Iconographic Patterns in the Commissioning Strategies of Zadar’s Archbishop Maffeo Vallaresso (1450–1494)

Abstract

This paper examines the commissioner profile of Maffeo Vallaresso, Archbishop of Zadar, focusing on his architectural and artistic preferences and the iconographic strategies embedded in the complex political, social, and cultural dynamics of Zadar’s quattrocento. Two defining aspects of Vallaresso’s personality and ecclesiastical function emerge: his status as a prominent humanist who fostered the corresponding cultural practices in Zadar, and his expertise in canon law. Serving as Zadar’s archbishop from 1451, Vallaresso projected these dual aspects of his identity through a range of commissions. Over time, the characteristics reflecting his legal expertise and his iconographic strategies became increasingly dominant. His projects primarily aimed to regulate ecclesiastical relations between the archdiocese and its subjects, which, by the late Middle Ages, had developed varying degrees of financial and organizational independence. Furthermore, the archbishop played a crucial role in aligning the once powerful medieval commune of Zadar with the state frameworks of the Serenissima, especially by transforming the semantic layers associated with the medieval cults of Zadar’s patron saints, which positioned him as a direct agent of Venetian political interests.