RENESANČNI VLOŽKI PORTALA KNEŽEVOGA DVORA V DUBROVNIKU

Following the devastating gunpowder explosion in 1463 the Rector\u27s Palace in Dubrovnik was considerably rebuilt during the 1seventh decade of the 15th century . Among several other pieces of decorative sculpture dating from this period the most interesting are the two imposts inserted into the frame of the original Gothic portal. Their external 1surfaces are richly decorated with four figural reliefs: on the right we can see a quartet of naked putti playing organ and trumpets and a scene with three running nude warriors, while on the opposite side there are three boys dancing to the music of a small trumpeter and a group of Mars embracing Venus in the presence of a little Cupid »all \u27antica«. Because of their stylistic and iconographic character the four reliefs have up till now been usually ascribed to an artist, who had been trained or a t least strongly influenced by Donatello. Several names have been suggested by students of Dalmatian sculpture: the medallist Paolo da Ragusa (Adolfo Venturi, 1908). Niccolo di Giovanni Fiorentino (Dagobert Frey, 1913, with reservations) , Michelozzo di Bartolomeo (Hans Folnesics, 1914), and Salvi di Michele da Frienze (Jorjo Tactic, 1934). The results of the latest research, w hich are presented in this article, confirm the presumed Donatellesque origin of some of the figures. The group of four infantile musicians matches line by linethecorresponding section on the left corner of the running frieze with putti dancing and playing various instruments from the well-known terracotta altar in the Capella Ovetari (Church of the »Eremitani«, Padua) , which is a documented work by Niccolo Pizzolo and Giovanni da Pisa (1448-1453) who both assisted Donatello in Padua. From the same source derives the posture of the putto in the centre of the relief on the left, while his companion and the trumpeter appear to reflect other familiar, as yet unidentified, Donatellesque motifs. The rather awkward nude with a beard on the extreme left repeats the posture of the executioner, which is known from the bronze plaquette of Flagellation (examples in Berlin and Paris) that is usually regarded a1s a product of a Donatello\u27s follower from about 1450 .. The pictorial sources for the remaining two reliefs have not yet been disclosed, but it seems plausible to assume them having been copied from model drawings as well. Taking into account the rather low quality of chiselwork, the Dubrovnik imposts are by no means to be regarded as works by proficient sculptor. The recent revision of documents related to the construction of the Rector\u27s Palace (Hofler) indicates that the two pieces were most likely incorporated into the portal in the spring of 1464, when Giorgio da Sebenico was engaged as the stateengineer of the Raguisan republic. He was once believed to be responsible for some pieces of sculpture in the Rector\u27s Palace, but -- due to his allegedly Gothic »temperament« - no one has ever assumed that he could be the author of the reliefs on the two imposts. However, Giorgio\u27s interest in Renaissance figural phraseology is perceptable as early as 1440-1450 and the gradual penetration of classicizing decorative repertoir after 1460 appears now ever more manifest. The closest parallels to the reliefs in Dubrovnik have come to light on the northern external wall of the Šibenik cathedral in the section which dates from about 1465-1466/68, Among the putti holding garlands in the frieze beneath the lunette with the circular relief of St. Jerome, we trace two figures completely identical with types familiar to us from Dubrovnik as well as from the Capella Ovetari in Padua: the boy sounding the trombone and the agitated dancer with one hand raised above his head and the other lowered behind the back. Besides the use of the same motifs the rather close stylistic resemblance to the putti in the Rector\u27s Palace might even indicate the same hand at work in Šibenik and in Dubrovnik. The sources report the name of the stonecarver Ratko Brajković - Giorgio da Sebenico\u27s collaborator, who was very likely employed during the construction of the said parts of the Šibenik cathedral and is also mentioned in connection with the Rector\u27s Palace in Dubrovnik (July 1464). Brajković\u27s appearance in both places at just the opposite time can hardly be considered to be a sheer coincidence. Notwithstanding the question of attribution we can nevertheless conclude that the reliefs covering the two imposts in Dubrovnik most probably belong to the sculptural output of Giorgio da Sebenico\u27s circle. Since the accurate model drawings were apparently provided for by the master in charge of the workshop, the four little scenes in Dubrovnik may prove to be a, vantage point for further research into Giorgio\u27s acquaintance with Renaissance figural vocabulary in the last decade of his life