Šibenik portraits of George Mathew\u27s the Dalmatian (1443)

Iz niza od sedamdesetjedne ljudske i tri lavlje glave na frizu apsida i istočne strane šibenske katedrale datiranom 1443. godine i potpisanom od Jurja Dalmatinca (Georgius Mathei Dalmaticus) autor po prvi puta izdvaja četrdesettri ljudske i sve tri lavlje glave kao autorsko djelo samog majstora, što argumentira temeljitom strukturalnom analizom. Time ujedno nastoji isključiti zabune što su dosada bile izazvane miješanjem Jurjevih skulptura sa slabijim radovima njegovih pomoćnika i kasnije zamijenjenim glavama tijekom restauracije sredinom 19. stoljeća.At the symposium for 700 years of the Šibenik diocese, held in Šibenik in 1999 (Proceedings are in print), the author analyzed the well-known yet never systematically discussed 71 sculptures of heads on the three cathedral apses and eastern part of northern facade. He identified four groups of sculptures: George\u27s works (40), works made by his workshop (11), heads replaced during the renewal in the mid-19th century (14) and several heads that may have been replaced or recarved at that time, or somewhat later (6). This was much needed because obviously mediocre stone works by unskilled 19th century sculptors are frequently included in both Croatian and international publications about sculptures by George the Dalamtian (in italian lietrature wrongly named Giorgio da Sebenico, and his latin name in his signature Ceorgius Mathei Dalamticus is translated in Croatian as Juraj Matejev Dalmatinac, as we translated it adeqate in English: George Mathew\u27s the Dalmatian). Missunderstandings happen even in the serious scholarly works, although the data on certain alterations during the restoration of 1850 were published long ago, but there has never been a clear link between the written documents and the sculptures in situ or their photographs. The author solved this by numerating 71 heads in four sequences (south, central and north apse, and the eastern part of northern facade of the cathedral) and publishing, for the first time, photographs of all 71 human heads, and the three lion heads. The sculptures are identified by location and number and then interpreted individually. Each head has been catalogued and analyzed, but due to the large number of sculptures the interpretation had to be extremely brief and concise. In this article therefore author focuses only on the 40 heads that can be positively attributed to George the Dalmatian himself on the basis of strict stylistic, typological and morphological criteria, but above all on the basis of structural analysis of the quality of his sculptures. Although George has thus been "dispossessed" of some 30 heads, it must nevertheless be emphasized that this first Renaissance public "sculpture gallery" of Dalmatia (1441-1443) remains the largest group of Early Renaissance portraits in the first five decades of the Quattrocento in Europe. After extensive research and critical evaluation, the author analyzes the quality of Georges sculptures in the context of Early Renaissance sculpture in Italy and Europe. Detailed interpretations of individual sculptures are grounded in comparative analysis of other reliably documented and dated Georges works. Two characteristic components of these, in the author\u27s opinion, portrait heads are examined - the shape of face, the details (nose, mouth, ears) and hair (three types for male figures) - as well as their interrelation. Argumentation for sculptures by Georges contemporaries, about ten works by his collaborators and assistants, is completed. I. The sculptures by Ceorge the Dalmatian are (42): 1, 3, 7, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 27, 28, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 47, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71. II. Assistants (10): 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 26, 29, 32, 56, 67. III. Restauration 1850 (14): 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 30 (Pasini), 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50. IV. Restaured or changed (6): 4, 21, 22, 23, 24, 51