Wooden Altar Sculptures on the Island of Lopud from the Sixteenth Century

Među umjetnički najznačajnije spomenike otoka Lopuda spadaju glavni oltari franjevačke i dominikanske crkve kao vrlo reprezentativna djela kasne renesanse, svaki sačinjen od po šest slika i jedne drvene skulpture naslovnika tih crkava. Za razliku od slika, te skulpture nisu u znanosti posebno analizirane, što se ovdje nadoknađuje otkrivanjem njihova podrijetla iz bližega krugu Paola Campse kao najistaknutijeg kipara u drvu iz Venecije 16. stoljeća. Njihovu nabavu se pridaje slikarima rečenih oltara, Pietru di Giovanniju te Krili Antunoviću Nikolinom koji su se, radeći onda u Dubrovniku, trajno bavili i uvozom takvih umjetnina iz najjačeg središta drvorezbarske proizvodnje na Jadranu.In the rich artistic heritage of the island of Lopud several magnificent Renaissance altarpieces stand out, of which a complex architectural altar composition in wooden reliefs at the mother church of Our Lady of Šunj deserves special attention. The author’s earlier study on the topic has established 1572 as the year of the altar’s dedication. The article sheds additional light on the origin of this unparalled work of art, and provides a most thorough artistic analysis of the elaborately depicted scene of the Assumption attributed to the workshop of Paolo Campsa, a master of this genre from the late cinquecento. A parallel has been drawn with the paintings of Alviso Vivarini of the late quattrocento. By coming forward with an assumption that the work may have been donated by Miho Pracat, a Lopud-born seafarer, shipowner and one of the wealthiest citizens in the Dubrovnik Republic of the time, the author accounts for an increasing import of the works of art from Venice. Further discussed are the monumental wooden altars of the Dominican and Franciscan churches of the island of Lopud which bear some resemblance in terms of composition: in a richly carved frame, five panel paintings are symmetrically arranged around a larger wooden figure of the church’s patron saint. The altarpiece of the Franciscan church has been attributed to Pietro di Giovanni, Venetian painter who worked in Dubrovnik from 1517 until his death around 1570. According to the archives, he repeatedly commissioned wooden statues of saints for the city churches which he mainly combined with his own paintings. None of these altars have survived except for the altar of the Franciscan church on Lopud, documented by a commission receipt, which confirms the manner in which Pietro’s worked. His paintings are easily recognised and of modest quality, while the statue of Madonna Immaculata by an anonymous author strikes the viewer with its beauty. Morphological similarities have been established between this statue and the sculptures on the polyptych of the church of S. Cassiano in the town of Quinto di Treviso, attributed to the bottega of Paolo Campsa which was famous for its impressive team who virtually supplied the whole Adriatic with the Manneristic works of art. No historical data have been traced on the altarpiece of the Dominican church on Lopud. Though similar to the Franciscan altar with regard to composition, it is less expressive and of a more complex iconography, with a wooden figure of St Nicholas in the central position. Judging by its characteristics, it could be linked to the local master Kristofor Antunović, who attended the painting workshop of Pietro di Giovanni. Considering that the mentioned statue exhibits all the characteristics of the famous Paolo Campsa, especially the holy figures from the retable of the cathedral in Torcello, it may also be attributed to the narrower artistic circle recognised on two other altars of the Lopud churches. This articl e thus highlights a series of components of essential value to the assessment of the cultural and artistic landscape of south Croatia in the late sixteenth century, marked mainly by the minor production of the local masters