Notes about wall painting in Zadar at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century

Abstract

The remains of wall paintings in Zadar from the Gothic period are rew, especially in comparison to those from the Romanesque period so it seemed that the frescos in the Gothic art period were poorly represented. But some data from the testaments of Zadar citizens from the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century give us a different picture. In these testaments we find requests indicating that some of Zadar churches (St. Frane, St. Platon, St. Stephen, St. Nicholas, St. Jurje, St. Mihovil) be painted with figurative compositions at the expense of the donators. In light of such demands and because of the information that in 1387 Zadar painter Blaž Luka Banić promised the merchant Nikova Mihovil to decorate the chapel in his house with wall paintings, we get quite a different picture about wall painting in Zadar in the Gothic period. It became more obvious (hat all churches built or reconstructed during the 14th century (i.e. those that did not have Romanesque fresco decorations) got wall paintings at the end or the beginning of the folowing century so that the quantity of such paintings was higher than the remains that we have today indicate. As far as the quality is concerned the best proff are the remains of frescos recently found in the church of St. Šime. Although only one saint figure is sufficienty preserved one can notice that the quality of production is as high as that of painting done on the wood. This brings us to the conclusion that Zadar wall painting quantitatively and qualitatively had a prominent place during the Gothic art period in Dalmatia.