Another Statue in Istria Attributed to Paolo Campsa and Giovanni da Malines

Abstract

The statue of Madonna and Child in Ližnjan’s church “Na Muntu” has hitherto not been analysed in detail in scholarly literature, largely owing to its later polychrome additions, which completely obscure its original appearance. Nevertheless, based on comparison with the oeuvre of Paolo Campsa, a leading Venetian woodcarver, and his brother-in-law Giovanni da Malines, the statue has now been attributed to these two artists. Parallels in the concept of the figure, the system of draping, and various details have been identified in the Madonna of Buje, as well as triptychs in Baška and Monopoli. It also shows considerable similarities with sculptures produced in Campsa’s workshop before the death of Giovanni da Malines, which indicates that it was made in the last decade of the 15th century. A very similar example is the Madonna of Bale (“Our Lady of Monperin”), probably made under its influence, but the somewhat lower quality of sculpting indicates that it may be attributed to a follower of Campsa, perhaps a local Istrian master.