Renaissance in Croatia

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Renaissance in Croatia is a period of cultural enrichment in Croatia that began at the middle of the 15th century and lasted until the end of the 16th century.

Šibenik Cathedral of St James, built 1441–1535, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Culture

Introduction

Ivan Duknović
, Putto bearing the Cippico shield and torch, circa 1480. Trogir City Museum.
John Rylands Library
, Manchester.

In the 15th century, Croatia had been in a personal union with

Habsburgs gained control over the Croatian crown in the early 16th century and more territories came under Ottoman
occupation. Dalmatia was on the periphery of several influences, just as far from
Bosnia and Austrians in the north, so it benefited from all of these. In such circumstances Dalmatian religious and public architecture flourished, with clear influences from the Italian Renaissance
.

Renaissance appeared on

Juraj Klović, went through Venice towards the political center of Croatia - Buda, where he worked at the royal court, as Giorgio Vasari
mentioned, before he returned to Italy. Politically as well, Croatia was also very suitable for Renaissance to appear and flourish. Namely, there are many glorious Roman and even Greek monuments preserved there and important artworks discovered and collected. Several cities and towns celebrated their limited independence by publishing constitutions in which they organized communal republican rule, of which Dubrovnik was the strongest one. Finally, many local nobles and influential families who not only collected antiquities but also sponsored high production of art. Most notable ones were family Cippico from Trogir and Petar Hektorović from Hvar, but also many others who were, for example, immortalized by famous renaissance painters, like Vjekoslav Gučetić by Titian, Toma Niger by Lorenzo Lotto, Petar Hektorović by Tintoretto or Dobrić Dobrićević, famous typographer, by Francesco Bissolo. Many intellectuals from Croatia, like Feliks Petančić from Dubrovnik, have studied in European centers like Padua, Bologna and Paris. Amongst them appeared some poets, writers and philosophers, of which some have become one of the most important European authors, like Marin Držić.[1]

Art

Split Cathedral
, is an earliest example of Renaissance in Croatia.
Interior of the chapel of St. John Ursini in Trogir Cathedral (mostly from 1483) is considered to be a masterpiece of Dalmatian early renaissance.

The Renaissance period of art and architecture in Croatia can be said to begin in 1441, when

Nikola Firentinac
following the original plans of Juraj. On the cathedral there is a coronal of 72 sculpture portraits on the outside wall of the apses. Juraj himself did 40 of them, and all are unique with original characteristics on their faces.

Work on Šibenik cathedral inspired Nicola in his work on the expansion of the Chapel of Blessed John of Trogir in 1468. Just like Šibenik cathedral, it was composed out of large stone blocks with extreme precision. In cooperation with a disciple of Juraj,

Andrija Aleši, Nicola achieved a unique harmony of architecture and sculpture according to antique ideals. From inside, there is no flat wall. In the middle of the chapel, on the altar, lies the sarcophagus of blessed John of Trogir. Surrounding this are reliefs of putti carrying torches that look like they were peeping out of doors of Underworld. Above them there are niches with sculptures of Christ and the apostles, amongst them are putti, circular windows encircled with fruit garland, and a relief of the Nativity
. This is all covered with a coffered ceiling with an image of God in the middle and 96 portrait heads of angels. With so many faces of smiling children the chapel looks very cheerful and there isn't anything similar in European art of that time.

Model of Dubrovnik held by Saint Blaise in this detail from a triptych by Nikola Božidarević

Inside the protective walls of the

Republic of Dubrovnik, and on several of the nearby islands, many Ragusan nobles built their country retreats, elegant villas set in renaissance gardens. These were not as ornate as their Italian counterparts, but made good use of the terrain with its seaside location and plentiful supply of stone.[3]
A good example is Sorkočević's villa on the island of Lapad near Dubrovnik. Built in 1521, with an unusual asymmetrical design, the house and garden are preserved in their original form.

Many

Split
cathedral. Three almost naked figures, are caught in vibrant movement.

The most important Croatian Renaissance painters were from Dubrovnik:

Austrians
as the rulers).

Architecture

Renaissance star-shaped fortress of Karlovac (designed in 1579)

With permanent danger from the Ottomans in the east, the Renaissance had only a modest influence, while fortifications thrived. The plan for the fortified city of Karlovac in 1579 was first entirely new urban city to be built to a Renaissance plans (the so-called "ideal city" plan) in Europe. It was built in a radial plan, later common in the Baroque.

Renaissance fort of Ratkay family in Veliki Tabor from 16th century has mixed features of Gothic architecture (high roofs) and renaissance (cloister and round towers) making it an example of mannerism.

Literature

Frane Petrić) are incorporated. It is specific to the Croatian Renaissance that, in addition to Latin and vernacular, the language of literature and culture in the 16th century became partly Italian.[4]

Notable works:

Artists of the Croatian Renaissance

Marin Držić

See also

References

  1. ^ Jurković, Miljenko. renesansa. Erlande-Brandenburg, Alain (ed.) Galerija Klovićevi dvori, Zagreb. 2004. ISBN 953-6776-63-4
  2. ^ Prof. Radovan Ivančević (ed.). "The Divergent Paths of the North and South: Renaissance (15th and 16th centuries)". culturenet.hr web portal to Croatian culture. Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  3. JSTOR 1587136
    . Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  4. ^ Renaissance in Croatian Encyclopedia (in Croatian) Retrieved 7 April 2022.

External links