St Peregrine on the Ugljan Polyptych in Zadar

Abstract

The Ugljan polyptych stands as a significant example of Gothic painting in Dalmatia, originating from the Franciscan monastery of St Jerome in the village of Ugljan on the island of the same name in the Zadar archipelago. The church was consecrated in 1447 and the polyptych likely also dates to the mid-15th century. It was painted in the prevalent style of the time known as international or court art. Attributed to the Zadar painter Ivan Petrov from Milan, the polyptych comprises twenty-nine paintings featuring saintly figures. One of them remains uncertain in its identification, with suggestions that it may represent St Peregrine. He is depicted as a pilgrim, mirroring a representation found on a processional cross from a church dedicated to him on the islet below the village of Savar on Dugi Otok in the Zadar archipelago. Notably, there exists a church dedicated to the same saint above the village of Kali on the island of Ugljan, not far from the town of Ugljan with the Franciscan monastery. This supports the assumption that the unidentified pilgrim on the polyptych indeed represents St Peregrine.