Ars Adriatica is a scientific journal of the Art History Department at the University of Zadar. It is published anually from 2011. The articles may be submitted in Croatian, English, Italian, French, Spanish or German. The papers undergo at least two independent “double blind” reviews. Articles and reviews are not paid for. Journal is indexed by HRČAK, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection (ESCI), Art source (EBSCO), ERIH Plus and DOAJ. ISSN: 1848-1590 e-ISSN: 1848-7459 DOI: 10.15291/aa
Sveučilište u Zadru, Odjel za povijest umjetnosti
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With Clio into Eternity –In memoriam Ante Milošević
On 24 July 2025, Ante Milošević passed away in Seget Vranjica near Trogir, in his 73rd year. He was a distinguished Croatian archaeologist and art historian, honorary associate professor at the University of Split, and museum and research advisor in retirement. From the biography of this native of Sinj, born on 5 March 1953, we should single out that he completed his studies in archaeology and art history in 1976 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zadar, and defended his doctoral dissertation in 2005 at the University of Zadar. Through his career, he headed two important museum institutions: he served as director of the Museum of the Cetina Region in Sinj from 1977 to 1994 and held the same position at the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments (MHAS) in Split twice, from 1994 to 2005 and again from 2013 to 2018. Among the significant museological projects he led, a prominent place belongs to the organisation of the exhibition Croats and Carolingians, held at MHAS at the end of 2000 and during the first half of 2001 as part of the international project Charlemagne – The Making of Europe. His professional bibliography includes numerous edited books and proceedings, as well as twelve authored monographs and more than one hundred scholarly articles.
Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments in Split
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Conservator Miljenko Domijan (1946-2025) recently passed away in Zadar. He was born in Rab and spent a large part of his life in Zadar, where he graduated in 1972 from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. He then took a position at the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments. In 1977, he became director of that institution and subsequently managed the heritage protection service in the Zadar region for two decades. He distinguished himself as a good colleague to his office staff and maintained fruitful professional relations with representatives of various professional institutions, as well as political and ecclesiastical authorities. He was an excellent organizer of monument protection, for which he was acknowledged by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia and appointed Head Conservator. He moved to Zagreb for both professional and personal reasons. In his new role, particularly important were his efforts invested in organizing the repair and restoration of war-damaged and destroyed monuments in Dalmatia and Slavonia. He collaborated very well with international experts in the field of heritage preservation and restoration. In addition to his work as a conservator, he occasionally engaged in museum and pedagogical work, and published scholarly and professional papers. He made an important contribution to the cultural public through exhibitions of his documentary and artistic photographs. For his work, he received numerous domestic and international recognitions.
In Memory of Tomislav Marasović (September 15, 1929 – October 16, 2024)
The monumental life work of the university professor, conservator, and art historian Tomislav Marasović can be considered in three major research areas. The first is the study of early medieval architecture in Dalmatia; the second, the complex transformation of Diocletian’s Palace into the urban core of Split; and the third, the theory and history of the protection of immovable cultural heritage in Croatia and Europe. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the Marasović brothers were pioneers in applying a theoretically grounded method of active conservation of architectural heritage in Split, Croatia, and Yugoslavia. In 1975, T. Marasović conceived, co-founded, and directed the innovative Postgraduate Programme in Architectural Heritage in Split, unique in this region. Closely connected to this academic programme was the publication of his books Protection of Architectural Heritage (1983) and Active Approach to Architectural Heritage (1985), which became standard university textbooks. The Marasović brothers thus contributed to the international recognition of Croatian cultural heritage, especially when architect J. Jokilehto presented in detail their theoretical positions, research results, and intervention method on examples from Diocletian’s Palace in Split in his capital work A History of Architectural Conservation (1999).
theory and history of immovable cultural heritage protection
With these In memoriam text, we pay tribute to three distinguished experts and professors – Academician Ivo Petricioli (1925- 2009), Ksenija Radulić (1933-1975), and Marijana Kovačević (1977-2015) – whose work left a lasting mark on the history of art and the protection of cultural heritage in Zadar and Dalmatia. Ivo Petricioli, through his interdisciplinary approach, educational work, and numerous scholarly publications, made a lasting impact on the academic and scientific community, leaving a rich body of work on the art of Zadar and Dalmatia. Ksenija Radulić, as a conservator and director of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, a pioneer of underwater archaeology, and a dedicated professor, advanced the protection of cultural heritage and educated new generations of experts. Marijana Kovačević, with her research on goldsmithing and precious metals, scientific approach, and key role in the repatriation of the stolen cross from the church of St Francis in Zadar, left a significant legacy in the academic community as well as cultural heritage preservation. All three scholars left an indelible mark on the scholarly, academic, and cultural history of Zadar, inspiring future generations of art historians.
The book (Dis)Trust the Storyteller. The Case of Krvavica Children’s Health Resort, published in 2024, is a collection of diverse textual and visual contributions that offers a comprehensive presentation of a modernist complex in the coastal town of Krvavica, near Makarska. The complex was designed in the mid-1960s by architect Rikard Marasović as a sanatorium for children with respiratory diseases coming from families with military insurance. The volume explores the history of the complex, which, since its construction, has been repurposed several times and, at the beginning of the 21st century, was abandoned, forgotten, and left to decay. It also documents the work of initiatives which, since the complex’s rediscovery in 2008, have been documenting it, presenting it to the public, and advocating for its protection and activation. The sanatorium has thus come to function as a symbol and focal point of the regional struggle for the preservation of the high modernist architecture of socialist Yugoslavia. This paper introduces the book, analyses its concept, structure, and content, and reflects on its significance in the broader context of recording and protecting modernist architectural heritage.
In 1959, Izraz – the Sarajevo journal of literary and art criticism – entered a tense phase marked by Grgo Gamulin’s response to an attack by the Soviet critic V. Skaterchikov. Gamulin’s defence offered him an opportunity to underscore the necessity of using the dialectical capacities of modernism. Ljubo Babić replied, continuing an earlier dispute and refusing to accept the modernist prescription to devalue both form and content. Both of these aspects, now articulated through the skill of drawing, were presented as new guarantors of collective perception and of an ethnically coded identity. This variation on Babić’s earlier thesis of “our expression” reminded the Izraz editors, rather uncomfortably, that conservative inertia was still present and firmly positioned, making carefully calibrated responses indispensable. Based on unorthodox Marxism and on Henri Lefebvre, these responses, each in its own way, proved affirmative with regard to the hermeneutic stance of Gamulin’s contribution. Ivan Focht insisted on the individuality of abstraction, while Hrvoje Lisinski, in an unusual move, brought together Freudian postulates and Rembrandt’s painting, all with the aim of placing existential dread and the dialectic of form and narrative implications grounded in it at the problematic core of modernity.
Scents and Colours of the Dalmatian South in the Architecture of Zlatko Ugljen
The paper presents conceptual and realized projects by academician Zlatko Ugljen (Mostar, 1929) connected to the southern Herzegovinian region and its proximity to the Adriatic coast, spanning a wide time frame of nearly half a century. Ugljen is the most prominent figure on the contemporary architectural scene of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a member of three academies of sciences and arts. The selected projects reveal his distinctive approach to architectural design and thought, which can be summarized as a thorough study of, and deep respect for, the spirit of the place (genius loci) and the specific cultural geography in which contemporary architecture enters into dialogue with existing structures, customs, and building traditions. Ugljen’s architectural language is examined in relation to the influence of his professors, the prevailing trends in European architecture at the time, and his unique position within the architectural circles of Sarajevo. The selected realized and conceptual projects from Stolac and Mostar also highlight the particular features of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s architectural heritage – formed at the intersection of diverse cultures and traditions – which find their reflections in the contemporary architectural themes of Zlatko Ugljen.
Adoption of the Model of Socially Directed Housing Construction in the 1970s: Challenges and Lessons from the Krnjevo Housing Estate in Rijeka
The article examines the implementation of the socially directed housing construction (DUSI) model in Rijeka through a case study of the Krnjevo housing estate, conceived as a pilot project for a new approach to socialist housing construction in the 1970s. The DUSI reform aimed to ensure greater participation of citizens and labour organisations in decisionmaking on housing typology, standards, and location, yet the experience in Rijeka reveals a number of institutional and organisational weaknesses. The “high-rise” Krnjevo project – with its innovative urban concept of linear megastructures and egalitarian orientation of apartments toward the sea – faced public and investor resistance due to high costs, technical risks, and declining trust in city institutions. Following the rejection of the high-rise variant, a compromise “low-rise” alternative was developed, which, despite typological innovations, exhibited shortcomings in housing quality and infrastructure. The analysis demonstrates that a lack of coordination, political communication, and bureaucratic efficiency limited the reform potential of the DUSI model. At the same time, the Krnjevo case illustrates how citizens used opportunities for participation to influence spatial decisions, which can be seen as a rare example of the affirmation of the declared principles of self-management in urban planning practice in socialist Yugoslavia.
Padiglione della Dalmazia –Exhibition Pavilion of Dalmatia at the Milan Fair in 1928
The Pavilion of Dalmatia, renamed the Pavilion of Zadar in 1930, was built for the Milan Fair in 1928 as an interesting architectural project of the interwar period. Designed as a three-part exhibition building of historicist conception, with a front façade combining elements of Dalmatian Gothic and early Renaissance with classical models, the pavilion expressed the ideological and symbolic aspirations of the Italian authorities to affirm their cultural presence on the Croatian Adriatic coast. From the 1930s, the pavilion was used by the Radio Marelli company, which modified the façade’s appearance in the spirit of the times and its own brand identity. The pavilion remained in use until 1942, when it was destroyed in a bombing. After that, it fell into oblivion until a small newspaper article sparked renewed interest in this structure. Based on preserved photographs, archival sources, and press records, it has been possible to reconstruct the visual identity and propaganda function of the pavilion, thus placing it in the broader context of Dalmatia’s and Zadar’s exhibition activities within the Kingdom of Italy between the two world wars.
Eugen von Ransonnet-Villez Between Japan and the Adriatic
Baron Ransonnet (1838-1926) was an intriguing figure of many interests – a painter, diplomat, and globetrotter who travelled across the Near and Far East, from Palestine and Egypt to India, Ceylon, and Japan. He was among the first to document the underwater world both technically and artistically. His detailed observations on underwater light and colour form the core of his visual aesthetics: the general underwater colour effect differs significantly from that of terrestrial landscapes. He invented and constructed a diving bell, followed by a simpler optical device – a kind of underwater telescope or periscope – with which he observed the sea floor and produced realistic sketches of Adriatic flora and fauna. In 1884, Ransonnet discovered the Blue Cave on the island of Biševo. In his article on the discovery, he wrote that his primary interest was photographing the underwater world with a camera he had constructed himself – which opens the possibility that the oldest underwater photographs were taken precisely there, nine years before the well-known images by Boutan. Ransonnet came to the island of Vis as an illustrator for the Kronprinzenwerk publishing project (Die österreichisch-ungarische Monarchie in Wort und Bild). Ransonnet’s legacy lives on through his preserved sketches, lithographs, and paintings kept in museums in Vienna and Monaco. They testify to a unique amalgam of scientific insight and aesthetic sensitivity, which makes his work interesting to the histories of both art and science.
This article focuses on the engineer Giovanni Francesco Rossini (1688–1764), in particular his report on a tour of Dalmatia in 1749, preserved in Vienna. He first visited northern Dalmatia, i.e., the Venetian-Habsburg frontier zone, and then the Venetian-Ottoman border as far as Klek. He returned by ship along the coast, arriving at Zadar, the starting point of his journey. The report begins with Dalmatian cavalry barracks and small frontier forts, then moves on to larger settlements in the Dalmatian hinterland, and finally focuses on the coastal towns. The most interesting and valuable document, however, is the diary of Rossini’s journey, which reveals much about the circumstances and difficulties he faced, such as poor roads and equally bad weather conditions. His notes attest that he was precise, conscientious, and dedicated – an assessment confirmed in the review by the investigating syndics (sindici inquisitori) who had dispatched him on this mission. The article also draws on valuable information about Rossini’s career contained in a document from the Archivio di Stato in Venice.
Atectonic Retables in Bakar: Importing Central European Designs to the Monarchy’s Periphery
This paper analyses and evaluates the main altar in the church of St Margaret and three side altars (the Altar of the Holy Cross, the Altar of St John the Baptist, and the Altar of St Francis of Paola) in the church of St Mary of the Port in Bakar, erected almost at the same time. The discussion considers possible sources of influence and comparative models together with temporal, spatial, and cultural contextualization. In the mid-18th century, the church of St Margaret on the southern side of the Bay of Bakar obtained a high altar whose typological analogies are found directly across the bay, on the northern side, in the church of St Mary of the Port. In the panorama of altar heritage in the Croatian Littoral and the Quarnero – where from the last quarter of the 17th century works in stone and marble predominate – these altars are carved in wood and, besides their artistic quality, stand out for their atectonically constructed retables, unusual for the Croatian Adriatic. Unlike northern Croatia, where atectonic altars are more common, along the Adriatic coast they appear only as isolated examples. In Bakar – then part of the Litorale Austriacum – the furnishing of church interiors with solutions current in the Habsburg Monarchy reflects a political administration intent on leaving a mark of its presence even on the periphery of its territory.
“enlarged frame” retable type (Rahmenretabel)
This paper gathers information on the churches and chapels that once existed within the urban area of Osor, but of which no trace survives today. Knowledge of these buildings is extremely limited due to the low level of research into written sources and the only partially conducted archaeological excavations. In addition to collecting the few references found in the literature, this study systematically analyses the earliest churches based on the list of properties of the Diocese of Osor from 1534, apostolic and canonical visitations (Agostino Valier, 1579; Michele Priuli, 1603; and Valerio Ponte, 1645), as well as part of the written records of the Osor chancery from the first decades of the 16th century. Some of the examined churches are also recorded in the cadastral survey of Francis I from 1821. The paper discusses fourteen churches, divided into those situated outside and those within the town walls after the 1470s, when the construction of the new “Venetian” wall reduced the earlier urban area. Basic information on each church, its surviving architectural remains, and furnishings is presented, with the intention that the collected data serve as a tool for further research into the urban and sacred topography of Osor.
Zadar’s Goldsmith Martin Ivanov Sainović from Koper, Known as Butafogo
This article is dedicated to the Zadar goldsmith Martin Ivanov Sainović from Koper, known as Butafogo, about whom approximately forty documents, dating from between 1524 and 1546, have been discovered during archival research into Zadar’s 16th-century notarial records. Although the sources currently shed only limited light on Butafogo’s goldsmithing activity – since most of them mention him merely as a witness – their publication nonetheless complements our understanding of Zadar’s 16th-century goldsmithing practices. Among the discovered records, his will composed on February 27, 1546, holds special significance. It reveals that Butafogo was at some point engaged in the production of certain components for the Chest of St Simeon the God-Receiver, commissioned in the 14th century by the Hungarian- Croatian Queen Elizabeth. However, due to the lack of information about the specific chest elements Butafogo may have worked on, we can only speculate as to which of them were produced in his workshop. Nonetheless, his documented involvement in Zadar’s most important medieval artefact firmly places him among the more prominent goldsmiths active in the city during the first half of the 16th century.
goldsmith Martin Ivanov Sainović from Koper known as Butafogo
New Identification of the Two Nin Reliquaries Known as the Caskets of St Asellus and St Marcella
This paper contributes to the discussion on the cult of the patron saints of Nin by examining two medieval reliquaries from Nin, traditionally referred to in the literature as the reliquary caskets of St Asellus and St Marcella. The aim of the paper is to support and further elaborate the author’s previously proposed hypothesis that the second of the two reliquaries has been misidentified in Croatian historiography. Through an analysis and interpretation of preserved inventories of the Nin reliquaries, the author demonstrates that, contrary to prevailing scholarly opinion, the reliquaries in question should in fact be attributed to St Asellus and, most probably, St Ambrose. This conclusion not only enables a clearer understanding of the iconography of both reliquaries but also sheds light on the complex and previously unresolved relationships among the three patron saints of Nin. Emphasising the absence of any evidence connecting St Marcella with the other two patron saints of Nin prior to the fifteenth century, the author concludes that the reliquary in question was not historically regarded as that of St Marcella until the nineteenth century.
Two Contributions to the Study of Stonemasons’ Workshops in Zadar
The text discusses a Baroque honorary monument on the side façade of the Provveditore’s Palace and the fragments of Romanesque reliefs that were re-carved and incorporated into its structure. The monument was created, in all likelihood, in the early years of the 17th century, when the palace itself was built, as attested by the inscription on the façade dated 1607. During the 19th century, the building was extensively remodelled and raised in height. At that time, the monument, originally located elsewhere, was moved to its present position. Recent conservation work has revealed fragments of reliefs whose stylistic characteristics indicate that they originated from a Romanesque stonemasons’ workshop active in the 12th and 13th centuries. These are pieces of liturgical furnishings, perhaps from a chancel screen or pulpit railing, from one of Zadar’s churches. Next to the palace stands the basilica of St Stephen. When the palace was constructed, the church underwent major alterations and, in 1632, was consecrated as the new church of St Simeon. Although it cannot be stated with certainty that the Romanesque fragments reused in the Baroque monument’s structure came specifically from that basilica, they significantly contribute to our understanding of the scope and productivity of a highly skilled Romanesque stonemasons’ workshop active in Zadar during that period.
New Observations on the Signii Family of Korčula and the Dating of the Temple of Venus Pelagia at Potirna
The inscription from Potirna on the island of Korčula, which records the construction of a temple dedicated to Venus Pelagia by a certain Signia Ursa, has attracted scholarly attention since its discovery. However, certain key questions related to its content remain unresolved: its precise date, the origin of the dedicator, whose name is undoubtedly rare, and the very specific, indeed unique, dedication to Venus Pelagia. While some of these questions long seemed unanswerable, recent findings related to the Signii family and a renewed understanding of the cult of Venus Pelagia within Augustus’s “cultural program” now make a fresh reassessment of the Korčula inscription possible.
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On Sunday, March 17, 2024, Radoslav Tomić, an esteemed art historian, member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and a foremost authority on Renaissance and Baroque figurative art in Croatia, passed away in Split at the age of 68. Tomić’s distinguished career began in Split, where he worked as a museum curator and cultural heritage conservator before becoming a researcher at the Institute of Art History in Zagreb. From 1997, he was a lecturer in Baroque art at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zadar. In 2010, he became a full member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU). Tomić’s scholarly contributions include influential exhibition projects on the artistic heritage of the Kotor Diocese (2009), Venetian painting in Dalmatia (2011), and Italian Baroque painting in Croatia (2015). He wrote several books on Baroque altars in Dalmatia (1995), Split’s painting heritage under Venetian rule (2002), and Lotto’s portrait of Toma Niger (2021). His comprehensive work Artistic Heritage of the Zadar Archdiocese examines early modern painting and sculpture in the Zadar diocese. His final book, Znakovi identiteta. Sveci zaštitnici u umjetnosti 17. i 18. stoljeća u Dalmaciji, Boki kotorskoj i Dubrovačkoj Republici (Signs of identity: Patron saints in the art of the 17th and 18th centuries in Dalmatia, Boka Kotorska, and the Republic of Dubrovnik, 2021), offers a synthesis of his scholarly endeavours.
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In her exhibition Vacation, held at the Rector’s Palace in Zadar (2 May – 14 June 2024), Mare Milin takes us on a journey through six chapters of personal landscapes, symbolically titled after the acronym of her surname: marstrand, izautobusne, ludusi, intermezza, nokturna. Each photographic series invites introspection and an escape from the chaos of daily life, offering moments of peace and contemplation. Through square formats, multiple exposures, and the interplay of light, Milin creates abstract, intimate landscapes that, accompanied by a harmonious musical background, blend images, sounds, and emotions into a singular experience. The human figure, when it appears, is reduced to a basic outline, a silhouette in the frame, merging with the surrounding nature. While devoid of overt activism, Milin’s photography conveys a subtle social dimension – a therapeutic quality that momentarily detaches viewers from the noisy, exhausting reality, offering a serene respite during these turbulent times.
In his review of Branko Fučić’s biography, Rijeka’s art historian Marijan Bradanović highlights the key features of the personal and scholarly habitus in the work and life of this prominent humanist from the second half of the 20th century. In the complex social circumstances of his times, Fučić developed a distinctive methodological approach to the history of art and culture, one that in a way anticipated contemporary global perspectives. His work identified the architectural and artistic dynamics of specific locales by studying the locally rooted specificities of life, shaped by the interplay of natural and cultural landscapes. Found at the periphery of mainstream academic and cultural life – first within the framework of socialist state and later amid the upheavals of the 1990s – Fučić reinvented his scholarship in methodologically innovative principles of an authentic humanist and firmly adhered to his meticulously constructed ethical standards, often at the cost of social and professional marginalization by political and cultural elites.
Copyright (c) 2024 Laris Borić https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Emil Hilje’s book explores the previously least known chapter in the construction of the Šibenik Cathedral of St James: the last six decades from the death of Niccolò di Giovanni Fiorentino (around 1506) until the Cathedral’s consecration in 1556 and the subsequent restoration of its roof a decade later. While the book does not entirely fulfil the aim of precisely delineating the roles of the last two protomasters, Bartolomeo del Mestre and his son Giacomo, it offers valuable insights into the activities of master builders from their immediate and extended circles. Notably, Bartolomeo’s second son, Francesco, known as Checco, emerges as a significant figure. Hilje’s meticulous investigation of archival sources in Šibenik has unearthed a vast amount of previously unknown documents, shedding light on major and minor contributors to the Cathedral’s completion, including some picturesque secondary figures. Thus, the book provides a well-rounded, attractive, and compelling reading that enriches the study of the Šibenik Cathedral and paints a vivid picture of King Krešimir’s city in a difficult period of its history.
construction of the vaults of the Šibenik Cathedral
interior design and furnishing of the Šibenik Cathedral
Remarks on Dating the Construction of the Romanesque cathedral in Zadar
This paper is a response by the author of the book about the Romanesque cathedral in Zadar on the observations made by Predrag Marković from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. Based on the writings of Daniele Farlati, an 18th-century historian, Marković suggests that the construction of the church began at the end of the 12th century and was completed a century later. However, there are no reliable historical sources from the time of the construction. Therefore, the author of the book connects the church’s architecture with the cultural environment in which it was created, and in which other Romanesque sacral buildings in Zadar were built during the 12th century. All this suggests that the cathedral dates back to the time of the first Archbishop of Zadar, Lampridije (1154–1178). Later, during Archbishop Lovro Perijander (1245–1287), it was extended on the front side, even with some elements of Gothic architecture, and consecrated in 1285.
The thesis statement of this paper revolves around the idea that contemporary hybrid art practices aspire to transforming their purpose towards sustaining a balance between political and ecological infrastructures, thereby making societal and environmental issues more discernible and advocating for integrative ways of human existence within the environment. In an era marked by the devastating consequences of technological advancement, misuse of science for profit, and the antagonisms of economic dynamics, hybrid artworks offer alternative ways of existence within collectives, striving to reconfigure the connections between human subjectivity and the external world. The case study explored here is an art project by Špela Petrič, titled Confronting Vegetal Otherness: Phytoteratology. This paper centres on two primary arguments: Félix Guattari’s concept of ecosophy as a framework for hybrid art strategies, and Donna Haraway’s perspective from When Species Meet about the necessity to disrupt traditional power hierarchies among species. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how art has power to destabilize anthropocentric viewpoints. A transdisciplinary approach guides this text, with research methods including analysis, synthesis, observation, and comparative analysis.
Unknown Artistic Contacts between Ivan Meštrović and Zlatko Šulentić
The article examines the complex and previously underexplored artistic contacts between Ivan Meštrović and Zlatko Šulentić, two key figures in Croatian modern art. A central focus is the attribution of a caricature of Meštrović to Šulentić, analysed in comparison with other caricatures of the renowned sculptor. Based on archival materials, the study also uncovers Meštrović’s overlooked contributions to establishing the Yugoslav Room at the University of Pittsburgh. Šulentić’s Portrait of Josip Juraj Strossmayer is discussed alongside its preserved preparatory studies, and Meštrović’s significant sculptural donations – Self-Portrait and Portrait of Mihajlo Pupin – are highlighted. Attention is given to Šulentić’s role in assuming Meštrović’s duties at the Royal Academy of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb between 1941 and 1942, reflecting their collaboration and mutual respect. Additional points of contact include their earlier participation in a joint exhibition with the Group of Independent Artists and Šulentić’s acclaimed portrait Boy, which became part of Meštrović’s collection. The article concludes with a stylistic and morphological analysis of expressionism in their respective oeuvres, using selected examples to deepen our understanding of their significance in Croatian modern art.
This article aims to unveil the vegetal and vegetative forces underlying the creative process of Henri Matisse, arguing that phytophilia influenced every aspect of his painterly method. Drawing from the artist’s statements and broader philosophical studies of plant life, the article posits four key and closely related assertions: firstly, Matisse’s approach to his subjects required him to sink into an unconscious, vegetative state of mind, whereby the perceived entities appear to him as flows of vegetal energies rather than fixed entities. This state of mind is achieved through the cumulative act of painting and drawing, through which Matisse’s works become budding pictorial assemblages. Secondly, Matissean composition implies a vegetal organization characterized by multifocality, chromatic intensity, and spatial expansibility. Furthermore, owing to their plant-like swelling and dilation, his works have a soothing effect on the beholder and elicit his vegetative soul. Ultimately, in this article, Matisse emerges not just as a painter whose works are inhabited with vegetal shapes, but as a phytosopher whose profound knowledge of plant life permeates and informs all the constructive elements of his compositions.
Portrait Fragmentation and the Split Subject in the Artistic Research Project Superheroine by Nadija Mustapić
This paper analyses the concept behind the audiovisual installation Superheroine (working title) by the Rijeka-based artist Nadija Mustapić, where she explores the position of women in the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Mustapić is interested in the new gender, class, and racial definitions of work in contemporary society that have been revealed or enhanced by the extraordinary situation caused by the pandemic (such as working from home) and the feminist response to the newly created and imposed stereotypes. The visual part of the installation is conceived as a large-format video projected in the exhibition venue. Using the techniques of overlapping, masking, and slicing videos of numerous (more than 100) women standing in front of the camera in full format, the artist has created a composite image of a (universal) female figure composed of many vertical strips. These strips are fragments of the video portraits of different women taken from the same angle. The paper aims at showing how this approach reflects the perspective of the artist and supports the concept behind the artwork. The analysis is based on selected aspects of art theory, including portrait fragmentation strategies, discursive analysis of the feminist perspective selected by the artist, and the psychoanalytical approach to the phenomenon of splitting and decentring of the postmodern subject.
The paper examines the fresco painting promoted by the ruling ideology between the two world wars in Italy, specifically Rijeka, which was part of Italian territory at the time. The case study focuses on the fresco D’Annunzio detta la Carta del Quarnaro, painted in 1942 by Carlo Sbisà from Trieste, located in the atrium of the residential and commercial Albori Palace (“Rijeka’s Skyscraper”). The fresco is compared with relevant examples from Trieste, Florence, and Milan, cultural centres where the artist matured and worked. Before his engagement in Rijeka, Sbisà completed his wall-painting oeuvre in his hometown of Trieste, which significantly influenced the conception of this fresco. This paper highlights the fact that it has not been completely destroyed, contributing to the evaluation of the only fresco decoration Sbisà created outside of Trieste, which, in terms of both content and artistic-formal aspect, transcends the ideological framework of the time in which it was created. The Rijeka fresco forms an integral part of the building in which it is located and serves as an illustrative example of the revival of fresco painting in Italy during the interwar period, which also left its mark on the local context.
fresco D’Annunzio detta la Carta del Quarnaro
In addition to the previously researched and published political and economic activities of Pero and Melko Čingrija, this paper focuses on their significant yet almost unknown impact on the development of artistic infrastructure and artistic life in Dubrovnik from the last decades of the 19th century to World War II. They extended their political programme of affirming national identity into the realm of art. The various forms of support for the fine arts visible in the work of Pero Čingrija were continued with the same intensity and diversity by Melko Čingrija. In both, one can observe exceptional energy and decisions guided by their own judgments, without acting compliant or yielding to the opinions of others. These processes can be traced through their patronage, the support granted to individual artists, the organization of art exhibitions, and their involvement in commissioning, financing, and installing public monuments. Moreover, they maintained friendly relations with certain artists and often provided them with financial assistance. Some of their initiatives, in line with the spirit of the time, laid the groundwork for the next generation of initiators of artistic activities, and the results of their combined efforts are evident in today’s cultural institutions in Dubrovnik.
Crijević-Pucić villa at Pile in Dubrovnik
Although the Crijević-Pucić suburban villa at Pile in Dubrovnik has long been highly valued, scholarly analysis has so far mainly focused on questions concerning the origin of its architectural concept, its stylistic and broader cultural interpretation, as well as the dating and attribution of the stone sculpture of the house and garden. However, later interventions, especially the fate of the villa after the fall of the Republic of Dubrovnik, have not attracted much interest from researchers. Therefore, this paper aims to reconstruct, interpret, and evaluate the extensive restoration of the villa undertaken in the 1860s by its owner after it was burned down in 1806. Furthermore, based on archival sources and material traces, an attempt is made to determine the original size of the southern garden, which was reduced under unknown circumstances during the 19th century. All later interventions on the villa have also been considered, as they bear witness to the changing fate of this exceptional monument after it was converted for public use in the mid-20th century.
This paper discusses the existence of a portrait of the Marovich family that was previously considered lost, attributed to Juraj Pavlović based on the testimony of Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski. The portrait is held in the former Istituto Canal Marovich ai Servi in Venice. The painting is analysed here from an iconographic perspective, drawing attention to a detail of the letter that Anna Maria Marovich holds in her hands. Since the letter is from the Austrian Empress Maria Anna of Savoy, dated 1845, received as a sign of gratitude for the portrait Anna Maria had painted of the empress, it is suggested that this event was the immediate reason for commissioning the family portrait. This is supported by a written source that dates the painting to the summer of 1846. The work is further examined from a stylistic point of view, considering arguments for attributing it to Pavlović and proposing that it belongs to the painter’s second creative period. Various stylistic elements of this painting are compared to those in his other known works. Additionally, the painting is identified as a family portrait in terms of genre and valued as the only example of its kind in Pavlović’s opus. Finally, it is emphasized that Pavlović’s portraiture should be viewed in the context of stylistic continuity between Romanticism and early Biedermeier Realism.