character of Paško Bakmaz. With his bust of Paško Bakmaz, Giovanni Depaul Bust joins a larger number of previously recognized sculptors working in Trieste (Ivan Rendić, Giacomo de Simon, Leone Bottinelli, Luigi Conti, Giovanni Marin) who are represented by their works for local clients in the Zadar old cemetery as well as in the city and its surroundings.
Keywords
Zadar; City Cemetery; tombstones; Paško Bakmaz; Giovanni Depaul; Trieste
Hrčak ID:
312809
URI
Publication date:
30.12.2023.
Visits: 620 *